I threw my body against the swinging door that led to the tiny, cluttered back office, where my mom was engrossed in some plucky romance novel, complete with a tanned, muscular man on the cover. Even more stacks of papers and manila folders sat precariously on the desk, and it seemed just a small gust of wind would be enough to send them toppling over.

"So nobody thought it was pertinent to tell me that Grey Fischer is still lurking around?" I threw my hands wildly up in the air, and I was overcome with an urge to push all the stacks of papers over and send them toppling to the ground. I felt aggravation welling up inside me, growling and snarling to come out.

My mom peered over the top of her book. "He comes here every day during his lunch, orders his Americano, and leaves." She gave me a shrug. "Now you know."

I groaned louder than I intended to and pulled at my hair. "This is not okay. Why did you think this was okay?"

My mother sighed and finally closed her book. "It's been almost four years, Kennedy. You're adults. I think whatever it is that went on with you and Grey has blown over."

"Nothing in this stupid town just blows over, Mom." I knew I was being dramatic, but I couldn't stand the sight of him. His cold, distant blue eyes that always managed to mask everything he was thinking about, that stupid, arrogant grin, and a voice that sent waves rippling through my stomach. I felt sick even thinking about it.

He reminded me of everything I hated about this town.

By the time Friday rolled in, so did the rest of the tourist spillover from Anchorage. Being the only coffee spot in town meant having to fill every sordid order of caramel soy matcha bean frappuccino. Thankfully Delilah worked afternoons, so she was able to field all of the ridiculous drinks while I smiled - desperately tried not to grimace - and took the overpriced $5 for those stupid caramel soy matcha bean frappuccinos. We only got a few moments in between rushes to breathe, except for me it was more like choking, since the air was heavy with sticky tourists and stale coffee.

After we closed up shop at 8:00 PM (and not one millisecond later) Delilah and I made our way down the only main road in town, to a local dive spot called The Net. It was so aptly named because it ensnared any unsuspecting passerby with its potent aroma of barbecue wings and garlic fries. Luckily most of the tourists retreated back to the city for the night, leaving the Net, in all its dingy glory, scattered with locals. We made our way back to the furtherest table from the door, nestled in a dark corner.

"So, Alaska Pacific University, huh?" I said to Delilah as we settled into the old rickety wooden chairs.

"Yep!" She smiled wide, her honey-colored eyes still twinkling even in the dim, yellowed lights of the bar. "I know it's only like, 30 minutes away, but I'm living there. If I never come home, I might as well be halfway across the country, right?"

I wrinkled my nose at her. "I suppose that logic works for now, but once winter hits, reality will set in that you're definitely still in Alaska."

Delilah laughed and smacked me in the arm. "I thought California people were supposed to be chill. UCLA didn't soften you up at all, did it? You're still the same hard-nosed pessimist you were when you left."

"I'm not a pessimist," I shot back at her. "I'm a realist. For example, it's a very real possibility that it will be 0 degrees here come January, and you'll be wishing you went to Oklahoma State like your brother did."

Delilah looked like she was about to fire back at me when Linda Dougherty came fumbling over to our table, donning a dark apron complete with wrinkles and a mustard stain. Her mousy brown hair was halfway pinned back, but judging by the sweat that beaded on her upper lip and the blotchy redness in her cheeks, she had been more put together a few hours ago. Her eyes went wide when her gaze landed on me.

"My goodness, Kennedy McAlister." I think she meant to sound shocked, but to me it just sounded disappointed. "You know I heard you were back in town, but I wouldn't have believed it until I saw it."

"Yeah, I really can't believe it either," I said with a forced, tight-lipped smile. Small talk in general gave me a headache, but small talk with people I didn't want to see just made me want to drink. "I'll take a vodka seltzer, light on ice please."

"Same," Delilah said with a quick nod.

"Delilah Boone I know you're not playing me for a fool." Linda put her hands to her hips. "I was just at your high school graduation not even a month ago."

Linda Dougherty had six children from age 27 to 7, so it was hard pressed to find someone in town that she didn't know between PTA meetings, soccer club, and the regulars at the Net.

"Hey, worth a shot," Delilah shrugged. "Gotta practice for college."

"Well then I'll get you a seltzer water with a lime so you can practice some more," Linda said with a grin before shuffling off. I watched her make her way to the bar and whisper something to a dark haired man beside her. Noise and smoke swirled in the air around me, and I heard Delilah say something though I couldn't string together the words. My head felt heavy as the sight of Grey pressed against the bar came into blaring view.

I could make out his broad-shouldered, messy-haired figure sandwiched between two guys I didn't recognize on the other side of the room. The same tatty, motor oil stained jean jacket he had been wearing since high school was draped over the stool behind him. He turned, and I felt like I was watching him in slow motion, his eyes casting a haze over me like dark clouds before a storm.

"Shit," I hissed through my teeth and ducked my head down.

Delilah followed my gaze to him and snickered. "I knew you've been avoiding Grey."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I grumbled.

She snickered again. "So it's just happy coincidence that every time he came to the shop this week you happened to have something urgent to tend to in the back office?"

I blew a piece of hair off my forehead and shot Delilah a stony glare. "Well yeah. I'm basically in charge when my mother isn't there, and I can't crunch numbers and run reports and make coffee at the same time."

Delilah's grin faded, and for a moment a look of distress flashed across her features.

"Look K, I love you like a sister." Delilah reached over and took my hand in hers. "And you know I wouldn't do this unless I had to...but there's something you need to know."

Her words echoed in my head. Anything I needed to know that involved Grey and I could only be bad. My knee started bobbing restlessly under the table.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to steady my voice.

I watched Delilah's throat ripple as she swallowed. "Well, about a week after you left for California, Jayden found out. About you and Grey." She paused and expected me to answer, but anything I could have said was swallowed up by thundering of my heart in my chest. Delilah rubbed her hand over the side of her face before continuing. "Jayden hunted Grey down and beat the snot out of him...in front of everyone at the summer fair."

My heart dropped into my stomach, sinking like a heavy stone to the bottom of a lake. Delilah continued talking, but she sounded far away. I could see some semblance of empathy in her eyes, but it didn't matter. What could she have said? Oh, I'm sorry the entire town knows you cheated on your golden boy, basketball star boyfriend with your best friend's quiet loner brother.

"So everyone knows then, I guess." I managed to choke out while biting back a sob.

"More or less, yeah." Delilah shrugged. "Grey may have made things worse when Jayden confronted him, but it's not my place to repeat what he said. He should be the one to tell you."

Linda had finally returned with our drinks, and without hesitation I downed half of it in one gulp, letting the liquor burn the back of my throat and loosen the anxiety that balled up in my chest. Delilah ordered fries, and I ordered another drink, with more vodka and less ice.

"It blew over pretty quickly," she said once Linda left our table.

"Because I wasn't here," I mumbled as twirled the tiny red straw that stuck out of my drink. "But now that I am...in the same town, in the same god damn bar as him, it's like pouring gasoline on a dying fire."

I was suddenly very aware of people's eyes on me. The air became hot and stagnant, and when I looked up, Grey stood with his back against the bar, a glass of amber liquid in his hand, eyeing me like a wolf about to devour sheep.

Nausea rolled through my stomach, and I knew I was going to be sick.

"I gotta go," I said hurriedly as I kicked the chair out from under the table. Blood rushed to my head in a fury as I stood, and stars filled the corners of my eyes, but instinct took over. I needed to get out of there.

"Kennedy, I'm your ride home." Delilah's voice was barely audible over the growing static in my head.

I threw a $5 bill down on the sticky wood before making a beeline to the door, suddenly regretting our table choice as I shouldered through a maze of old fishermen, smelling of the ocean and beer. I could practically taste the night air from the door when someone backed away from the bar and bumped into me, sending me crashing down to the cement floor with a thud.