We walked into the kitchen and Garrett went straight to the coffee maker and dumped the remains of an earlier pot into the sink. It looked like Mitch had been home this morning.

But where had he gone so early?

“Milk and sugar right?” Garrett asked and I nodded, sitting down at the table.

“How’s Riley?” I asked after he handed me a mug of steaming coffee. Garrett sat down across from me, stretching out his legs.

“She’s great. She was called into to cover a story at four this morning. Some fire over at the government offices. So I just got up and headed to the airport. I waited around for a few hours before my flight. She’ll be down this weekend for the show.” Garrett smiled at the mention of his girlfriend.

“So you won’t have to wait too long to see her again,” I said, drinking my coffee. Garrett could make one hell of a cup of java, that’s for sure.

“It gets harder and harder to leave her,” he said softly. He looked up at me, his blue eyes tired but happy. “I’m moving up there. To Boston,” he announced and I blinked in shock.

“To Boston. You’re moving to Boston,” I repeated, not sure that I heard him correctly.

Garrett downed the rest of his coffee and nodded. “Yeah. I can’t be away from her anymore. I just can’t do it. And neither can she. She’s got a good gig with the paper. I would never ask her to move back here. There’s nothing for her in Bakersville as far as her career goes.”

“But the band—” I started to say.

“I don’t think that’s in the equation anymore,” he said, sounding a mixture of sad and relieved.

“What are you talking about?” I asked aghast. No Generation Rejects? I couldn’t imagine them not playing together. “I know you guys are worried about the label dropping you, but Mitch’s cousin was getting you guys some gigs right? You don’t need a label to still play music,” I argued.

Garrett got up and refilled his mug. “You know, the band has been the biggest part of my life for so damn long. After my parents died, it’s what kept me from losing my fucking mind. Mitch, Cole, and Jordan are more than my friends, they’re my brothers. We’ve traveled down this road together and it’s been amazing. It really has. But things change. Life heads off into another direction and you have to go with it. Generation Rejects will always be a part of my life. But Riley Walker is my life, G. I want to build my life with her. I want to put down roots with her.”

He stopped for a minute and then he smiled and it made my breath catch in my throat. At one time I had thought myself in love with Garrett. It was easy to see why when he looked like that. When he was talking about the woman he adored above everything else.

“I don’t want to spend all my time on the road, thinking about her. I want to wake up in the morning beside her and I want to go to bed at night holding her. That’s all I want. I’m a simple guy like that. Everything else will fall into place.” He sat back down again and I didn’t quite know what to say.

“What will the guys think?” I had to ask.

“They’ve got their own stuff going on. Jordan’s going to be a dad—”

“You know!” I gasped and Garrett chuckled.

“Riley told me.”

“You’re right, he won’t want to leave Maysie and the baby now. I guess it’s the end of an era.” I said.

Garrett tapped his fingers on the table in a slow, steady rhythm. Much like his personality. Slow and steady. Unhurried. “It’s time though. Don’t you think we’re all ready for a change?”

I thought about that and yeah, we all were ready. More than ready.

“What are you going to do with the house when you move to Boston?” I asked.

Garrett looked around the tiny, yet homey kitchen. A hundred memories had been made in this room. Thousands for him. It would be strange for this house to stand without him living in it.

“I’ll keep it of course. This was my parents’ house. I would never sell it. I guess I’ll see if Mitch wants to keep living here. If not, then maybe I’ll rent it out. I’ve got some time before I have to worry about all that.”

I felt a momentary panic. “Why wouldn’t Mitch want to live here? Is he planning to move as well?” My voice sounded a little shrill in my ears.

Garrett raised an eyebrow and regarded me levelly. “He hasn’t said, but we’re all in a state of flux right now. So we’ll see where his path takes him.” He got up and carried his coffee cup to the sink and rinsed it out. “So you want to tell my why you’re really here? I know it’s not to shoot the shit.”

“Maybe I just wanted a visit,” I replied obstinately.

“It’s okay to admit, you know,” Garrett said, turning back around and leaning against the counter, folding his arms across his lean chest.

“What’s okay?” I asked. I was being purposefully obtuse. He knew. I knew it.

“That you came over here to see Mitchie boy.”

My cheeks flushed and I had to look away from my friend. “I wasn’t really—” I prepared to lie but Garrett interrupted me before I could finish.

“Yes you are. I saw that wild look on your face when you got here. Something happened while I was in Boston.” I couldn’t deny it.

Garrett frowned, looking thoughtful. “I had hoped that you guys would work everything out. I think the two of you are making a mistake by being so pigheaded.” He ran his hand over his mouth and chuckled. “Though I know how hard it is to get someone to see what’s right in front of them. Particularly when they’re stubborn as hell.”

“I don’t think I’m being stubborn. But our lives are in different places. He’s with someone else. I realized things too late. We missed our chance. I thought we could be friends.” I sighed. It was a sad, mournful sound. “But I don’t think that’s really possible. Because with Mitch and me, there’s always something…”

“More?” Garrett filled in.

I nodded. “Yeah. Something more. I hurt him badly, Garrett. I’m sure you know what happened.”

“Mitch told me some of it. I also know he made a knee jerk reaction when he got with Sophie. He shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t right to her. To him. Or to you. A rebound is the worst thing you can do when your heart is hurting.”

“But he seems happy.” As I said it, I knew it wasn’t true. Mitch didn’t seem happy. He seemed…resigned. And that was not the same thing.

“We both know that’s bullshit.” Garrett picked up his bag. “I’ve got to go put this stuff away. You can hang out or whatever but I don’t know when Mitch will be back.”

“Okay,” I said quietly, standing up.

Garrett paused before exiting the kitchen. He turned back to me. “Don’t give up on what you guys have. Because it’s something special, G, and you both deserve that. Don’t lie to yourself by saying he’s better off without you. Because that, my friend, is a load a crap and we both know it.” With a wave, he headed up stairs and I was left alone.

I pulled out my phone and looked at the time. I needed to get to work.

I grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note on it. It was time to go old school to make my point.

I took the stairs two at a time and stopped just outside of Mitch’s bedroom door. I hesitated before opening it. It felt strange to go inside when he wasn’t there. Like I was violating his privacy.

I gripped the note in my hand and walked in anyway.

Screw privacy. There were important things at stake.

Like getting us back to where we needed to be.

The smell of him hit me as soon as I walked inside. It brought with it a thousand memories. A thousand happy days and never ending smiles. It also brought with it a lot of heartache.

The place was a mess. The bed was unmade and there were clothes on the floor. Mitch Abrams was an unabashed slob.

I snorted at the sight of his overflowing hamper and three days worth of dishes piled up on the desk in the corner. His room, like his vehicle, could be labeled a toxic dump.