One

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sarah asked again, which meant she’d already asked me four times in the last twenty minutes. I didn’t bother looking over at her. She was still leaning too far back in our shared computer chair. I ignored the question and finished shoving the last pair of shoes into the large burgundy suitcase.

“Kam.” She switched to her motherly tone, and I let out a sigh.

“I don’t really have a choice. God knows I haven’t seen him in a year.” Hearing the words out loud caused me to flinch. Had it really been a year? He was probably so mad at me because we hadn’t been apart like that since our parents died. I slammed the suitcase shut and glanced around my room one last time. Sarah and I had met when we both started at San Joaquin Valley. We had bonded over our extreme dislike for the class bully and had been inseparable ever since, well, until now. I felt terrible that I was leaving her behind, but I was done with my classes, and there weren’t any openings for a Veterinary Tech in Ontario. Since my parents were gone, I only had one place left I could go.

“You do have a choice. You could stay here with me instead of moving hundreds of miles away.” Eight hundred miles away, but who’s counting? I could tell she was pissed at me by the way she puckered her lips and her beautifully drawn brows pulled down. She shook her head vigorously, causing her pink curls to bounce around and stray tendrils to stick to her glossed lips.

“I’m sorry, Sarah, but I need to see him.” I pleaded with her. I needed her to understand that I wasn’t trying to hurt her.

“Oh, you need to see him? Which him would that be, Kam? Your brother or him?” Her eyes darkened in accusation. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I could feel my blood boiling under my skin.

“That’s not fair, and you know it.” I shot back before grabbing my suitcase and heading for the door. There was no way I was going to stand around and listen to her judge me for things she didn’t understand. I was halfway through the apartment before she jumped in front of me with her hands up.

“Look, Kam, I’m sorry, and I know that was a shitty thing to say. I just don’t want you to go.” Tears were rolling down her face now, and I felt a surge of guilt. I hated doing this, leaving her here alone. Well, not alone. She found Sawyer, and I could tell that he made her happy. He even asked her to move in with him, but she didn’t, because of me. She would never admit it, but I knew I was the reason she said no. And now she didn’t have to.

“It’s not forever, Sarah. I’ll come back and see you. I promise.” I pulled her in for a hug, and we stayed like that for several minutes, both of us crying now. A car honked three times, telling me I was going to be late. “I’ll call you when I get there.”

I didn’t stick around to hear her answer. My feet made the only sounds as I quickly rushed out the door and down three flights of stairs to the black car patiently waiting for me. The suitcase gave me a little trouble, but within minutes both it and I were seated and ready to go.

“Thanks for waiting,” I greeted the boy driving and sat back against the plush leather seats. He wasted no time pulling off into the heavy traffic lining the streets. It would be hours before I made it to the airport. My long dark curls snagged as I peeled off my backpack. A happy sigh escaped as I pulled out my copy of The Fourth Wing. If there was one thing I was such a sucker for, it was fantasy and romance and all things dragon. Really couldn’t get enough, but I was taking it slow. It was too good to finish too soon.

A piece of white was sticking out from the top, just inside the cover, and my heart squeezed painfully at the reminder. I gently pulled the letter out and opened it for the hundredth time. I had opened it so much that it was tearing slightly at the edges.

*Kam,

We’ve missed you. Zak has been going out of his mind. He hasn’t heard from you and is worried that he won’t see you this Christmas. I don’t know what happened, but it would be great to see you.

In case you decide to come.

Ryder*

It wasn’t enough just to send me the letter. No, Ryder had also sent a plane ticket and two thousand in cash. For expenses, he’d said, but he knew that my expenses weren’t that, well, expensive. I had hoped Ryder wouldn’t be there this year, but of course, I wouldn’t get that lucky. There was nothing wrong with my brother’s best friend. Didn’t hate him or anything. It was the opposite. I cared about him too much, and he only saw me as my brother’s little sister. It was mortifying to realize that I was falling in love with him. So I stayed away. I didn’t go back for Zak’s birthday or any of the holidays, and I know I broke his heart. But I had secrets of my own, and they needed to stay that way. I also couldn’t stand being around Ryder.

And yet here I was, on my way to the airport to do exactly that.