Page 54 of This Kind of Forever

Damn that’s rough, man. I’m sorry

Me, too.

With a sigh, I tuck my phone away. It’s doing me no good staring at it. If Hallie wants to reach out in her own time, she will. I just have to be patient. Part of me wants to drive over toPops’s house right now and demand that she talk to me, but I know that’s not fair.

God, I’m so stupid.

When I hear the sliding door open behind me, I turn to find my brother crossing the back porch. “What are you doing out here in the dark?” Luke asks. “Mom’s been looking for you.”

I frown. “Why?”

Our mom is usually the first in the family to head to bed. She should be asleep by now.

“Clara’s sad, and she thinks you can cheer her up.”

That instantly puts me on alert. “What happened?”

He shrugs. “Hallie left for school today. You know they’ve been attached at the hip since you guys were little.”

The air is knocked right out of my lungs then. I knew she was leaving. Hell, I was the first person she told about her acceptance to her top choice university in Toronto. But she wasn’t supposed to leave yet. I thought I had more time to fix this.

“Hallie’s gone?”

My brother nods, unaware that his words are having such an affect on me. “She left this morning. Clara has been moping around since Hallie got on the ferry.”

The city is only a few hours away. It isn’t like she’ll be away forever.ButHallie’s gone. She’s gone, and she didn’t even say goodbye.

Dread sits at the bottom of my stomach, forming a pit. She didn’t only flee the beach—she left the island because ofme. I never should have said anything. I’ve kept these feelings to myself for this long already. I should have held out, waited for them to fade.

“Gabe? You coming?”

“In a minute,” I reply. Though I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, considering I’m feeling the same way our sister is.

Luke heads back into the house, and the quiet of the night settles once again. I run a hand through my hair, frustrated with myself. Frustrated with her.

“Damn it, Hallie,” I mutter, letting my head fall back. The stars above seem to mock me. “You didn’t let me fix it.”

TWENTY-ONE

HALLIE

It’ssafe to say I’m freaking out.

The wedding is tomorrow and I still haven’t figured out what I’m going to wear. Usually, I’m not this picky about clothes. Except, like everything that has to do with my estranged father, the urge to appear like I have my life together can’t be helped.

The dresses lying on the end of my bed taunt me. I grab my phone and snap a picture, then send it to the group chat I now have with Clara and Delilah. Clara, of course, had to name it something quirky. It’s gone through a few iterations, but it’s currently titledHot Girl Shit.

Help me!

Delilah

Those are so pretty!

Clara

Damn, babe. You’ve been holding out on us!!

Most of the clothing I own isnowherenear this fancy. A majority of the time, I opt for comfortable fashion. But that isn’t going to work for Caitlyn’s wedding. The dress code isn’t black-tie, but it’s pretty freaking close, so I had to dig in my closet for the nicer dresses I own. Thanks to the New Year’s Eve parties I used to attend with my nanny families back in the city, I had a few options to choose from.