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TWELVE

Ellie

THEN

Sophomore Year

I never imagined how it would feel watching Owen’s high school graduation ceremony, knowing that in a few months, everything would change.

That he’d be leaving.

It felt so unfair that we were together, but we’d be forced apart so soon. Long distance wouldn’t be easy, but he was only going to Washington for college, so at least he wouldn’t be on the east coast. Seattle had added a D1 college team recently, and they’d recruited him to play. Plus, the NHL draft was at the end of this month, and this was his first time being eligible. I knew someone would snatch him up. After all, I’d spent countless hours watching him at the rink. I knew he could do this. I wouldn’t have encouraged him to pursue his dreams so hard if I didn’t think he could make it. We all did.

Every step towards a future for him just felt like he was leaving me in the past. I hated being two grades behind him. The age difference suddenly felt so big.

This fall, I’d be in my junior year of high school and he’d be a freshman in college. I wouldn’t be able to ride in with him to school anymore, or hold his hand as we walked through the hallways. We certainly wouldn’t be able to sneak kisses at the ice rink in between practices when we thought no one was looking.

Everything was about to change, and I was trying to remind myself that it was okay. In two years, I’d start college too, and I’d already planned on attending the same school as him. And after he graduated, if he was in the NHL, we’d make it work. We had to. We were Ellie & Owen , after all—inseparable since birth. He was my friend before he’d ever been my boyfriend. Probably my best friend besides Penny.

Owen walked across the stage in his graduation gown, accepting his diploma from the Principal before heading back to his seat. He looked over at where we were sitting—me, next to Penelope and his parents and gave me a big, dopey grin before blowing me a kiss. I blushed, too embarrassed to blow him one back with all of our family sitting near me.

On the other side of me was Aunt Angelina, Uncle Benjamin, and their daughter Lucy, who was still in elementary school. Their twins, Zachary and Wesley, were also graduating today. We were having one massive graduation party later today at the Sullivan house, complete with a barbecue and a pool party.

I’d never complain about a chance to relax in their pool while we all hung out. I loved my cousins, even if things got a little crazy with all nine of us. Plus our parents, extended family, and friends.

Owen’s cousins Avery and Amelia were also coming to the party later today, though they were both younger than me, so I wasn’t as close with them. His aunt Tessa was a big Hollywood star, and their family would often live part of the year down in LA when she was filming something and the rest at home in Portland.

Aunt Angelina and Uncle Benjamin’s boss, Nicolas, would be here with his wife, Zofia, and their two kids, Alexander and Bianca. Alex was the same age as Abigail, while Bee was a few months older than me. We didn’t go to the same school, but I still saw her often. She was a singer and a dancer, and I hadn’t been surprised at all when she’d announced her intentions of attending Julliard once she graduated high school. If anyone could do it, she could. Plus, the Larsens were two of the most supportive parents I’d ever met—besides my own.

The ceremony dragged to a close. I hadn’t been paying much attention, too busy thinking about the party and seeing everyone to focus on what anyone was saying. And then we were heading outside, waiting under the shade of the trees for our graduates to find us.

I’d notice Owen anywhere. With his six-foot-three frame and that dirty blond hair I loved, he was impossible not to recognize in any crowd. He was built like a hockey player, and he had the muscles to prove it, too. My heart sped up any time he was near, like it knew something I didn’t. Every kiss, every touch, every smile… They were all mine.

“Hey, Daisy Girl.” Owen tugged one of my blonde curls. I’d spent almost two hours getting ready for today. Not that I wanted to impress him, or that I wanted to look pretty for him, but… I liked when he looked at me like that. Like I was beautiful. He smiled at me, and my heart swelled.

“Hi.” I threw my arms around him, and he picked me up, twirling me around. “Happy graduation.”

“Thank you for coming.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” I said. There was nothing that could keep me from being here today.

His grin was bright enough to rival the sun. “I know. We’ll be there for all the big moments, won’t we, El?”

I nodded. “Of course we will.”

“It’s a promise.” He leaned his forehead against mine. “I’ll always be there for you, El.”

I smiled against his mouth. “I’m so proud of you. First, high school graduation. Next, the NHL draft, and then… college.”

“I might not get drafted, you know.” His words were low. “I might have to walk on to a team after I graduate.” From everything he’d told me about the NHL, that seemed like a much harder way to make it, but it was doable. Still, I had faith in him.

“It’ll be okay, either way,” I promised, curling my fingers through the long hair at the nape of his neck.

“Yeah?” He held my gaze, those beautiful brown eyes I loved staring back at me.

“Uh-huh,” I nodded. “Because we’ll do it together.”

“Damn right we will.” He placed a soft kiss against my mouth.

A throat cleared, and we both laughed as he set me back down on my feet. His parents had let us have our moment—our bubble that had felt impenetrable—and now it was their turn to tell their precious baby boy how much they loved him. How proud of him they were.

It shouldn’t have been possible to have been so happy and yet… devastated at the same time. Because every step forward he took felt like one further away from me. We’ll do it together . I had to believe him, because that was the only way I was going to survive.

So, I smiled, and I held his hand. I laughed with him, with our family, with the dozens of friends that gathered in the backyard of my aunt and uncle’s house, and I tried not to think about the few months we had left before he would be gone to Seattle.

And I’d still be right here.

Right where he left me.