The Search for Lily Myers ✓

15 | Turning Point

In normal circumstances, Amelia was not all that great at reflecting on the state of her life in any truly constructive manner. It wasn't for a lack of trying, though perhaps she didn't always try hard enough. She remembered how back in college, every time one of her roommates had somehow convinced her to try out mindfulness meditation just one more time, she left feeling like it had gone abysmally. But now, as a September Sunday morning ushered in the beginning of a brand new week and she thought of all that had transpired recently, it was hard to believe how different her everything had seemed just a month ago from the life she was experiencing now.

Pieces of her wished that they could revert to that state, that familiar place of denial. But rather than allow herself to miserably stew on those kinds of thoughts all day long, Amelia set out with the goal of reminding herself in whatever small ways she could that her life was better off this way.

The sun was peeking out from behind the clouds, just enough to leave a warm kiss on the skin that reminded her more of spring than autumn. She decided that some time outdoors would do her some good, so she grabbed an old quilt and one of the unread books off of her shelf, filled up her water bottle, and headed to her favorite park for a little lie-down in the sunlight. She had to scroll through her playlists for a couple of minutes to find a happy one that would be acceptable for her car ride, refusing to touch any of the nauseatingly sappy ones she'd made while she was with Colton because she knew they'd still remind her too much of him.

The park was decently crowded, as was to be expected on any weekend morning as pleasant as this one, but she managed to find a patch of grass that felt relatively secluded from anyone else and spread her blanket out, its worn, multicolored edges fluttering in the breeze like the blades of grass around her even once she was laying on it. The stiff spine of her book made a small crinkling sound when she opened it.

Seconds bled into minutes as she disappeared in its pages, sequestered in her own little world until her phone started vibrating. She glanced at the screen; Henry was trying to FaceTime her.

After setting down her book and quickly adjusting her wind-mussed hair, she answered. "Good morning."

He appeared to still be very much in bed, propped up against a pile of pillows. He didn't even have his glasses on yet; it was the first time she'd seen him without them.

"Good morning," he smiled. "I meant to call you yesterday and ask if Natasha seemed okay after the whole thing Friday night."

"She was okay. There weren't any hard feelings towards him, if that's what you mean. If anything, I think what made her sad was to see that he's having such a hard time right now."

Henry nodded. "Yeah, I was obviously trying to talk to him a little bit after you guys left without being ridiculously insensitive about it. He was glad to know that she's doing well, but I think he would have preferred to see her under happier circumstances if they were going to run into each other again."

"I almost feel a little guilty for accidentally orchestrating that," Amelia admitted. "But I can't say I've ever had the problem where a random guy I mention to someone actually turns out to be her ex-boyfriend, so I'm not sure there was any way to see that coming."

Henry laughed, and she liked that he did—it made her feel like she was a funnier person than she actually was.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. I mean, sure, it was a big surprise for them, but I think it was an even bigger one for us."

She felt herself grinning. "Nat is never a boring person to have as your friend, that's for sure."

She watched as Henry shifted positions slightly, reaching off to one side to grab something that she quickly saw were his glasses. He blinked a couple of times once he had them on, his eyes adjusting.