As soon as we got back from the CoveOps exercise Dr. Steve told us we better start packing. We were leaving first thing in the morning to go back to Blackthorne. And my first thought was that I didn't want to go. I didn't want to wear a baggy yellow jumpsuit and eat slop for all of my meals. I'd miss the old mansion, I'd miss the teachers, I'd miss the way it felt to be respected. I'd miss the way the sun felt on my face as I sat on the gazebo steps feeling like the luckiest guy in the world.
But most of all, I'd miss Cammie. I didn't know what the circle was planning on doing with her CoveOps report but I intended to find out.
The next morning, we were all packed and and waiting downstairs and out of nowhere comes Cammie, and in that moment she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. I stared at her, momentarily speechless.
"You're already packed" she told me, gesturing to my bags. I smiled at her.
"We've all got baggage" I say. A crisp clean breeze blew through the open door but the air hung between us, heavy and dry. She pointed to the bruise on my face.
"That looks bad" she says. But it wasn't. There were worse kinds of pain. I shook my head.
"It isn't he-"
"Hits like a girl?" she teased. But I didn't smile or laugh. At that moment I realized that she was the only girl who had come to say goodbye. That moment marks the first time where I didn't doubt that she might miss me too. I looked at her and said "Not the girls I know."
I thought about the versions of her I'd seen all semester. The girl who I met in D.C, the kid who tried to disappear and the strong, powerful woman I met on the rooftop. I loved all of the faces of Cameron Morgan. She turned from me, to walk away from this semester, from all the missed chances and opportunities. One thought pulsed through my mind over and over again.
This might be your last chance.
I called to her. "Oh and Cammie?" I say watching her spin around to face me as I slide my arms around her and dip her in the middle of the foyer. Then I pressed my lips to hers.
When I broke away, I flashed a final grin in her direction. "I always finish what I start"
I stepped toward the open door and the warm spring sun that was just waiting to burst into summer. A new season, another clean slate.
"So this is goodbye?" She asks
I turn to face her with a final wink. "Come on Gallagher Girl, what would be the odds of that?"
And I didn't turn back.