Leaving At Last Chapter 13
“Ever since you and Briar got together in high school, my feelings have been a mess.”
“You always needed someone to look after you, and I always saw Briar as this brilliant, untouchable person.”
“But somehow, he fell for you.”
“I didn’t want to lose you as a friend, but I couldn’t stop thinking—why you, and not me?”
“That day in the OR, I lost my focus.”
“My hand shook because I was terrified that you might really stop speaking to me forever.”
“I’m sorry. I did so many things that hurt you.”
After saying it all, Talia seemed to deflate.
She sank right onto the floor.
For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond.
We had been best friends since elementary school.
In my memory, Talia had always been radiant.
She was good at everything.
Seeing her like this now, I felt a pang of sadness.
But…
I set down my fork and pulled her up from the floor.
Then I told her, very seriously, “Talia, let’s leave the past where it is.”
“I’m very happy with my life now.”
She looked at me, tears streaming down her face.
In the end, she just whispered my name.
“Blair.”
There was too much history between us.
I didn’t want to go back and untangle it all.
And I didn’t want to put myself back in that old dynamic.
This was enough.
After she left, Auden finally got up.
He was still half-asleep.