My eyes open of their own accord at 6 am the following morning.

I'm in my bedroom, upstairs. Aaron is asleep next to me, his arm lying over my middle. The duvets are warm and I'm very comfortable. I look at Aaron's sleeping face. He has a handsome face. I'm not attached yet, but I think I could be very easily. Then I look up at the ceiling.

I think it's time I return home. Or at least, leave this place.

I've had enough of a break. My parents don't know about the pregnancy yet. In fact, I haven't talked to them for longer than a few minutes at a stretch in the days since I took that flight and came to live with Maryann. Funnily, I suddenly feel an unbearable itch to tell my mother, though I've been somewhat dreading it. I miss her very intensely for a moment.

Then the door opens and Olive strolls in. She's dressed in her jogging clothes, glowing with sweat.

"I hate you." I say to her.

She glances over at Aaron. "And I hate you."

"Oh, my god. You're devious." I say. "Get away." I try to hide Aaron's face with my hands.

"Okay, shut up." Olive says. She crouches by my side. "I'm booking my return tickets for the 15th. Should I book yours, too?" She asks me intently. I can tell she wants me to say yes.

I sigh. "I don't know."

"I think you do." Olive says. "You can't hide out here forever."

"I'm not ... " I start, then lower my voice. "... hiding out." I sit up, pushing up on an elbow, holding the duvet to my chest. "What if I want to move here permanently, huh? What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with that?" Olive repeats, eyes wide and incredulous. "This place is garbage, is what. It's cold. It's rainy. They don't have any clubs. It's literally exactly like the shit town Coraline from Coraline lived in."

"I really like that movie." I remark.

"Sabine!" Olive snaps. "15th. Yes or no?"

Aaron shifts in his sleep. "Keep your voice down, first of all." I scold her. I think about it for a second. I mean, I was just thinking about the same thing right before Olive walked in. I think I'll take it as a sign.

"Fine." I say. Olive grins. "Yes, I knew it. You fucking hate this place, too."

"No, I don't." I say. "It's a lovely place to live in. You don't see it because you're too young right now."

Olive purses her lips, narrowing her eyes. "Okay, my wise old sister, whatever you say."

"And change the date to the 17th of November, not the 15th." I say.

"Ugh, why? Why would you wanna spend any longer – "

"15th is Hughes' birthday." I cut her off.

"Ohh." Olive says. "Right, right. Sure." She stands up, walks to the door, leaves, then comes back. "How was Mr. Meet-Cute, by the way?" She glances over at Aaron, who is still fast asleep.

I smile involuntarily, biting the inside of my cheek. Then I roll my eyes back in my head.

Ooh, Olive mouths. Ooh, I mimic her. She giggles merrily as she gently pulls the door shut.

*

I go out for lunch with Hughes that afternoon. He's very excited, chattering on about how well his meeting went, and how his project is a great success.

"That's wonderful, you dork." I tell him. "You deserve so much success. I can see how hard you work."

"Thank you." Hughes smiles proudly. "I'm simply the best, I can't help it."

"And you're so humble, too." I nod.

"Right? I'm like a package deal." Hughes smirks.

"For real." I say. "You should totally go on one of those bachelorettes' shows. They'd kill to marry you."

"I'd break the show." Hughes says.

"Yep. The ratings would be like 11/10. The critics would commit mass suicide."

Hughes breaks into a laugh. He subdues it. "Yeah." He says. "I love that idea. It's so genius."

"Yeah, it's my idea." I grin.

Hughes rolls his eyes. "So, did you book an appointment yet?" He asks.

"Mm, not yet." I tell him. "I'm probably flying back home on the 17th, so I'll just go see one then."

"Oh." Hughes says. "17th. That's ... five days from now."

"Yep." I say. "Olive wanted to leave on the 15th, but then I told her to postpone it, because, obviously, the 15th is a special date."

"Ah, is it?"

"Yes, dipshit. Yes, it is." I say. "And I'm going to throw you such a fun fucking party, you'll never recover from it."

"That sounds like fun." Hughes says. "Not." Then he cackles.

"Oh, ha-ha. That is so funny." I say. "If it were 2002. Grow up."

*

We drive to the waterfall again, and get a cup of gelato from a place nearby. One scoop of cheesecake and one of Belgian biscuit.

"I love coming here." I breathe in the cold air deeply. It's so fresh that it stings.

Hughes comes and stands beside me, leaning backwards on the railing. He scoops a tiny spoonful of ice-cream into his mouth. "Mhm. I come here by myself all the time. I just like to look at the waters and think."

"Really?" I ask. "I can't picture that for some reason."

Hughes chuckles as he offers me the cup. "Believe it or not, I can be thoughtful."

"I never said you aren't thoughtful." I protest as I take a tentative spoon of the cheesecake. I wrinkle my nose. It's sourer than it needs to be.

"I was kidding, Sabine." Hughes nudges me with his elbow. He turns around, facing the waterfall. He points at something in the waters a moment later. "There, do you see that?"

"What?" I ask, distracted because the Belgian biscuit is so much better than the stupid cheesecake.

Hughes puts his hand on my back and directs my line my vision. "There. You see it now?"

"That fish? Against the rock?" I ask confusedly.

"Yeah." Hughes nods. "Watch. It's going to get swept away soon."

Hughes and I share the gelato between us as we watch the fish. It's stuck against the rock, struggling hopelessly against the water. It's inevitably going to get dragged downstream, but it doesn't seem to know that. And then, a few moments later, it does get washed away. One moment it's there, and the next – it's gone so fast that I don't even see where it went.

"Oh." I say. "That's so sad." I look at Hughes. His lips are parted, and his eyes look lost in thought. I wonder what he's thinking about. Who he's thinking about. He turns his face towards me. I feel a butterfly or two. A dim smile takes over his face. He tells me that sometimes he feels like the fish. "Just sometimes. You know? When I'm feeling down." That he's going to get washed away downstream no matter how hard he struggles against the current, because that's just how it is.

My heart feels like a fist is squeezing around it. Wordlessly, I reach up and pull Hughes into a hug. His arms come up gently around me. He breathes softly into my shoulder. I squeeze him tightly. I pull away to look at him, my hands at the back of his neck.

"I'm here for you, Hughes. Always." I say. Hughes nods, but he looks a little distrusting. Like he doesn't believe me. I don't blame him.

"I know it hasn't always felt like that, and I'm so sorry about that, but I promise you right now, with my whole heart, that I am here for you. I'm rooting for you. Okay?" I say.

Hughes looks at me with his deep brown eyes, and I can't tell what he's thinking about. I put my head against his chest. His heart thumps softly in there. I look at the waters. Hughes rests his chin atop my head. I feel a terribly sad guilt coalesce in the center of my chest.