Chapter 4

Hannah's POV

The next morning, the wind died down. The scenic area reopened to visitors, and Andy booked us a sailing trip.

Susie wore a white dress and stood in the hotel lobby, nervously clutching Jacob's sleeve. "The lake's so deep. What if I fall in?"

Jacob crouched down and tightened the buckle on her life jacket. "I'm right here. Why are you scared?"

Andy shoved the camera into my hands. "You just got over a fever. Don't get on the boat with us. Stay here and take pictures of us."

I dropped the camera onto a lobby chair. "No."

Andy's expression turned sour. "It's just taking a couple of shots. What's with you again?"

"I'm not feeling well. I want to go back to my room and rest."

Jacob glanced at me. He didn't ask what was wrong. He just said impatiently, "Whatever."

Susie froze, touching her bare wrist. "Where's my bracelet?"

She dug through her pockets, and her eyes instantly welled up. "That was a graduation gift from Jacob. I had it on me just a minute ago."

Jacob tried to calm her down. "Don't panic. Maybe it's in your room."

Susie shook her head. "I felt it on my wrist on my way down. It's out here somewhere."

Jacob walked back toward the entrance with her to search. Andy whipped out his phone, turned on the light, and got down near the bushes to look.

As Jacob passed me, he said, "Wait for me in the room. Let me find the bracelet first. Then we'll talk about last night."

I watched the three of them walk off into the distance.

Back in my room, I pulled out the suitcase I'd packed the night before. Then I canceled both Jacob and my return tickets and sent Jacob's share of the apartment's deposit back to him.

I lined the matching bracelets and spare key neatly on the table, right next to our open fourth-year anniversary scrapbook.

The scrapbook was full of all the things we'd planned for the future, from starting a business together after graduation and getting married once our careers were stable to visiting a new place every year and seeing every lake in Xavon before we turned 30.

And on the last page was a note 18-year-old Jacob had written to me, "Hannah, whenever you look back, I'll always be there."

I closed the scrapbook and left it there.

Four years of love didn't just disappear because I caught them kissing. It still hurt. I still couldn't let it go. And at night, I'd still think about the promise he'd made when we were 18.

But loving Jacob was a choice I'd made back then.

Leaving him was the dignity I owed myself now.

A car horn sounded downstairs. My ride had arrived. I grabbed my suitcase and walked out of the hotel.

The receptionist ran after me and gave me a cup of hot water. "Drink this on the road. Your fever just barely broke."

Then she glanced behind me. "Your boyfriend is not leaving with you?"

"He's not my boyfriend anymore." Saying it out loud wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be.

The driver loaded my suitcase into the trunk. Just as I was about to get in, Jacob called me. The wind whistled through the phone, mixed with Susie's sniffling. He asked, "Where are you?"

"Hotel entrance."

Jacob exhaled, relieved. "Stay there. Don't go anywhere. We still can't find Susie's bracelet, so I can't leave yet. When I get back, we'll talk this through."

I looked out at Crescent Lake in the distance. Morning light hit the water, glittering like chopped gold foil.

"Jacob, today's the last day I'll wait for you."

There was a brief silence on the other end. His tone finally softened. "Got it. Wait there, okay? Don't threaten me with a breakup."

He still thought I was trying to bend him to my will. And he still believed a quick apology would fix everything, just like it always had.

Susie called out his name, and he immediately said, "Got to go."

He hung up.

I turned my phone off, took out the SIM card, and left it on the bench outside the hotel.

The driver opened the car door for me. I got in, and it closed with a low thud. Soon, we pulled onto the road around Crescent Lake.

Through the rearview mirror, I watched the hotel get smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the morning fog.

I'd already seen the sunset over Crescent Lake. As for the person who'd promised to see the scenery with me, I didn't want him anymore.