(COMPLETE)
After dropping out of college to join the military, Mike wasn't heard from again. Now, six years later, he's sauntering back into town with new hair, a new physique, and... a new personality?
He's definitely not the man Lindsey remembers...
Andy must have driven off in the wrong direction with the intention of backtracking so he could slip the note under my wiper after I'd returned to the backyard. I don't know why I never really considered him before. It all makes sense when I think about it. The fact that the notes didn't start coming until the day after I'd seen him at his sister's soccer game. We'd only seen each other a handful of times prior to that day, but since then everything seems to have changed. The fact that he tends to leave before everyone else when we have get-togethers—giving him the perfect opportunity without being spotted. The fact that he kissed me. How did I not see it before?
The truth is, I'm not disappointed. In fact, the warm tightening in my stomach suggests I might even be a little bit excited by the prospect. Andy Fletcher? Who would have thought? Maybe I would have considered Andy a lot sooner if thoughts of Mike hadn't kept getting in the way. It makes sense that Mike would consider us good for each other too. We've been best friends for years, we get along well, we trust each other, understand each other.
Hope.
That's the word Mike had used to describe my relationship with my—at the time—anonymous note giver. I get it now. I can see it too. Andy and I are both hurting and wounded, but it's the kind of pain that we can grow together with. We can be there for each other, be that support that the other needs. Unlike Mike and me where I'm completely lost as to how I should handle him.
The strange thing about all this is how secretive Andy's been about it. I've never seen him as a coward. He's the confident one who would rather be upfront and honest and risk looking like a fool then hide the truth from his friends. Even when he's not ready to divulge all his secrets to me, he makes it known that he has them and will reveal them when he's ready. I can respect that. These notes though, they seem a little unusual. Unless he was holding back in case Mike and I managed to make it work. Andy would never be the type to try and stand in someone's way of true happiness.
I drop my gaze back down to the five words scrawled across the page in my hand:
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Again, I see the star at the bottom in place of a signature. My eyes analyze the writing, trying to decipher the meaning behind it. I'd originally assumed the star was hinting at the notes being from one of the Starling brothers, but knowing that the notes are coming from Andy allows my mind to open up to other ideas. Looking closer, I find that two of the lines of the star are faded, like residual strokes of the pen that weren't intended to actually be part of the image. Mentally erasing the two fainter streaks, I realize that it's not a star. It's an 'A'. He'd literally signed the note with his initial.
I could slap myself in the head for how obvious it is now that I'm looking at it from a new perspective. A fresh wave of energy washes over me and rather than putting out the fire, I let the smoldering coals offer their last remnants of heat while I settle back down into one of the lawn chairs and pull out my phone. My fingers slide over the screen until I find Andy's number, and without hesitation, I hit 'send'.
