That was the thing about the good old days, I thought. No one told you at the time that they were the good old days.

“I don’t want to fight,” said Chad. “If you don’t want me to come in…”

“Then you’ll do what you do best and take off?” I asked.

Chad still looked like he didn’t understand what was happening. “That’s not what I’m going to do,” he said finally. “I hate that everything is so messy, Babe. I swear, if I could go back and—but I can’t. I wish I could, but it’s just easier to do things Penny’s way for now. She won’t stay mad forever.”

“Won’t she?” She still hated the boys who had made fun of her for being different when we were kids.

Chad must have been remembering her tendency to hold on to grudges between tight fists, too. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. The silence was deafening. He shifted on his feet, raised one shoulder in a hopeful shrug. “Can I get another hug?” he asked, not even realizing that my feet were dragging and my heart was sinking.

I wanted the hug more than I wanted to deny him. “Sure.” I put my arms around him and wondered how he became hers and I was the one in the middle of the ocean, alone against the waves. I was a ship in distress, desperate for a guiding light, but all I had was the soft pressure of Chad’s arms around my back.

“I’m really sorry,” he whispered into my ear.

Distracted by a lone figure coming up the hill, I didn’t answer Chad. The figure came closer and closer, golden with the sun, and as every second in Chad’s embrace seemed to drag on, Levi sharpened in visibility.

He froze, expression still too far away for me to see, and I wanted to shout out to him, Come up! Come up!

His easel was still here, so I knew he’d come to continue painting. I kept waiting for him to approach, but he didn’t make a move. I raised the arm that was around Chad and waved.

Levi waved back.

I wiggled in Chad’s arms until he let me go. “I guess I’ll see you around, then,” I said, dragging my eyes away from Levi. I had to get rid of Chad—quickly.

While Chad gripped the handlebars to pull the bike up, I scanned the hill for Levi.

What? My lips parted in surprise. He was leaving. He’d turned around and was heading back to town, now too far away for me to call back unless I screeched. And God, did I feel like screeching just then.

“See ya, B.” Chad waved over his shoulder.