You've Found Oliver (You've Reached Sam, #2)(7)

“I don’t know how you’re gonna put up with that.”

“At least he didn’t sleep with my ex,” I remind her.

“I thought we agreed not to mention Nolan anymore.” She gives me one of her looks. “You better not text him while I’m away.”

I return the look. “And what would I even have to say to him after what he did? That I forgive him for cheating on me…with my roommate?”

Julie sighs. “I thought you were healing from this, Oliver.”

I stare out the window. “I’ll heal when I’m ready.”

Unfortunately, Nolan is also a student at CWU. I met him a few weeks after high school graduation, when he led my group’s campus tour. I’d thought it was serendipity when we sat next to each other in the same computer science class I was shopping my first quarter. I ultimately dropped it, but he invited me to my first college party. Long story short, he was my first relationship. We spent every day together. We were practically inseparable. It was a great five months until he started hooking up with Connor, my former roommate. I don’t speak to either of them anymore. That’s another reason to be sad Julie’s leaving. She’s one of the few people I have left.

While Julie’s packing up some books, I walk over to her desk and rummage through one of the boxes. I take out a picture frame and hang it back on her wall. Then I grab a stack of books and return them to their spot on the shelf.

Julie turns her head, noticing me. “Oliver, stop that.” She takes the books from my hands and places them inside the box again. “I didn’t invite you here to unpack my things.”

I drop my head. “But I don’t want you to go.”

“I won’t be gone forever. We’ll still talk every day.”

“It won’t be the same though. You’re the only friend I have left.”

“You’re so dramatic,” she says, shaking her head. “Everyone loves you. You just need some time to settle in.”

As she moves the box away from me, something falls to the floor.

I bend down to pick it up.

It’s a guitar pick.

I don’t have to ask where she got it. I can hear the strings as his fingers move along them. I turn it in my hands, watching the light bounce off the plastic.

“You can have it, if you’d like,” Julie says.

I hadn’t noticed her watching. I shake my head and say, “No, that’s okay. It’s yours.” She’s given me a lot of Sam’s things already. So I hand this one back. I’m sure it means a lot to her.

“Thank you.”

We haven’t talked about him in a while. I wonder if Julie is thinking the same thing. “You know, it’s been almost a year now,” I remind her. “Since it happened, I mean.” Sam died in the spring of senior year. It took place on the night of the bonfire. As he was driving to find Julie, another car swerved into his lane and crashed straight into him before driving off. I didn’t know about it until the next morning, after he’d been found at the side of the road.

“Yeah…I know.”

“Do you still think about him a lot?”

“Every day.”

“Same.”

A silence passes. Then she takes my hands and says, “And I know he would want us to live out our lives. I’m sure he would be happy to know we’re friends. And me leaving isn’t going to change that.”

I don’t say anything. Even though Julie and I have known each other since sophomore year, we only became friends in the last several months. It’s funny how shared grief can bring people together. I know she’ll be back at the end of the summer. But then Julie is transferring to Reed College in the fall. She received her acceptance letter a few weeks ago. It was always her plan to move out of Ellensburg. A plan that had once included Sam. “I was thinking about visiting him later,” I mention. “Bring him some flowers or something. If you wanted to come with me. We could grab something to eat on the way.”

“You know I would love to,” she says, squeezing my hand. “But I still have a lot of packing to do. And I should probably spend time with my mom before I go.”

I frown. “I’ll go alone, then.”

“Don’t be sad,” she says. “Everything’s going to be fine, alright? Four months isn’t that long, if you think about it. And we’ll video call every day.”

“Alright, I’ll stop guilt-tripping you.”

“Good. Because my flight is nonrefundable. Maybe I’ll see you again before I leave?”

“If I can wake up that early.”

Julie smiles. Then she checks the time. There’s a pile of clothes on the bed that need folding. “I should probably get back to packing.”

“You don’t need any help?”

“I think you’ve done enough for today, Oliver.”

“Sounds like my cue to leave.”

I give her a hug goodbye and see myself out. There’s a slight chill as I make my way through town. Usually, I listen to my “sad boy” playlist on these walks alone. But I left my headphones back at the dorm. My new roommate is probably there, blasting country music.

I take out my phone and send a text.

Julie is moving tomorrow