Chapter 2

The first thing I did the next morning was change the lock on my bedroom door.

My parents were at work. I had the house to myself.

It was a small act, but it felt significant.

A boundary.

Then, I started cleaning.

Not just tidying up. I was purging.

Every photo, every gift, every trinket that reminded me of Olivia and Maya.

The shell Olivia brought me from her family' s trip to the Caribbean when we were ten.

The first-edition sci-fi novel Maya tracked down for my thirteenth birthday.

The concert ticket stubs, the silly notes passed in class, the matching friendship bracelets we' d sworn to wear forever.

All of it went into a large black trash bag.

It felt like shedding a skin I' d outgrown, a skin that had started to suffocate me.

I was dragging the heavy bag towards the garage when the doorbell rang.

I froze.

Through the peephole, I saw them. Olivia and Maya.

Perfectly styled, as always. Olivia in a crisp white sundress, Maya in designer jeans and a band t-shirt that probably cost more than my monthly allowance.

My heart hammered. I hadn' t expected them.

I considered not answering, but they' d probably just use their key.

My mom had given them one years ago, for "emergencies."

I opened the door, blocking the entrance with my body.

"Hey," I said, my voice carefully neutral.

"Ethan! There you are!" Olivia' s smile was bright, a little too bright.

"We were just in the neighborhood, thought we' d swing by," Maya added, peering past me into the house.

Then her eyes landed on the black trash bag at my feet.

Olivia noticed it too. Her smile faltered.

"What' s... what' s in the bag, Ethan?" she asked, her voice softer.

Maya' s gaze fixed on a corner of a faded blue ribbon sticking out.

Her eyes widened.

"Is that...?" She stepped closer. "Is that the ribbon from the kite we won at the state fair? The one we flew until it crashed into Mrs. Henderson's oak tree?"

A flash of memory: us, ten years old, covered in mud, laughing hysterically as we tried to retrieve the tangled kite. A good memory. Tainted now.

Olivia' s eyes, sharp and discerning, spotted something else.

A small, tarnished silver locket.

"And that locket," she breathed, her hand flying to her own throat, where an identical one usually lay. "The 'best friends' lockets we bought at the mall with our first babysitting money."

She looked at me, her perfectly sculpted eyebrows drawing together.

"Ethan, what are you doing?" Her voice was laced with disbelief. "Are you throwing these things away?"

She sounded genuinely shocked, as if the thought was incomprehensible.

"It' s just... spring cleaning," I said, my voice flat.

"Spring cleaning?" Maya echoed, her tone incredulous. "Ethan, these are... these are our memories. You can' t just throw them away like they' re garbage!"

"Why not?" I asked, meeting her gaze.

Olivia stepped forward, her expression a mixture of hurt and accusation.

"This is extreme, Ethan. Even for you. Is this about prom? We already apologized for that. Liam was having a genuine crisis."

A genuine crisis. Right. His rented tux was "ruined" by a "clumsy dry cleaner." So they' d bought him a custom designer suit. While I stood there, dateless.

"We said we were sorry," Olivia repeated, as if that erased everything.

Even Maya, usually the more outspoken one, looked taken aback by my silence.

"E, come on," she said, her voice softer than Olivia's. "Talk to us. What' s going on? This isn' t like you."

I almost laughed. This was exactly like the new me.

The me they hadn' t bothered to see.

I thought about telling them then. About Yale. About the fact that our "EOM Forever" was truly, finally over.

The words were on the tip of my tongue.

Why bother? a voice in my head whispered. They wouldn' t get it. They' d twist it. Make it about them.

"I' m just decluttering," I said, shrugging. "Making space."

My calmness seemed to unnerve them more than an outburst would have.

Olivia searched my face, her eyes narrowed. "Are you... okay, Ethan?"

"Never better," I replied, and for once, it wasn' t entirely a lie.

Maya looked from me to Olivia, then back to the bag.

"So, you' re really just... throwing it all out?" she asked, a hint of pleading in her voice.

"Yep," I said, popping the 'p'.

Olivia seemed to take my calm demeanor as a sign that the storm had passed.

She smoothed her dress. "Well, okay. If you' re sure."

Maya still looked uneasy. "We were going to ask if you wanted to grab lunch. Celebrate UCLA acceptances finally being official for all of us."

UCLA. The word hung in the air.

I just smiled faintly. "Can' t. Busy."

"Oh. Okay," Olivia said, a flicker of disappointment in her eyes. She probably had a whole lecture planned.

"We' ll see you at graduation practice then?" Maya asked.

"Sure," I said.

They left, Olivia glancing back once with a puzzled frown.

Maya kept her eyes forward.

I watched them walk down the driveway, their expensive cars gleaming in the sun.

They were probably already texting Liam, dissecting my "weird" behavior.

I dragged the trash bag to the curb.

Good riddance.

Later that afternoon, I saw Maya' s Instagram story.

A selfie of her, Olivia, and Liam, beaming, clinking champagne flutes.

Caption: "To UCLA! The dream team is coming! So excited for the next chapter with my faves! ❤️ @OliviaHayes @LiamSpencer."

No mention of me.

Of course.

I closed the app. It didn' t even sting anymore. It just confirmed.

A week later, a thick envelope with the Yale bulldog insignia arrived.

My official acceptance packet. Housing information. Orientation schedule.

It felt solid in my hands. Real.

A new beginning.

The doorbell rang again. This time, I knew who it would be.

Olivia and Maya stood on the porch, identical beaming smiles on their faces.

Each clutched a UCLA acceptance packet.

"Ethan! We did it!" Olivia squealed, waving her packet.

"All three of us! UCLA, here we come!" Maya cheered. "We came to get you. We' re all going out to celebrate! Our parents booked that new Italian place downtown."

They looked so expectant, so sure of my shared joy.

My shared future.

I almost felt sorry for them. Almost.

"That' s great, guys," I said, my voice even.

Olivia' s smile wavered slightly. "You don' t sound very excited, E. Aren' t you thrilled? We' re all going together! Just like we planned!"

"Are you coming or not?" Maya asked, a hint of her usual impatience creeping in. "Liam' s meeting us there."

Of course he was.

I leaned against the doorframe. "Actually, I have some other plans."

Their faces fell.

"Other plans?" Olivia repeated. "What other plans could be more important than this?"

I was tempted, so tempted, to tell them right then.

To see the shock, the disbelief.

But not yet. The timing wasn' t right. Graduation day was coming. That would be a much better stage.

"Just some family stuff," I said vaguely.

Maya huffed. "Family stuff? Can' t it wait? This is a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, Ethan!"

"Come on, E," Olivia coaxed. "Don' t be a party pooper. It won' t be the same without you."

Liar. It would be exactly the same for them, as long as Liam was there.

Reluctantly, I let them drag me out.

"Fine," I said. "But I can't stay long."

Their smiles returned, triumphant.

They had no idea.

The restaurant was noisy and crowded.

Liam was already there, holding court at a large table, Olivia and Maya' s parents fawning over him.

He waved when he saw us, his smile a little too wide.

"Ethan! Buddy! Glad you could make it!"

Olivia and Maya rushed to his side, leaving me trailing behind.

"We had to practically drag him here," Maya said, laughing, as she squeezed in next to Liam.

"He said he had 'family stuff'," Olivia added, rolling her eyes playfully.

Their parents greeted me politely, but their attention was clearly on Liam.

He was telling some animated story about his "tough background" and how grateful he was for their support.

I found a seat at the edge of the group, feeling like an observer at my own life' s party.

The air conditioning in the restaurant was blasting.

I was seated directly under a vent, and a chill seeped into my bones.

I shivered, rubbing my arms.

No one noticed. They were all captivated by Liam.

He was now dramatically recounting how Olivia and Maya had "saved him" during prom.

"I was devastated," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "But these two amazing girls, they just swept in like angels."

Olivia and Maya preened.

I felt a headache starting.

Liam, noticing my discomfort, or perhaps wanting to draw attention to it, leaned over.

"You cold, Ethan?" he asked, his voice dripping with false concern.

Then, with a flourish, he "accidentally" knocked my glass of ice water into my lap.

"Oh, clumsy me!" he exclaimed, not sounding sorry at all.

A few people chuckled. Olivia and Maya tutted at him playfully.

I just sat there, soaked and shivering, the icy water seeping through my jeans.

I didn' t say a word.

There was no point.

I was just counting down the days.