On Monday, I was almost disappointed when I completed my shift and there was no sign of her. But then, as soon as I returned home, I found her standing beside my letterbox.

“Get lost,” I said, brushing past her.

“Just take this.” She thrust an envelope at me.

Dread curdled in my stomach. “What is it?”

She gnawed her lip. “It explains everything. If you don’t want to talk, maybe you’ll at least read the highlights, then you can decide if you still want nothing to do with me.”

I snatched the envelope from her hand and took it inside, leaving her on the path without so much as a backward glance. As soon as the door shut, I tore the letter in two and shoved it into the garbage bin. I didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish with this strange crusade of hers, but I didn’t trust her. Not even a bit.

On Tuesday, there were no unexpected gifts, but I received a voicemail from Grace, suggesting I hear Kennedy out. Teeth gritted, I deleted the recording.

On Wednesday, Summer sent me a similar suggestion. Except my sister was a lot more direct than Grace. That was what came from being raised in a household of predominantly men. She also messaged and called several times, and I dodged them all, knowing it would only be a matter of time until she cornered me.

On Thursday, I was well and truly fed up. When Kennedy appeared outside the fire station with a basket of goodies, I didn’t think twice. I marched out, took it from her, and emptied every delicious morsel onto the ground. I felt like a complete asshole as soon as I did it, but she didn’t look frightened or upset. More like resigned. She turned and walked away. For some reason, that made me sad.

I didn’t want to run the risk of seeing her on Friday, so as soon as I clocked out, I took the rear exit and went to my Ute, which I’d parked a couple of blocks over. Then I bought a carton of beers from the pub and carried them to Destiny Falls’s iconic waterfall. I hadn’t been there often since Kennedy broke up with me. The memory of asking her to move in was too strong, and being there killed me on the inside. But right now, I needed that. I needed to remember why I couldn’t give in and listen to whatever she had to say. That door was shut and needed to stay that way.