The sun is just starting to dip below the horizon when I leave my house. As I slam the door behind me, a shiver runs down my back and my hand immediately goes to my neck where my pendant hangs. Letting out a sigh, I make my way down the steps. It's 8:30. The exact time when Adam's soccer practice ends. Pulling up my hood, I jog past the small bookstore near my house and make my way to the pizza shop across it. Every Friday, Adam and I go out. Nothing fancy, just special. Special. That's what Adam is, something pulled right out of a movie or book.

When I reach the shop I can't help but smile at the rich scent of the pizza. My mouth starts watering the moment I push open the door to the store. The thin man at the cashier gives me a small smile. Mr. Pepperoni is what everyone calls him. We have known him since we were allowed to walk to his shop. "How are you holding up, Rosaline?" he asks, giving me a crooked grin. I shrug my shoulders and return his smile, leaning against the counter.

"Bored out of my mind," I say. He gives me an empathetic look. Mr. Pepperoni waves me to a table when a middle-aged man comes to the counter, his wallet in hand. My favorite spot to eat is at the back of the shop where you can hide in the shadows caused by the dim lights.

I pull out my phone and find that there is a text from Adam. Be there in a few, it says. Smiling, I pocket it and cradle my chin. "Hey," a voice says. A girl with dark hair stands at the end of the table, her brown eye studying me carefully.

"What do you want, Jamie?" I spit, glaring at her as she sits across from me. She lets out a sigh and pushes the hair away from her pale face, giving me a clear view of her blue eye. Jamie, like me, isn't going to college this fall. Instead, she's taking over her dad's business at the edge of town. 

"I just wanted to talk to you," she whispers. I snort. It's been years since Jamie had talked to me, at least not the way we used to talk when we were friends. Even at school, we both avoided each other after the ridicules argument that we had. I don't even remember it anymore. Except that I know I never wanted to speak to Jamie ever again because of it.

"There is nothing for us to talk about," I spit back, my hands balling into fists.

"Not about us...it's about you," she says quietly as she plays with the strings on her wrist. 

"I don't want to talk to you," I mutter, making Jamie let out another sigh. She gives me a hard look before running her fingers through her hair.

It's almost 9 and Adam isn't here yet. Adam, with his wide grin and dark eyes. I wonder what story he will have for me this time. What will he say when he wraps his strong arms around me? There is a part of me that even wonders about the flower, the one he always brings even if I told him a countless number of times that I don't like them. He always says, "Trust me, you love flowers. You just don't know it yet." I have to admit, I don't mind them as much anymore.

"I'm sorry, Rose," she mumbles, staring at the door. My jaw tightens. Only Adam calls me Rose. "Who are you waiting for?"

"Adam. You know? My boyfriend?" I say angrily, folding my arms over my chest. Jamie whips her head back to look at me, her face twisting into a look of pain.

She blinks her eyes a few times and looks up at the ceiling. "What happened to you, Rose?" I frown and imagine throwing knives at her strange eyes.

"What's wrong with me? What the hell happened to you? I was the first human to talk to you in this washed up town when you moved here. The first one to come down to your dad's shop. We were so close and then you decided that I wasn't good enough." I'm breathing hard when I end the rant and my eyes are starting to tear up. 

"I'm sorry Rose, I really am." She slips into the seat beside me and wraps her arm around my shoulders. "I screwed up." I don't say anything except stare at a yellow stain on the table.

"You should leave," I say and push her arm off my shoulder. She lets out a groan but slides across the seat to stand up. My phone buzzes and I look down to see that my mom is calling. Instead of walking away, Jamie sits back down on the seat across from me. "What the hell, Jamie?" I consider texting Adam to tell him that I don't feel good, just so I can avoid talking to my ex-best friend.

"Are you okay, Rose? I mean, how are you?" she says softly. I roll my eyes.

"Everything is fine, okay? My world didn't fall apart when you stopped talking to me," Grabbing my phone, I slide across the seat and make my way to the door. I would have to cancel on Adam, again.

"Rose! Wait!" She yells after me. Rage surges through me when she says my name. "I didn't stop talking to you." Confused, I come to a stop and cross my arms, glaring at her. "I admit that I said some stupid things but I apologized." She looks up at the ceiling again. "You stopped talking to me in our sophomore year after you started hanging out with Adam and Cherry. I didn't walk away. You did. But I'm still here for you and I always will be. Especially right now."

"Right now?" My head starts to spin and she grabs onto my shoulders to steady me. Laughing nervously I say, "I know I didn't get into college but it's fine. Adam and the others are going to help me." Jamie drops her hands to her side and gives me the same look Mr. Pepperoni gave me.

"Why do you keep saying that? Adam's dead, Rose. He passed away in June. You know, the car crash?" I step backward and almost fall but she grabs my arms again.

"This is not funny, Jamie. You're lying," I whisper and close my eyes when things start to get fuzzy.

"I'm really sorry about what happened." Jamie has said this to me before.

"He texted me today, Jamie. You're lying." My hands are shaking when I pull out my phone to show Jamie. The color fades from her face as soon as she looks at the text.

"Rose, this is from last year. Not from today." Jamie hands me the phone and hugs me like I might fall apart and float away from the wind. "It will be okay, I promise." A whimper escapes my lips. She said the same thing to me at the hospital.

The hospital,

the car crash,

my Adam.