How am I supposed to fix this if Rosie won’t even let me talk to her about this, much less accept my apology? And why would she start a fight in front of the whole film club, of all places?

I keep walking until I come across a set of metal benches and sit down, my breaths rattling around uncertainly inside my chest. The bench is too cold through the thin material of my leggings, but my options are limited right now. I’m afraid if I stand, my knees will give out.

Was I in the wrong? Was it wrong of me to joke about Sofia?

The longer I think about it, the more frustrated I grow. It isn’t fair that Rosie is taking this out on me without giving me a chance to explain myself; it isn’t fair that she’s mad at me at all when she knows me, knows I would never try to purposely hurt her. We’re supposed to be best friends. We’re supposed to be better than this.

A group of children run by, laughing as they blow bubbles at one another. The noise startles me enough that it breaks through my train of thought.

I stare at them and exhale a quiet sigh. One of the kids stops and smiles at me, and my lips curve in response.

She laughs, and I immediately take out my phone without thinking much of it, turn to the camera app, and flick the screen until I switch to video mode.

The little girl winks at me before running off to play with her friends. I smile after her faintly, still filming.

I turn my phone, taking in the rest of the park. The trees are still bare of leaves, but that doesn’t make the sight of them any less beautiful, the branches twined together with the RFK Bridge looming in the background. As I go through the motions, my head quiets, some of my frustration melting away. The world is still turning. Things will be okay in the end. Rosie and I will work this out one way or another.

I tilt my phone, adjusting until I get the lighting right, trying to use the sun to my advantage. As I’m slowly turning counterclockwise, Emmitt appears on my phone screen.

I look up to where Emmitt is walking toward me, eyebrows raised. “I’ve noticed you filming quite a bit these past few weeks,” he says, eyeing my phone.

“Have you?” I ask dryly.

A sharp smile passes across Emmitt’s face, fleeting and barely there. “You’d be surprised how observant I can be.”