I clear my throat. “We actually broke up, so…” So none of this really matters. The words hurt to say.

“What?” My mom sounds shocked. “When did that happen?”

I turn around, pressing my stomach against the edge of the island and propping up on my elbows. “A few days ago. But we weren’t together. Not really.” Even as I say it, I know it’s not true. “I mean, we were just for the summer. That’s why we broke up.”

My mom looks disgusted and a pang of guilt rips through me at the thought that she blames Aiden for any of this.

“It was me. I was the one who decided it was just for the summer.” I swallow down the lump in my throat. “He didn’t know I was leaving. It was my fault.”

The kitchen is quiet as my mother and Aunt Sarah process what I already know: that I haven’t been that great of a person this summer. I can feel my chest getting tight and a single hot tear slip out of my eye. I don’t wipe it away because I don’t want to bring attention to it. Maybe no one will notice, and I can just stop talking about this. Is it possible that I could be that lucky?

“Sweetie…” Aunt Sarah’s voice is soft and sympathetic. “I’m sorry.”

I nod, looking down at my fingertips that are drumming on the striped wood under them.

Mom leans across the counter, mirroring me. “That boy adored you.”

I’m not sure why she says it, why she has to cut me with the words when I’m already sliced through in a million spots. All I can do is nod and give a mumbled “I know.”

“So do something about this,” she says in a firm voice. “If you don’t want it to be over, don’t let it be.”

I look up at a face that looks a lot like mine, her eyes burning with excitement. “He broke it off. He’s done.” I hate hearing the words come out of my mouth.

“And that’s okay with you?” she asks.

Okay with me? It sucks. “It doesn’t really matter. I’m leaving.”

“For a year. A year isn’t that long, Olivia.” She’s looking at me like I’m missing something so obvious. “If you don’t want to, if you’re over it anyway, that’s fine. But if not, you’re being short-sighted. A year will fly by. Look how fast the summer has gone.”