Meet Me After Class

Epilogue

This was it. The moment I'd been simultaneously dreading and desperately seeking for weeks now. My last few minutes alone in this bedroom before I walked out that door and left for a year abroad with Jay. A total life reset.

I lifted the delicate necklace off over my head, cradling the pendant in my palm. My fingertip traced over the intricate design as an achingly familiar sadness tugged at the corners of my mouth.

I'll always be your number one fan.

Adam's voice seemed to echo those words in my head, transporting me back to the day he'd gifted me this necklace—a silly little token that somehow came to symbolize so much more than I could have anticipated at the time. It was a reminder of our friendship, our bond, and the relationship that had blossomed into something deeper yet never fully bloomed in the way every atom of me had hoped.

But I knew if I was truly going to gain the closure and fresh start I so desperately craved, I couldn't bring it with me this time. Not as an anchor weighing me down to the past and all its unresolved anguish.

Slowly, almost reverently, I wrapped the necklace in the soft fabric of an old hanky before gently returning it to the battered little box it had come in. I secured the lid, forcing my hands to remain steady, and placed the whole thing in an old shoebox, sliding it up onto the high shelf of my closet where it would remain undisturbed.

For a long, suspended moment, I simply stood there in the middle of my childhood bedroom, letting my eyes trail over every nook and cranny one final time. The walls papered with faded band posters and photos. The cluttered bookshelves overflowing with mementos. Even the tree outside my window, branches scratching against the glass in the breeze.

This room held so many memories - some beautiful, some breathtakingly painful. And when I eventually returned to Pinecrest after putting an entire ocean's distance between me and these four walls...I knew deep down I would be an entirely different person.

Heaving a steadying sigh, I finally turned and exited my room, pulling the door slowly closed behind me. It felt heavier than I expected as the latch clicked into place with a sense of finality. I descended the stairs with my overstuffed duffel in tow, the immensity of the life shift I was choosing weighing on me with every step.

Just as I reached the landing, my phone buzzed insistently from my back pocket - an incoming call from Penny's number flashing on the screen.

Holy macaroni! I'd completely blanked on giving my bestfriend a heads up about my impromptu departure.

I sank onto the overstuffed cushions of the living room couch, thumbing to accept the call. "Hey Pen, what's up?"

"Wendy! Oh thanks heavens, finally!" Penny's familiar voice crackled over the line. "How's good ol' Pinecrest treating you? Has it gotten even more tragically lame since we fled?"

A small laugh escaped me at her typical dramatic flair. "Nah, same sleepy Pinecrest as always. Though I guess a couple new businesses have opened up at the Crest Townt Center if that's considered 'big happenings.'"

"Wow, doing big things over there," Penny deadpanned with zero inflection. "Anyway, I was calling because Melissa and I were trying to book our flights back soon. When do you head back to Chicago?"

A lead weight immediately materialized in the pit of my stomach as I realized with a sinking feeling that I'd completely spaced on filling Penny in about my change of plans. How had I managed to neglect mentioning this whole gap year decision?

"Oh, um..." I hedged, bringing my free hand up to anxiously chew on a hangnail. "Actually, I'm not going back to Chicago for a little while."

There was a sudden pause on the other end as Penny processed that. "What?" Her tone immediately shifted into concerned best friend mode. "Why, what's going on? Don't tell me you're dropping out. Oh my god! Don't tell me you're pregnant."