2

The day before I left for the institute, I decided to return everything that belonged to them, one thing at a time.

The first stop was the school football field.

When we were 12, Ethan won his first medal in a school game. He shoved it into my hands and asked me to keep it for him.

He swore that someday he'd give me a gold one.

When I reached the sidelines, clutching the bronze medal, Ethan was crouched on the grass, putting together a storage rack for Selena, surrounded by a pile of bins.

"This is too high. It's hard for me to reach things."

Without a hint of impatience, Ethan took the nearly finished rack apart on the spot.

When he saw me, he frowned, as if something had just occurred to him.

"What are you doing here?"

I held it out to him.

"The medal you left with me. I'm giving it back."

Ethan paused, then took the medal and tossed it into a box of junk beside him.

"Didn't we say you'd keep it? Why are you bringing it back all of a sudden?"

"No reason. I'm just getting rid of things that don't matter."

Ethan didn't catch what I meant. He wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"Perfect timing. Give me a hand. This rack's kind of hard to put together by myself."

I didn't say a word. I just stood there.

Selena smiled and waved it off.

"It's okay, Ethan. Catherine's leaving for Alaska soon. She must be busy packing."

Ethan scoffed and went back to tightening screws.

"College has everything. What could she possibly need to pack?"

I ignored Ethan, turned, and walked off the field.

The second stop was the physics lab.

I'd kept Noah's award-winning competition models at my house for years.

When I set the cardboard box next to his lab bench, Noah didn't even look up.

"Catherine, good timing. Leave your camera here.

"Selena said the other day that she wants to make a short video looking back on her childhood for the freshman photography exhibit. The photos and videos on your camera would be perfect."

"But this is my camera."

Noah looked up and frowned.

"It's just for a few days. It's not like I'm going to break it."

Then he beckoned gently toward the door.

"Selena, come in."

Selena jogged in, her eyes lighting up as they swept over the camera.

"Catherine, I'll just pick a few photos of everyone from when we were little. I won't mess with your stuff."

"But those are my childhood photos with Noah and the others."

Selena froze, unsure what to say.

Noah's face immediately darkened, and he stepped in front of her.

"Catherine, why are you being so petty? Selena just wants to feel like one of us."

Then Owen appeared out of nowhere and blocked my way.

He took the camera from Noah, pulled out the memory card, and tossed it to me.

"You're the best editor among us. Before school starts, help Selena put together a documentary for her 18th birthday.

"She doesn't have enough old footage, so use ours. Just cut out every part with you in it and add a few photos of her."

I looked down at the memory card in my hand.

It held our first beach camping trip, our first time watching the sunrise from a mountaintop, and every birthday they'd ever spent with me.

Now they were cutting me out of those memories without a second thought, just so Selena could take my place.

"Okay."

I agreed so easily that Owen looked surprised.

"That's it? You're actually saying yes this time?"

"You know how I am. I'll get over it after a couple of days."

He scratched his nose. Something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Good. As long as you get it."

Not one of them asked when I was actually leaving for Alaska.

That evening, Liam came to find me.

I didn't want to go, but he practically dragged me to our usual diner.

The whole time, he kept looking down to answer messages on his phone.

Selena said the light from her desk lamp was too harsh, so he immediately contacted the seller to get it replaced.

Selena was worried she wouldn't get into the photography club, so he called to reassure her right away.

The burger in front of me had gone cold, but he didn't notice at all.

"Liam."

"Hmm?"

Liam didn't look up. His fingers kept flying across the screen.

"Do you remember what I'm doing tomorrow?"

Liam paused before he answered.

"Making apple pie?"

"Something like that."

Liam looked relieved and pushed a glass of juice toward me.

"Come on, cheer up.

"I promise, once things calm down after school starts, I'll fly out to see you. I mean it."

When we said goodbye, Liam leaned down and kissed my forehead.

I didn't call him out on his lie.

When I got home, I plugged the memory card into my computer and permanently deleted every photo and video that included me.

Then I put the memory card in a shipping box and wrote Liam's address on it.

This was my last gift to them: a past with every trace of me erased.