I stood in line at the grocery store with food in my cart, feeling my stomach rumble. Fasting for Thanksgiving seemed like a smart idea at the beginning of the day, but now I was just starving and cranky.

As I loaded the items on the checkout, I looked at the magazine stand. On one front page was Miles with another girl that I had never seen before. My blood ran cold as I stared at the cover. 'New girlfriend for Kit?' the title read.

Miles and I weren't dating, but I thought we had something. Or maybe this was his plan all along to lead me on. Unable to stop myself, I picked up the magazine to buy.

Thanksgiving was today, but the only thing I could think about was Miles. If I wasn't with him the last few days, I was thinking about school, and I couldn't have that. That stressed me out too much, so Miles was a welcomed distraction. We had not talked about the kiss we had but his magazine made me want to bring it up, even if I was scared to.

"That will be $51.23," the cashier said.

I shook my head to clear it, then gave her my credit card.

She rang it and handed it back as I put the bags into the cart. "Have a good day," she said with a smile before I walked out of the store.

I smiled at her, then walked to the parking lot, trying to find Mom's car. She wanted to carpool for running errands but obviously; she forgot to pick me up.

I pulled out my phone to text her, but noticed it was dead. My phone was always dead at the most inopportune times. With a sigh, I sat down on the sidewalk to wait.

The warm sun hit my face which made me grateful that it was fairly warm today. To pass time, I pulled out the magazine and flipped through its pages.

I don't think I had ever picked up a gossip magazine before. The bold print and bright colors of the pages pull me deeper into articles by the passing moment. Quickly I got to the part about Miles' 'secret' lover named Izzy and I couldn't pry my eyes from it, reading every single word on the page.

My stomach sank to the ground as tears pricked my eyes. I was a game to him. Seeing this article confirmed that I couldn't be his friend anymore. It was too hard. After that kiss, I was finding it impossible.

Breaking me from my thoughts was a body standing over me. I looked up at Mom with a smile.

"Ready to get out of here?" Mom asked.

I nodded as I got up from the ground and brushed myself off. I was just surprised that I didn't have to wait longer.

"Sorry I'm late, had to get gas," she said, jingling keys that had a million key fobs on them. She sighed as we walked towards the car. "No, it's a problem. I was late. Listen, I know I haven't been present for the past year, but I want you to know that I love you. I'm doing all of this for you and your siblings."

I frowned, not sure if I wanted to have this conversation in a parking lot. This heart-to-heart conversation was better in a private place. I knew she was trying to provide, but sometimes I just wanted her to be a mom. "I know."

"As I have thought about what I was grateful for this past week, all I could think of were you three. I've missed so much after your father died." Her eyes welled up with tears. "I don't want to miss any more about your life."

I grabbed her hand and gave a squeeze. Finally, she realized what I've been hoping for. My eyes welled up with tears as my heart sped up. "I love you so much, Mom. I miss you, I miss this."

She kissed my hand as she turned the car on. "I'm going to try be more present, for all of you. I don't want to wake up one day and find that you three have grown up and moved away. I want to treasure what I have with you, now. I love you."

And I loved her. I always would but this made me love her move. As the conversation died out, I wanted to do one more thing before dinner. "Can you take me to Miles' place? I have to drop something off."

"Sure, will you drive back with Miles for dinner?"

I nodded.

Within a few moments, I walked into Miles' apartment building as a storm brewed beneath my skin. I swallowed the fear as I looked at the magazine in my hands, one more time, giving my confidence. I couldn't remain his friend with questions any longer. I needed an answer.

I stalked into the building with the magazine in hand. Finally, I walked to his door and knocked on it with force.

The door opened to reveal Miles with a smile on his face. He looked pleasantly surprised to see me. "Hey, Isla."

Without waiting for him to invite me in, I stormed in. "What is this?" I asked as I held up the magazine.

He took the article from me, then ran his hand through his hair with worry appearing in his eyes.

I sighed as I shook my head. He lied to me and that hurt the most. Izzy was someone. "Miles, I can't do this anymore." My eyes welled up with tears as emotions bit into me like a shark eating a fish.

His frown deepened as he pulled me into a hug.

I hugged him back as if it would be my last time doing so. Was I truly ready to say goodbye to him if he didn't want to date me? Could I say goodbye to this friendship we had? I wasn't sure if I was strong enough.

"The thing was, I thought we could be friends. And for a while I convinced myself I was happy with that. But I'm not," I said as tears wet his t-shirt.

As the weeks have gone by, I had fallen for Miles. I liked everything about him. I liked the way he said my name, the way he smiled, his honesty, how deeply he cared about so many things. But if he was going to give his affection to someone else, I was finished with letting me lead me on.

"Isla. She's no one."

I shook my head. I didn't think I could believe him again. It had been days since we kissed, and we had not brought it up. Did he just want to kiss the closest person around? What did he see me as?

He gave a pained sigh as he let go of me. He paced around the room, thinking until he stopped to face me again. "Isla, you know I'm not good at relationships."

I put my hands on my narrow hips, finding that as a poor excuse. My heart was breaking. Rodger was right, I was going to get my heart crushed. "What did that kiss mean?"

He frowned in silence, and that was enough of a response for me. I wiped the tears from my eyes as I tried to pull myself together. I was in love with Miles Kit Keen, and he didn't feel the same about me.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said finally.

He already did. "You're crushing my heart, Miles." Looks like I was walking home today. I couldn't ride in the same car as him. I stepped towards the door, but Miles stepped in front of me.

"I don't want you to leave."

I shook my head. "What are you afraid of? You can't keep leading me on."

He bit his lip and tapped his hand on his thigh. This was the face he always made when he thought about things on a deep level. "I'm afraid that once I date you, we'll break up in a fiery explosion, like all of my other relationships. You mean more to me than my own life."

I let out a raged breath. "Miles, can't you see I love you?"

He took a step back from me, speechless.

Maybe I said too much. It caused silence to fill the room like a thick fog. Maybe I should have not come before I sorted out my emotions. I was crashing and burning.

"You love me?" he asked finally.

I nodded at him. "Of course I do." I thought that this was obvious. I loved him from the moment he came to play that game of pig with me.

He pinched his lips together, making them into a thin line. "I love you too.

My heart stopped. Did I really hear that right? He loved me? But if he loved me, then what was he doing? "Then what are we doing?"

He sniffled as he tried to hold his emotions at bay. "I don't want to be around when this falls out."

His negativity was causing a lump to form in my throat. "You're already banking on us to self-destruct. But I don't see that. We have something that none of your other loves had."

"And what is that?"

I smiled. "You have me. I won't let you crash and burn. Whatever comes our way, we'll figure it out, together."

He chuckled lightly as he wiped a tear from my face. "Isla Anne Maas, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes." The lump vanished as I kissed him. Of course, I was going to say yes.

He smiled at me then deepened the kiss. I kissed him back with just as much force, not wanting him to let me go.

Finally, Miles broke apart to catch his breath.

I smiled as I rested my forehead against his, intertwining my fingers with his.

"I'll always need you in my life," he said firmly as he pulled me into him.

I nodded into his shoulder. His steady breathing was calming. Minutes passed in silence as we held each other. As much as I wanted to stay here with him, I knew we had somewhere else we had to be. "Want to get to my place for Thanksgiving?" I asked as I pulled away from him.

"I have been looking forward to it since you invited me," he said with a smile.