When she uncovers his plan to lead an entirely uneventful life, Mia Evian is determined to teach Preston Maddox how to stop living like a ghost, but Mia and Preston have history, tension, and a lot of complicated feelings.
...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I never thought I of all people would have to teach Preston Maddox how to live.
It's been staring me in the face, really–the reclusive persona he's adopted, his indifference towards any possibility of romance, his disengagement in casual conversation, declining his own Hyde Park at sunrise suggestion, his refusal to entertain his dad's communication attempts. He's being as nothing as possible, as if he's haunting his own life, and it's not right for someone as extraordinary as Preston to live like a ghost.
Hyde Park at sunrise is hardly groundbreaking, but it's a start.
I expected more pushback, but after my stern you're coming, Preston gave in. As he drags himself upstairs to change, Aiden pulls me aside and insists I have some kind of ethereal power over him, which I assure him I definitely do not. Shortly after Margot and Joe have gotten their shit together, Preston returns wearing a different t-shirt.
'I thought the point of you going upstairs was to change into something warmer,' Margot comments as we're leaving their townhouse, then nods towards Preston.
'Warmth has never quite fit me.'
If he insists on playing this nothing role, he should probably tone down the weirdness to match.
'He's not like other girls,' I translate for Margot.
Preston says nothing, just smirks while Aiden and Joe both laugh. I'm pleased Joe's extra Red Bull has kicked into action.
'In fairness, we can't say much, Mia; we're literally wearing pyjamas,' Aiden points out.
We catch the 137 bus to Hyde Park Corner and arrive at around five forty-five. The park is bathed in silence, and the sun is yet to show a glimmer of its face, but I don't stop searching the dark sky for it. We have no destination, nor does anyone try to determine one; we simply walk deeper and deeper into the park until our legs can no longer carry us. To my surprise, this is yet to feel like an awful idea, despite the cold nipping at my fingertips.
We find a small hill near the park's lido to sit on, and the groan Aiden releases as he plops himself onto the grass wet with dew makes it sounds like he's sprinted a marathon.
'Not like me to be dramatic,' he comments, and we all laugh.
God, I do miss him when he's not here.
After that, we sit in a silence that feels neverending. The vast lake opposite us is still, the trees, flowers, and shrubbery that frames it blowing so gently in the wind that it appears like a trick of the eye, and the sky is less black now–I'm sure the sun is coming.
The silence is eventually broken by Joe, who jumps to his feet to walk towards the lake. Margot follows closely behind, her blue hair a beacon against the park's autumnal colours, and Aiden can't resist joining them. Preston must be as transfixed by the scene in front of us as I am because neither one of us moves an inch.
