Close As Strangers

One.

Close As Strangers Rewritten. Copyright © July 2019. All rights reserved.

Now Playing... Haunted

The delicate scent of spearmint engulfed my nostrils as I stood by the doorway, waiting patiently, and with it, my brain flooded with pictures of him. His piercing green eyes that seemed to be able to read me without hesitation, his bright smile and his gentle laughter, the way he threw his head back and his eyes squinted when he was genuinely happy. His arms around my waist, holding me tightly, and then I saw his face before he left that day, in the airport. If I thought hard enough, my cheeks were still damp with thousands of tears spilled for the boy who always seemed to find his way back into my life-- into my heart. So much time had passed since he left, and all I had was the fleeting memory of when we parted. I lost the sound of his voice, the touch of his fingers against my skin. My chest ached at the thought. No one could have ever replaced him. As I stood by the door that day, two years after he left, I kept thinking I saw flashes of him outside the window, smiling as he saw me waiting for him to come through the door.

But Wes never came home that day. Or the rest of the year.

***

"Hey, baby." Mason's voice echoed through the line, and I smiled. "How do you feel about going on a date today?"

I giggled, clutching the phone closer to my ear. "I'd love to. What time?"

"I'll be there around three. I love you, beautiful."

"I love you too, Mason."

He hung up, and I smiled more, sighing happily as I sat on the edge of my bed. Mason and I met in my freshman year at university, and we immediately hit it off. He was an aerospace engineering major, and I had been undecided, but we had ended up in the same English class together. Every day, he sat beside me and told me some extravagant story about his childhood back home, and every day, I found myself enjoying his presence more, while the boy who had been nagging in the back of my mind was slowly slipping away.

"Molly! Look at this picture I made!" Nova squealed, running into my room, and I chuckled as she sat down beside me, placing the picture in my hands. On the paper was a crayon creation of a field, flowers, and sunshine, and in the middle of the field was a little girl, who I assumed was Nova, and holding her hand was a boy, which I knew was Wes. But what surprised me was the girl holding Wes' hand, that oddly resembled me. As much as I tried to push the feelings away, they started to resurface, and I found myself swallowing that familiar lump in my throat again.

"I-it's beautiful, Nova." I smiled at her, and she shot me her toothy grin, holding the drawing in her hands.

"I can't wait to show Wessy when he gets home. Do you think he'll like it?"

I glanced at the picture at the three of us again, making sure she couldn't see how I really felt. "He'll love it."

***

Mason had taken me to a diner right outside of my neighborhood. We spent our time talking and laughing with each other, and I was grateful that he could easily erase the dull pain that still resided in my heart, even after three years. There was something about the way Mason held me, kissed me, and took care of me that made me believe he had been the only boy who had ever mattered in my life, even though my heart always wanted to argue otherwise.

After our date, he took me home, and the two of us spent the next couple hours in my room, watching movies and enjoying the time with each other.

"Molly, come downstairs quickly!" My mom hollered from the bottom of the stairs, and I sighed as I left Mason, making my way to the first floor of our house. When I finally found mom, my phone slipped from my hand, clattering to the floor, and the pain I had pushed away for three years tortured me at full force, as if it had been waiting for the day it could ruin me all over.

He was back. 

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Hi, loves!

I'm so excited to share the rewritten version of the second book. I'm very happy with it and I hope you all will be as well. 

This chapter is dedicated to MsKaylaTomlinson for the amazing trailer once again! Thank you so much! (:

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Much love always, 

-Abby