I'm going to Brown, Belly says to me. No, not without me you're not. I don't care how mad you are, I'm going with you. Mom will worry. She'll worry either way, she'll at least be glad we're going together. Hurry and pack a bag then. Yay.
We get out and call Jere. He tells us to meet him at Conrad's dorm. He tells us Conrad hasn't been answering. What a douche. Like no offense or anything, but it's just jerk behavior. Not now. We talk to his roommate and a girl and she says he went to Cousin's.
I climb into the car with Jere and drive to Cousin's. I tune out their conversations and go to sleep. Belly wakes me up and says we're there. I pull Jeremiah to the side. Fuck whatever you and Belly have going on. I was your friend too, and you should've at least talked to me. You have every damn right to be mad, but Steven and I missed you. My mom missed you. Autumn. Jere. We saved you a slice. Oh, yay. He laughs. Thank you. You're welcome. Levi calls and I answer. Hey. Is that Lee, Jere asks. Yes. Hey. I go inside and see Conrad. He says the house has been put up for sale. That's complete bullshit. I'm gonna go, I say before walking out.
I knock on the door and Olivia answers. Hey. Oh my goodness, it's good to see you. You have a hickey. I thought I covered it up, where? I touch it and she shudders. Sorry, I don't know your touch just made me, I don't know. We both laugh slightly. Well, Levi is upstairs. Thank you. I knock on his door and he opens it. Oh my, baby. He picks me up and spins me around. I craved his touch, it had been months. I missed you. I missed you too. He kisses me and I kiss back. This kiss deepens and we wind up on his bed. Wait, my parents are sleeping. They just got back from a trip and they're really tired. Then you'll have to be quiet. I think you're the one with the problem of being quiet. I roll my eyes and kiss him on the cheek. How has school been? School. Very vivid, I can picture it now. You should put your talent into being a writer. Like my mommy? Yeah. I miss Susannah. I know. He hugs me and I hug back. I missed you too. I know. But hey, enough of the sad stuff. I roll on top of him. What college are you going to? About that. I uh haven't decided fully yet. Well, it doesn't matter, I'll visit you anywhere on the map. What if it was a world away? Is it? No. Good, that makes seeing you much easier, but I wasn't lying. Where you go I'll follow. It'll probably be somewhere close anyway, he says. I was thinking I would go to Penn state, I add. Are your choices anywhere close to that? The closest is NYU. What's 4 hours anyway? One week I'll visit you and- the next I'll visit you. Yep. I love you, I say playing with his hair. I love you more. I kiss him and lay my head on his chest. This is so much better than hugging my teddy bear with you on the phone. I agree. They're selling the beach house. What? I don't know why, or who but they're selling it and I left before they could figure anything out. It's ok, you were in shock. Right. Let's make a TikTok. The Sweeney Todd sound. Ok. I make it and post it and Bella likes it first. Damn, it's only been up 36 seconds. It's giving stalker. It's giving Taylor has had a major influence on your vocabulary. I send him a slideshow that says rise and shine it's back shot time. You are, I don't even know what to say to you. My laughing overlapping with his talking made it funnier. Oh so it's funny? No, I reply. You're laughing though. Because, you're funny. That's a compliment, I say laughing some more. Guess what I just learned in French, I say. I don't know, what? Voudrais-tu dormir avec moi ce soir? Do you know what means? No. It means would you like to sleep with me tonight. Oh, well. Well what, Autumn? Answer the question. Oui. Yippee. Ohh, you rhymed it. I'm the greatest poet ever. Yes you are. I sniffle. Sorry, I was just happy I don't know what's wrong with me. You're grieving, there's nothing wrong with you. I love you. I love you too. I smile at him.
