Three Years Later | ✓

31 | Glimmer of Hope

"YEAH, I GET IT. Sometimes I kind of want to give it up, but I know that I'd miss it too much," I replied as Stacey and I sat inside Bella's while talking about dance. Since our spring break was coming to a close, Stacey and I decided to hang out before the last few months of the school year started again and another round of essays ensued.

"Since we're talking about dance, I have something to tell you." Stacey put her drink down and turned a bit more serious. "As you know, we had a performance the other day and after the show, I met a casting director for an upcoming Broadway show. He encouraged me to send in a video audition for the lead dancing role, and I got it," Stacey said calmly with a huge grin, although if I were her I'd be jumping out of my seat.

My eyes widened and a giant smile spread across my lips. "Oh my gosh, congrats! That's amazing!"

"Thanks, I know it's unbelievable. Sometimes I have to re-read the email they sent me to make sure that it wasn't a dream," she chuckled.

"Wait, so does that mean you'll be leaving Berkeley?" I questioned, a bit sad to think about the thought of Stacey leaving.

"No, right now the script is being finalized. I'll miss a few months here and there to go to New York and figure out my living situation and meet other people who got cast. But by the time rehearsals start, I'll be fresh out of college," she grinned at the thought.

I was still rendered speechless, my own heart racing at the excitement of it all, and was only able to say, "Wow, I'm so happy for you!"

∞

"YEAH, SEE YOU SOON. Have a safe flight, bye." Held between my ear and shoulder, I hung up the phone and shoved it into my back pocket as I neared the exit, agreeing to pick Ava and Hunter up from the airport when they landed. After Stacey left an hour ago for an appointment, I stayed in Bella's for a bit longer, finishing up the rest of my coffee. Before leaving, I decided to order two coffees to go, one for Milo and the other for myself to drink tomorrow. 

With two coffee cups in my hands, I turned around and started to push the door with my back. A moment later, the door unexpectedly swung out faster than I was pushing, causing me to stumble a bit from the sudden movement. My head whipped to the side and saw a white cotton shirt in front of me.

"Woah, thank you..." My voice trailed off as I looked up to see who was holding the door for me, the smile on my face fading away as my grip on the paper tray tightened.

"Hey, can we talk?" James warily asked, still holding the door open. Sensing my hesitation, he added, "Please? I promise it won't take that long."

After a deep inhale, I nodded and we sat at one of the tables outside.

"I'm sorry, Hadley." James stared at me dead in the eyes as he uttered those words before his head hung low, distress and shame in his expression. "What I said that day in the quad was wrong and I let my emotions get the better of me. I never should've uttered any of those nasty words to you, but all I could see was red. I would never intentionally hurt you on purpose, and I know these shitty reasons don't give me an excuse for the things I said to you, but I need you to know that as soon as you walked away, I immediately regretted everything that happened and it's been constantly on my mind since. I'm truly sorry, Hadley."

That feeling overwhelmed me again, an invisible pressure on my chest. I took in a deep breath as I tried to calm down, taking in all of James's words.