Noah's POV

It's been almost a full day since I last saw Fee. If I'm being completely honest, I thought that me showing up to Greenwich would be enough to get her to realize how much I want to be with her. For her to take me back. And now, the only thing she's made clear is what I hoped she wouldn't — that she wants nothing more to do with me.

Maybe I overstepped my place by coming here, or even writing what I wrote in her journal, but when it comes to Fee, I don't think straight. I think I've made that perfectly clear from the start.

I dial Justin to let him know that I booked myself an 8 am flight back to South Carolina tomorrow. I figured it made the most sense to not rush there today, even though I have no fucking business being in this town anymore.

"I'm sorry, bro," Justin says over the phone, and I hate his pity. I don't want it. After today, I no longer want to think about anything that has to do with Fee. She made what she wants crystal-clear, and in turn, I have to convince myself that that's what I want as well.

"Whatever man, it's over with. At least I got an answer. It wasn't the one I was looking for, but what can I say? Life's not fair."

After I hang up with Justin, I order room service, turn on the TV and plant myself on the shitty bed. The Notebook would be the first thing to come up on the screen. I swear, I laugh at the fucking irony in my life.

I end up watching 20 minutes of the sappy chick flick until my phone buzzes with a text message:

Fee: Meet me at the boardwalk in an hour. The same one we were at yesterday.

I grab my denim jacket and head for the door. I don't give a shit about my flight tomorrow or the burger that I just ordered to my room. Everything else can wait.

***

Sophia's POV

"Thanks for meeting me here," I tell Noah, who's standing before me with his hands tucked into his jean pockets. I raise my journal in the air and he looks at it before shifting his eyes back to me. "Nice letter."

"I thought I owed you an explanation," he says. "Sorry it took so long." He rakes his fingers through his hair, and I can tell that he feels nervous.

"It meant a lot to me," I tell him. 

"I meant every word," he says.

"I know you did."

I have millions of thoughts running through my brain right now, but I don't know what else to say.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks me, and I almost forgot how good he is at reading my mind.

"You," I tell him honestly. I can't help it; the word just slips out. "I thought a lot about what you said. About what you wrote. I read it last night after you left the boardwalk, but I needed some time to process everything." I pause and keep my eyes on him. "We need to be sure that being together is what we want."

"I'm sure that I want to be with you, Fee," Noah says. "I couldn't be surer."

I shake my head and bite down on my lip. "How is this going to work, Noah? I leave for college in a week, and you're in Charleston. What? We're going to do the whole long-distance thing? We could barely make it work when we were 2 miles away from each other." Noah laughs, but I stay committed to my words. "I'm serious, Noah. Really think about this."

"I have, Fee. That's the thing, I have," he walks up to me and holds onto my hands. I've missed the warmth of his touch on mine. "Let me come with you," he states.

"To D.C.?" My eyes widen, and he smiles. "What about Clay's? And Maggie?"

The second I say 'Maggie', his smile turns into a blank expression. I knew he didn't think this through.

"Exactly," I say to him. "Your whole life is in Charleston, Noah. You can't just walk away from it. You have responsibilities."

"And you're one of them, Fee. We can make this work...if you want to."

I pause for what feels like seconds, but actually ends up being longer. I don't know what to do. My head is spinning, and I keep searching the boardwalk like it's going to give me the answers that I need.

"What do you want to do, Fee?" Noah asks, reminding me that I need to make a decision. "What's it gonna be?"