Forever Could Be Ours

Chapter 21. | Spilled Secrets

HAYLEIGH

"The least he could have done was give you a warning," Matty says, looking over the rim of his beer. The coldness of his tone matches his frown, his gaze fixated on the beer pong match.

I don't need to follow his gaze to know who he is talking about. Even if I shut my eyes and pretended William Blaine wasn't present at tonight's bonfire party, his pitch-high drunk voice finds its way to hold my attention.

He acts like he never left the country in the first place.

Despite the huge delay thanks to the thunderstorm lockdown at the start of the school year and the activity committee being busy with other events, tonight's bonfire energy mirrors what it would have been months ago.

If not, even wilder.

With midterms coming up soon, enjoying a night of complete disconnection feels incredibly refreshing. My bedroom looks like the office essentials section at Target, my walls are completely covered from all the colored sticky notes I've scribbled on.

When another lion-imitated aggressive groan appears from the flip table, I can't help but look. "A warning would be too much to expect from him." I shrug, tearing my gaze away, watching Matty wear a caring sympathetic look on his face.

"He wanted it to be a cute surprise. He turned out to be the only one surprised, as I wasn't jumping into his arms like he expected me to."

Despite the rumors and Mrs. Blaine's words at the airport, watching Will walk into the classroom was like seeing a ghost from your past digging through their grave only to hunt you down and drown you with old memories, good and bad.

I had been scrolling through the scenario too many times to count. Mentally practicing the monolog I would present him about how much power a human holds when they have your heart in their hands, only to shatter it.

I needed to prepare myself for the day we would meet again, even if it meant having mental discussions in the shower to prepare for what I had to say and sound like a complete maniac.

But as he stood there, with his grey eyes and freckled cheeks, all I felt was a force of numbness. A wave of sadness rushed through me, but not for the reasons I had prepared for during those shower monologs.

Seeing Will again only made me realize that the people you thought would follow you to the end of life, don't always share the same feelings about you – and that's okay.

There are just different ways to execute your feelings, and leaving me without a word wasn't one of Will's greatest decisions.

"Boys are idiots," Audrey voices, being completely transparent about eavesdropping our conversation.

"I'll try not to take that personally," Matty reaches over to pinch her arm, earning a quick slap in return.

She warns him with her drink, shaking her head as if she already knows his next move. "You know what I mean. It's hard to find a guy who actually worships you for who you are and not what you have. Boys like you, Matthew, are critically endangered species and rare to obtain."

Audrey's cheeks match her auburn red hair as she realizes what she just said. Matty leans forward in his chair with a cheesy dimpled smirk. "Was that a compliment?"

"It's never a compliment."

"Right," Matty nods with a teasing face, taking a swig of his beer.

"Okay, everyone. The rules are simple." Jake calls for everyone's attention as he taps his index finger on the turquoise package of Let's Get Drunk. "The deck of cards gets passed around, you pick a card and read it out loud."