Rewrite the Stars

Chapter One - Unexpected Meetup

Three Years Later

I look up at the sky and release a breath. It is such a beautiful day. The sun is shining so bright and there's a little bit of breeze. It's so good to be back at Golden Hill. Just on the outskirts of Chicago, Golden Hill is a small town known for its beautiful weather during the summer, but I never truly appreciated it until now.

"Don't daydream too much. We still have a lot of boxes to carry inside." Layla, my quirky friend since high school, yells as she walks past me holding a heavy box in to my new rented house.

I look at her as a smile makes its way to my lips. "Can't I have a little break without you screaming down my neck?" I ask jokingly.

"We have to move all those boxes inside before the sun goes down." She tells me as she stops in front of me. "So get moving, beautiful thing." Then, she resumes back to work.

I chuckle at my friend and help her move the rest of the boxes inside. A couple of hours later, the sun starts to set, but thankfully we have moved every box inside and unpacked most of the things. I look around my tiny, single bedroom house and smile.

"We have to celebrate you coming back to town!" Layla claps her hands excitedly beside me.

"No, I'd rather stay at home and rest. I'm feeling a bit tired." What I really want to say is that I didn't want to bump into Benjamin. I know it is bound to happen, but I'd rather postpone it for as long as I can.

"You can't avoid him forever you know." Layla has always known me so well.

"I know that, but I'd rather not see him on my first day back." I try to reason with her.

"We're going to dinner and we're going to celebrate!" She says firmly, not leaving any room to argue. "Rosa, You did what you thought was best. Don't feel guilty about that." She assures me.

I nod slightly. "Okay. We'll go to dinner then." I concur even though I'm not completely feeling it.

Little Goat's diner is still the same as it was three years ago, and I still love it just as much as I did back then.

"It's so good to be back!" I exhale in relief.

"It's so good to have you back!" Layla says sincerely. "Come on."

The bell dings above the door as we walk inside the diner. It's packed as it always has been so we take a seat on one of the two empty tables left. A waitress hands us the menu, but we don't bother looking at it and just order their famous cheese burger and club soda.

I sit back and look around the diner taking in my surroundings. I notice a lot of familiar faces staring at me. Some wave and smile while others just turn around as if I didn't just catch them staring.

"Look who the cat dragged in." I didn't notice anyone standing at our table until I hear him speak. I look up to find Noah and Wyatt.

"What do you want Noah?" The hostility is easily heard in Layla's voice.

Layla and Noah. High school sweethearts, yet not quite. They've been on and off for as long as I can remember. Both too stubborn for their own good. Guess things haven't changed.

"I've been trying to contact you all day. You haven't answered, not once." He accuses.

"Yeah, well I've been busy." Layla answers in a clipped tone.

"Oh? Is that so now?" He asks mockingly. "Layla is too busy." Noah turns around and says loudly to all the customers in the diner.

Layla mumbles some sort of profanity and instantly stands up, grabs him by the shoulder and drags him out of the diner, but not before Noah screams a welcome back Rosalinda.