Chapter 38

We’re silent for a minute, and then I add, “I know I pulled away first…but you guys aren’t innocent either. The way you treated me. I don’t think I deserved that. ”

“You’re right,” Ellie says.

“I’m so sorry,” Lillian adds. “Maybe we can try to start over… Go slowly. ”

My heart bounces. “I would love that. ”

“All of us made mistakes. I’d like to try to get our friendship back, too. ” Ellie looks down.

It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. I need to prove things to them, and them to me. The fact that we’re all willing gives me hope.

I listen as they talk about some of the things they’ve been doing the past months. Then I talk to them about Steve and tell them I have a new friend named Emery I hope they can meet one day.

Each word is a cleansing breath. A compression on my chest bringing me back to life again.

And I can’t wait to live.

When I finally get up to leave, both girls stand, too. Lillian holds out her pinkie first, then Ellie, and finally me. We link them all together. “Always,”