Everywhere, Everything. ★ STURNIOLO TRIPLETS

CHAPTER SEVEN

The skyline had become a watercolor painting by the time we arrived at Next Chapter to say goodbye to Jenny. Strokes of fuchsia and deep plum bled into vibrant orange, backlighting the sleepy town. The mountains stood still in the distance, tinged in a spectacular purple.

A wave of emotion washed over me. These streets, these people, had welcomed me into their world without a second thought only a handful of months ago. I'd become a regular face in their lives. From sitting in the same window seat at Last Cup to dropping books off at their doorsteps when Jenny couldn't do it herself, Woodbury was the closest I'd ever felt to being at home. And any minute I was going to abandon it for - what? - a sliver of a chance to know the man who'd done the same to me?

Jenny's face was a jumbled mess of pride, sadness, and worry. Her wrinkles were prominent in the fading daylight, bringing that same wash of emotion back to the surface.

"Please don't cry." I draped my body around hers, her chin quivering against the base of my neck. Every muscle in my body was straining to hold back tears. I couldn't do this.

I pulled back, holding her face in my palms. Water seeped from the corners of her round mahogany eyes and I swear to God a piece of me cracked inside.

"I don't have to go," I whispered, wiping at her cheeks. If she asked me to stay, I would.

"Oh, please!" she sniffed. Her warm hands came down on mine, squeezing tenderly. "I'll be fine. You need to do this for yourself. Plus, it's only a few days." Uncertainty was burrowed in the words.

It was only supposed to be a few days. But Jenny knew just as well as I did that if showing up on my father's doorstep ended in any way I'd hoped, there was no real knowing of when I'd return to Woodbury.

I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my forehead to hers. There was so much I wanted to say. So much I didn't know how to put into words. Without Jenny I would've spent the last six months sleeping in the backseat of my rundown Civic in a gas station parking lot - or worse, back in Modesto, listening to my mother criticize me for not even being able to run away properly.

Jenny had managed to show me what it felt like to be loved wholly in a way I'd never known.

"I'm scared," I muttered. Saying it out loud made it real, and all of the fears I'd spent the last twenty years of my life ignoring came snapping back to the forefront of my brain like a rubberband. My bottom lip trembled.

"Oh, baby, of course you are," Jenny said with a voice so maternal my body couldn't hold back tears any longer. Steady streams of salty water ran into my mouth. A series of sharp intakes of breath filled my lungs as Jenny ran a delicate hand along my hair, smoothing the frizzy waves back into place. I leaned into the touch.

"Look at me," she said and I did. She nodded over my shoulder. "You listen, now. It doesn't matter if this man slams the door in your face or if he turns out to be everything you've ever prayed for - those boys are going to stand by you."

Matt, Chris and Nick were keeping their distance at the car, waiting patiently for me to call them over. "How do you know?" I asked smally.

A knowing smile spread across her face. "I see the way they look at you."

I'd noticed it, too. Of course I did. It made me nervous how easily Matt and Chris could see right through me, calling me out, making space so I could feel everything I needed instead of burying it like I was raised to do. Then, there was how Nick comforted me at Barney's like I was his little big sister, clinging to my hand as if he could siphon the pain away.

I turned back to her. "We haven't known each other that long..."

She arched her brow. "And you think that matters?" She scoffed, shaking her head fiercely. "You don't decide when love happens. Love happens to you."

My shoulders tensed at the word. There wasn't a chance in hell these boys loved me, but there was also no denying that an affection was growing between us. Every day we spent together I could feel the walls I'd so carefully put up begin to crack.

I sucked in another unsteady breath, centering myself. I beckoned for the boys to come over and they were beside me in an instant.

"Get in here, Jenny," Chris said, opening his arms wide.

The three of them promised to take good care of me, and she gave them a look that said she believed it.

As I gave her one last tight hug I tried to remind myself that this wasn't an ending. I'd see her again. No matter how long, this couldn't, it wouldn't be the last time we were together.

She stood on the edge of the curb waving as we piled into the packed SUV, and I didn't even bother trying to pretend like I wasn't looking back.

"Ready?" Matt asked.

I pressed my palm against the passenger window. "As I'll ever be."

Nick and Chris reached for me in the front seat, resting their hands on my arm. In the side mirror, life as I knew it disintegrated in the distance.

AUTHOR NOTE: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I know it's short, but more is coming. <3 Drop a vote and comment!