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12/21/16
"GRAY!" I SHOUT in excitement as I see my best friend enter the Hasting household with a large duffel bag in her hands. I knew her and Cale were finally arriving today, but I didn't know what time.
Her eyes widen at my presence, and she quickly drops her bag and runs to meet me in a fierce collision of hugging. We are completely smooshing each other, but neither of us cares. Because this time apart, no matter how small, has been life altering.
Grayson had Cale with her for the first time at her home in Virginia. For the first time together as a couple in front of her family. They've overcome leap and bounds being together after all this time, and being able to be around family together has shown just that.
My time in Easton has changed me as well in ways I never expected but also for the better. Tears prick my eyes, but not from sadness, from pure overwhelming joy.
"I've missed you," I tell her truthfully as I pull her in closer for a lingering second before finally releasing my best friend.
As she pulls away her eyes take over me and I know she can see the difference. See the change that's happened within me over the last couple of weeks. The sadness that clouds my eyes isn't as prominent, the sadness I always try to cover with fake happiness. Fake smiles. Fake, fake, fake. With my hair in its natural wavy state, not a lick of makeup covering my face, and in a simple flowy dress paired with an oversized cardigan, I'm as real as I've ever been. And it shows.
"Come on," she smiles. "Let's go for a walk," she suggests looping her arm through mine.
Cale casts her a questioning gaze, and for a moment I feel bad I haven't greeted Cale and am taking away his girlfriend. But Grayson quickly waves him off and leads me through the Hasting's house until we are peeling our shoes off and walking through the soft sand. I pull my arms across my body as the cool wind bounces off the waves and hits my pink cheeks.
We walk our ways down the beach until we both come to a stop a ways down from the house. We both lower ourselves into the soft grains and sit in silence as we both stare at the crashing waves. With the wind they are wilder, and we both watch as the blue hues mix with the grey sky. We let the wind wrap around us, chilling us ever so slightly without the hot sun to warm us. We take in the beauty around us before we talk about the changes we've experienced.
My best friend speaks first, letting her words mix with the wind. "When Cale ran out on my sister at their wedding, he didn't speak to his dad for months," Grayson tells me as her eyes focus on the water.
My eyebrows rise at her words in surprise. "Really?" I question. I will never forget last summer when Grayson came into her room crying and shaking. That night she told me about Cale's words, how it was his father's idea for him to end his relationship with her. I remember how his words almost ruined her. I know that life will never be easy, but I think that might've been the hardest moment in hers. Watching a man she couldn't help but love be with someone else. Her sister of all people.
