But the last thing on my mind is jumping into another relationship. Technically, it’s been a while since me and Ava broke up, but I want to focus on myself a bit. The eight-month practice will help my CV a lot. I’ll have to present it to one of the companies my university works with. They help you develop and find a job or, in my case, make your dreams come true.

Olivia’s face drops. I pat her head and she scoffs while I gather all the stuff that’s laid out in front of the tree.

“Do you still love her?” she says, getting down on her knees to help.

Liv avoids looking directly at me. She just keeps herself busy, biting her lip as she awaits my answer.

We’ve never talked about serious things like this. Not because I thought she was too young to understand, but I guess we never really had the chance.

She’s barely in high school, studying until she graduates. And I was always happy with Ava. At least until she made me realize how much we’d fallen into a routine. Guess it was too late to fight for it. Or maybe she was never really happy and there was no reason left to fight.

“I don’t know,” I reply sincerely. “I think the only thing I miss is the idea of what we once were.”

That’s not really love. Is it?

Don’t hate her either. Ava gave me a relationship I’ll never forget, but she also gave me years of living in the same house, kissing good morning when we woke up, each one of us leaving for work, getting home, kissing goodnight, and occasionally having sex if I wasn’t too tired or if she didn’t have a headache.

I should’ve known. Those are the first signs your relationship is slowly ending: coldness, robotically asking how work was, kisses transforming into pecks, and goodbyes that didn’t hurt like in the old days.

“Right. Let’s go put all of this in the car,” says Liv, breaking me from my reverie.

I nod, grabbing a handful of tools and walking towards my car. Olivia stays silent beside me, lost in thought. We put all the stuff in the boot.

“You’ll be the one telling her she has only two days to prepare,” Liv announces. I sigh. That could make Indigo change her mind.

Won’t blame her for it, but I don’t have another option, so I might as well try.

“Fair enough,” I smile, grab her by the shoulders and kiss her forehead. “We’re crazy for doing this, don’t you think?”

“Totally,” she laughs, and I can’t explain how much that sound warms my heart.

We walk back to the house, as I try to come up with ideas for how I should handle this without making it awkward.