Austin sits next to me, pushing the porch swing slowly with his long legs extended in front of us. His hand tangles in my hair as he stares out onto his street. I stare up at him, the wonder of being together still stirring in my gut. This guy likes me. He chose me.
His brows furrow, and he looks down at his feet, eyes glazing.
"Texas? Where'd you go?" I tease, nudging him with my shoulder. He snaps out of it, his usual smile nowhere to be seen. A knot of dread curls in my stomach.
"Sorry, just lost in thought I guess. Did you ask me something?"
"No," I answer, tucking myself against his chest. Even the sound of his heartbeat doesn't keep my palms from sweating. "What's on your mind, Texas?"
He doesn't answer. I sit up, slipping out from under his arm. He lets it fall to his side without looking over at me. "Austin?"
"I think we need to break up."
My stomach drops and tears prick my eyes, but I try to hold them back. Maybe I misheard him. "Okay, I can give you space. That's fine-"
"That's not what I meant, Mia." His voice is quiet as he studies his hands instead of looking at my face while he tells me we're done.
"What do you mean then?" I hate that my voice wavers, that you can hear the tears barely balancing on the precipice.
He sighs, rubbing his face with both hands. "I just—" Swallowing, he tries again. "You're going places, big places, and I- I'm just a jock."
Finally, he swings his brilliant blue eyes over to meet mine. Chuckling despite the tears that continue to cling to my lashes, I rest my hand on his arm.
"You could never be just a jock, Texas. You are so much more."
"Don't," He whispers, shaking his head. "It's only a matter of time before- before you leave me behind. We both knew there would be an end to this before it even began."
My mouth drops open. "What? You might've thought that, but I never did."
My voice breaks at the end, and I close my eyes against the hurt. I never saw this coming. A breath shudders out of me, and I feel Austin lay his hand on my shoulder. I shift farther away on the swing until it falls away. He honestly can't expect to break my heart and comfort me in the same moment.
"Can– Can we at least still be friends? I'd hate to lose you completely."
My head snaps up as tears drip down my cheeks. Still, I force the fakest smile of my life and nod. "Yeah. Yeah, of course."
He wipes his hands on his legs, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Great."
Before I can do anything stupid — like beg him not to do this — I stand and walk down his porch steps, likely for the last time. I shove the thought from my mind before the tears turn into full on sobs. Wiping my cheeks, I stumble down the road towards my house. The house where my two sisters will interrogate me as to why I'm crying and then insist on revenge.
When I get to the end of the road, I take the turn away from home. It's probably best I process this before going back and having to explain everything to them. I end up sitting on the grass at a park, staring at the little blades breaking beneath my fingers. It's oddly cathartic. Not thinking, not crying, just ripping out grass at a park.
My phone buzzes beside me for the sixth time in the last five minutes. I pick it up, answering when I see Angie's face filling the screen. The second the FaceTime connects, her actual face breaks into relief.
"Mia! Where in the world are you? And why haven't you been answering your phone? You were supposed to be home an hour ago!" She pauses her string of questions and statements, squinting at the phone. "And have you been crying?"
Isa appears over her shoulder, looking down at me with a single raised eyebrow. I look away from her intense gaze.
"She has. Who do I need to beat up?" She asks, cracking her knuckles.
That finally breaks me out of the fog, and I laugh. Harder than necessary, but it's better than crying. The burst ends with a few snorts, and I wipe my nose while Isa and Angie stare at me like I've gone mad. And maybe I have.
"No one to beat up, Isa. Just a break up." I attempt a smile, but it soon turns watery.
"WHAT?" Angie exclaims, her eyes turning murderous. "Austin broke things off? Why would he do that?"
I shrug, looking back down at the grass still clutched in my hand. Releasing it, I brush it out. "He said something about going different places," I mumble.
"Seriously? We're only in high school! Come on!" You can always count on Angie to be on your side, unless of course it's against her. Even then sometimes she caves and turns over to your side.
"Don't worry, we'll get back at him," Isa promises with a sinister smirk. To which I shake my head vehemently.
"Can we please just do Taylor Swift and ice cream? I swear that's all I need."
Identical smiles curl their lips when I mention our sad day ritual. It's what we did when Angie's hamster died — rip Hammy — and every time Isa lost a debate match. Every time something hasn't gone our way, we've done it.
"Of course we will," Isa says softly. "Just after we get revenge."
"No revenge please." I beg Isa with my eyes until her shoulders droop. "He and I are- we're still friends. It's not like he was a jerk about it."
"Okay," Angie whispers. "Come on home, we'll have it all ready when you get here."
The first real smile in hours touches my lips, and I nod. We hang up with Angie blowing me a kiss, and I stand. I take a second to look around at the blue skies and take a deep breath. I'm going to be okay.
When I get home, Isa's standing in the kitchen holding a bag of ice to her hand. The moment she sees me, both snap behind her back. My hands drop to my hips.
"What did you do?"
Her posture relaxes, and she looks at my cooly. "I was just keeping a promise."
"To who? Because I told you-"
"Don't worry about it, okay? It's not a big deal."
I sigh, folding my arms. She strolls over, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
"Let's get to screaming along to the dumb boy songs. You know that's my favorite."
A/N: okay, this takes place a couple months before the book starts. All of these characters show up within the first couple chapters, and the book alternates POV's between Isa, Angie and Mia. I really hope you enjoy this story, we've definitely enjoyed writing it!
~ Emmie
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The May Flowers: Time Travel 101
Teen Fiction(TT101) Three triplet sisters create a time machine to travel forward in time. What will they find? Will they be able to return home to their friends and family before it's too late?
