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Bailey's POV:
"Do you wanna go somewhere to eat after?" I ask Carmen as I look in the mirror in my dark blue cap and gown with an orange and blue tassel hanging from my cap. *I am so down for food, I don't really want to go to any graduation parties, we only hung out together, and more recently Skylar and the twins.* Carmen says from the other side of my phone.
"Do you think they'll be there? Or if she will be there?" I ask her looking around my room, especially the college letters sitting on my bed. I've gotten a few offers due to my academics but none of the schools that I want to go to and not Notre Dame, my parents are still patiently waiting for that letter to arrive since they already put in my application.
*Um yes Bailey, she will be there are you kidding? Do you think she will miss graduation? Come on I know you're better than this.* I hear Carmen's frustration. "I know she won't miss graduation but like in the sense that will she want to talk to me?" I re-word my thought and I hear a sigh. *It doesn't matter if she wants to talk to you because I will make you talk to her.* She huffs.
"Okay, when the ceremony is over then I will find her and speak with her." I say hearing a cheer from the other end but then my bedroom door opens and I see Aunt Jacky pop her head through the crack. "You look amazing." She says and I whisper a thank you. "Also there's a boy downstairs out by the garage wanting to speak to you before we go, I didn't get his name." She says and I quickly run to my window peaking out of my blinds.
*A boy? What boy? Is it Tyler?* Carmen keeps asking, "Who's Tyler, is that the kid with the dodge?" Aunt Jack steps closer looking through the blinds with me, "Yeah Tyler has the dodge." I answer, "Well I don't know but you should go speak with him, seems nice." I look at Aunt Jacky hanging up on Carmen.
"I know him." I say and my aunt slowly nods her head, "Okay good to know now go down and talk to him before your parents tell him to leave." I listen to her going downstairs a little stiff trying not to get whacked by my tassel, I see my parents sit on the couch and they don't notice me pass them into the garage.
I close the door quietly and a white car is parked with a large red bow on top then Sage looks at me. "Congratulations high school graduate." He leans off the car but does not step into the garage. "Hi Sage, thank you." I walk closer to him a moment of silence sinks between us, "What are you doing here?" I ask him keeping my fidgeting hands behind my back.
"I'm here to give this, here's the keys." He hands me a set of car keys and then points at the car behind him. "You're kidding." I look at him with my mouth hanging open. "Nope, it's your graduation gift, pretty cool isn't it." He chuckles. It feels like the wind got knocked out of me. This is a car, a whole car. For me?
"I can't accept this, it's too much for a graduation gift." I try to give the keys back but he just pushes my hands back. "Sorry, there's no backsies because I didn't get it for you." He tells me, "Skylar?" I question and he nods. "Yup, my little sister got it for you, my job is to give it to you but while I'm here I think we should talk." He plants himself on the curb and I sit beside him.
"I think you know that I know what happened and I'm here to also tell you that I'm sorry that you had to see what happened with Malcolm and Skylar, it was supposed to be me that went but I sent her instead." He wraps his arms around his knees, "You knew?" I ask not looking at him. "I knew that you would see what we do but I didn't know that they'd fight. I bet your confused about everything we do." He says.
"Very confused," I say after thinking back to when Skylar showed me around their house, the boxes in the den, Sage's computers with maps, I knew it was strange but it wasn't my place to question anything. "Yeah thought so but I can't explain to you who we are and what we do, Skylar will do that. Can you talk to her? Or just listen?" He looks at me and I just stare.
"She misses you, a lot. Even though I was gone for a bit. Dean told me what was going on with her and I don't think I've seen her this upset, ever. And it just sucks because how she's feeling right now is what I felt when Liliana uh when she left." He clears his throat after mentioning Liliana. She is very important to him, I haven't seen her other than in pictures but that doesn't change anything.
"She misses me?" I question and he nods with a smile, I don't think I've seen him smile this much before. "Yeah a lot. Wanna know something funny? She started reading. Like a book, she started reading books." He laughs leaving me more confused, I thought she doesn't read at all, books were boring to her and uninteresting.
"What?" I furrow my eyebrows. "Because that was the only way she could see what goes on in your mind, it was the only way she was able to get close to you. I joked around saying it was weird that she was reading but she serious about it. It was weird though." He shakes his head and I look at the car.
She reads books because of me? "And the book she was reading was old as hell, the author has been dead for God knows how long, some woman who wrote multiple books and she said there was a movie but one of the scenes in the book wasn't in the movie." He scoffs, "Some movie adaptions are different because they can't fit the whole book in the movie or they choose what's important or create something new to add." I explain.
"It's still weird she actually put the book in the car, the glove compartment I think." He scratches the back of his head then I stand up brushing the dirt from my gown and I press the unlock button on the keys hearing the car beep.
I open the passenger side door and I open the glove compartment seeing manuels and papers saying that I own the car, how did she do this? I thought the owner had to be the one to sign. I look through the stack and I quickly pull my hand away after feeling a poke. "Ow." I hiss checking my finger.
"What happened?" Sage asks stepping beside me, "I got poked." I say then looking through again pulling a copy of Pride and Prejudice with multi-colored sticky note tabs popping out of the book, I flip through seeing different notes and smiley or mad faces through out the pages. I catch myself smiling seeing her comments on the characters and the differences she notices between the movie.
"Weird isn't it." Sage says and I cover my mouth with my hand trying not to smile so hard, "It's not weird." I sniffle lightly rubbing the book with my thumb. "Jeez both of you are weird." He clicks his tongue before walking away, I wipe my eyes dry before putting the book and I go back to Sage.
"Was that enough to get you to talk to her again?" He asks stuffing his hands in his pockets and I nod, "Good because I don't think I can handle Skylar in such a bad mood but anyways I gotta get going. I'll see at graduation with Skylar and Dean." He waves at me but I quickly look at the car.
"Um Sage." I call out and he turns out around with a hum, "I don't know how to drive." I mumble and I see him have a realization moment. "Oh yeah I forgot Skylar also made me come out here not only to give the car but to also give you driving lessons." He snaps his fingers. "What?" I question as he gets into the passenger seat. "Hey get in, we don't have all day." He yells and I quickly take off my graduation cap before shuffling into the car.