“Okay, Peach. Stay, but keep in contact with me, ya hear? A text message takes less than a minute and gives me relief of which you have no idea. I worry about you when you’re not with me. And please, let me know if you find anything out about whatever he’s hiding. I know I’m pissed, but he’s still my little brother, and I’m worried about him too. As soon as I can wrap my head around this shit, I’m gonna call him. We have to talk about this. I can’t go the rest of my life feeling like I wanna throat punch him. Yeah, we’re definitely gonna need a damn shrink.”

“I’ll keep in contact and let you know as soon as I know anything. I love and miss you.”

“Okay. I love and miss you, too, Peach.”

There was a little over a month before the start of spring semester at Auburn. I wasn’t about to stay with my parents while I stuck around to sort out Alec’s bizarre issues. Since I’d changed my original plans and moved to Auburn, Heather had already found an alternate housemate for her freshman year at college here. I could bunk with them, but I wasn’t keen on sleeping on a futon for a month.

Luckily, I found a small, furnished condo for rent on a month-to-month lease. The strange part was, in a way, it reminded me of the place where Emmett and I had stayed in Panama City Beach. It was oddly comforting, like he was with me instead of being a state away.

I went back out to my car and brought all my stuff inside. Then I curled up with spoonful of mint chocolate chip ice cream. It was either that or go raid my parents’ liquor cabinet, and I didn’t feel up to the twenty questions that would go with that visit. Satisfied for the time being, I pulled out my iPad and read. That’s what I needed, to get lost in a book and someone else’s world.

Thoughts of Emmett surfaced in my mind. I missed him. I knew he was feeling all kinds of mixed emotions, and I felt a deep ache in my chest.

I was beginning to think, when I told Sam we were all gonna need a shrink after this was over, that I was more on point than I first believed. I certainly felt like I was losing my mind. I loved her and wanted her with me, but I loved my little brother, too. I was worried about him. He was cryptic with her about this damn secret of his. I hated that they had been together. Hated it. But I loved them both and wanted them to be happy.

I woke up and called John. I needed to talk this out with my best friend and clear my head.

“Hey, man,” he answered. “It’s a bit early isn’t it?”

“Yeah, sorry. I always forget about the time zone.” I replied.

“S’okay, man. What’s up?”

“It’s just Peach. And Alec. And every damn thing.”

“What do you mean? What’s wrong with them?”

As I told him the whole sordid tale, there was a mixture of expletives and silence on the other end of the line. When I finished, he let out a long, low whistle.

“Wow. That’s some seriously fucked-up shit.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” I said.

“Well, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Well, I do. I just don’t know what to do afterwards.” I sighed. “I’ll probably lose my damn mind without her. But I love them both and want them to be happy. He was her first love, you know, and that love never leaves you. I know she’ll never leave my heart. I’ve never been in love with a girl before her. But I know my Peach; she has to make sure that he’s okay. I’m worried about Alec, too. Whatever he’s hiding has to be bad. But she’s also going to be with him on a daily basis, and her feelings are bound to be confused. I just keep thinking maybe I need to take a step back.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” John yelled.

“No, man, listen. I’ve thought about this a lot. It’s a shitty situation, and no matter how you spin it, someone gets hurt and left alone. I don’t want Alec to be left again. When our parents died . . . it was hard on both of us, but, because he was younger, I think he felt abandoned. He went through a really dark time for a while, and I wasn’t sure he would come back from that. Especially socially.”

“Damn, I know that’s rough, man. But that doesn’t mean you should just walk away from the love of your life,” John said.

“No, I know. But it’s eating at me. It’s the right thing to do for both of them.”

“But it’s not the right thing to do for you. And I don’t think it’s the right thing for Sam either. You said he broke things off with her and pulled that crazy shit after, to push her away. I’d say he gave up any rights to her a long time ago. What if he breaks her heart again?”

“Yeah, but Peach thinks there’s a reason behind it. This secret he’s keeping. I just feel like this is the way it needs to go. I don’t believe he would ever hurt her again.”

“Shit. Well, if you need to get away, you know you can always come chill with me here. I can hook you up with some Grade A Alaskan sweethearts.”

I shook my head. “Thanks, man. I may head out your way eventually, but I don’t need or want anyone else, Alaskan or otherwise. For now, I need to stick around here, for as long as I can handle it anyway.”

“Well good luck, Emmett. You’re gonna need a truck load of it.”

“Thanks. Later, man.”

“Later,” he said before hanging up.

I dropped my phone on my dresser, walked into the bathroom down the hall, and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I wasn’t sure of how this day would end, but I made a mental note to check the whiskey in the liquor cabinet to be sure I could drown my sorrows later on should I need to.

As lame as it is to break up with someone over the phone, it’s how I decided I should do it. I knew if I saw her, I’d never go through with it. I’d cave in a split second. The scent of her perfume wafted through my mind, and I nearly threw my phone across the room. Instead, I dialed her number.

“Hey, babe,” she answered.

“Hey, Sam,” I murmured.

She gasped. “Is . . . everything okay? Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Everything’s fine. Well, it will be. Listen, we need to talk.”

“Okay. What’s up? Miss me? I miss you! Maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle and see a movie, have dinner. That would work,” she urged.

“Peach. No. I can’t.”

“Okay, maybe tomorrow?”

“No, not tomorrow either. Listen to me for a minute, okay?”

“Sorry, babe. I just miss you. All right, I’m listening. Go ahead.”

“Just let me say everything I have to say before you respond, okay?”

“Emmett, stop, you’re freaking me out!”

“Fuck! There’s no easy way to say this. It’s over, Sam. I, uh, can’t deal with this shit right now. You should just be with Alec.”

“What? No, absolutely not, Emmett! You’re not throwing me away like he did! I love you. You love me. We can work through this. I told you, I’m only staying to make sure he’s okay, and to find out what he’s hiding. I’m just worried about him. I’m not staying to get back together with him. I love you.”

“Sam, just stop. It’s over.”

She started crying, but I had to keep going. I had to end it.

“It was—fun while it lasted.” I punched my hand into the mattress, where she used to sleep by my side.

“What? Are you telling me I was just a piece of ass to you? Now, that there’s a complication, you’re wiping your hands of me?” she retorted.

“God, Sam, we . . . we just weren’t meant to be together. Look, I’m sorry. Hope you’re both okay. I gotta go.”

I hung up the phone before she could say anything else and shoved it in my back pocket. Grabbing my keys, I went for a drive and tried to purge the images of her from my head.