I chucked the case of bottled water into the truck and slammed the tailgate shut. Immediately, I wished I hadn’t. Jess would probably get out and check on me, and I hated burdening her with my problems. The passenger door shut, and I tried to avoid her eyes as she came around. “You ok?” “Yeah,” I huffed and sat on the bumper. She sat next to me, ran her fingers down my arm and interlocked them with mine. After a minute she spoke: “We don’t have to go back, you know. Not right away - or at all.” That was a pleasant thought. I could spend my entire vacation in this parking lot, watching seagulls eat trash, and never have to step foot in that beach house again. “I’m fine,” I said. “I just need a minute alone - with you.” I looked at her, those deep brown eyes looking back at me. “Thanks for coming with me.” “Always,” she whispered and squeezed my hand. “But we didn’t have to come. Reunions are cliche. And what’s there to reminisce about? How immature and selfish everyone was?” “Yeah,” I smirked and looked at the ground. “And how little things have changed.” How Jeff still dominates every conversation. How Brennan still wears his letterman jacket. How Kass still glares at anyone who disagrees with her. How were these my friends? The people I remember laughing the hardest with, the people I wanted at my wedding one day… “Not everything’s the same,” Jess said. “You’re not the same.” Maybe that was it - the reason why that beach house was the last place I wanted to be. It reminded me of countless days being the worst version of myself, and the years it took to get me to where I am now. “Hey,” Jess whispered as she took my face in her hands. “Don’t let them ruin a perfect weekend. Dinners will be painful, and I may throw up you make me spend more than five minutes with Kass. But we’ll make it through.” Then she brushed my hair aside and kissed me. She was right. It would be painful, irritating, and perhaps the worst week of my life. But we’d get through it together. Only, I didn’t want to get through it. I wanted to enjoy a beautiful weekend with my beautiful girl. “You know what?” I said. “Let’s ditch.” As if she was waiting for this moment, Jess exhaled a breath I didn’t know she was holding. “Definitely,” she smiled.