the other girls in the village were jealous. Not only was she so pretty on the outside, but she was also the nicest person anyone had ever met.
“One day, the princess of the village became so jealous of Lily that she had the guards kidnap her and take her away. No one ever saw Lily again. Her best friend was so sad that, every day, he’d pick a lily from the field and place it in the river. When he put it in the water, he’d make a wish that Lily would find her way back home. For twenty years, he wished for her to come back. For twenty years, he put lilies in the water, but she never came back.”
“So, what happened to the boy?” Lily asks.
“He died of a broken heart because he couldn’t live without his best friend.”
“How old was he?” she asks.
“Twenty-seven, Little. He put flowers in the water for twenty years.”
“That’s a horrible story, Jax. I kinda hate it.”
“They can’t all be happy. Sometimes, bad things happen.”
“I don’t like it.” She shakes her head against the sand.
A warm wave from Lake Michigan comes in, covering our toes before retreating.
“Tell me another.”
“Okay. Let me look.” I peer at Lily’s face again and connect some more freckles with my finger. “I found another shape.”
“What is it?” she asks eagerly.
“It’s a dog’s paw.”
“Fun! What’s the story?”
“Well, once upon a time, there was this puppy named Max. He was really cute. He had black fur with a brown patch around each eye, so it made him look like he had fur goggles on.”
Lily giggles.
I continue, “A family adopted him, but when he was grown, the father in the family said that they needed to get rid of Max and take him to the pound. Max had a very bad flaw. He farted all the time, and his farts were so gross that they made his family want to throw up.”
Lily sits up, a whine escaping her mouth. “Jax!” she yells.
I lean back, laughing.
“What is wrong with you? That story is horrible!” she cries.
“Little, the freckles tell me what the freckles tell me. I’m just the storyteller here. There’s nothing I can do about it. The stories are what they are.”
Lily lets out an annoyed grunt.
“I don’t know why you’re mad at me. They’re your freckles!” I laugh.
My chest aches as I reminisce about the times that I’ve shared with Lily. From my earliest memory, she has been the one for me. I might not have always known it, but it has always been true. Because of my love for her, I have to let her go. It doesn’t sit right with my heart, but my mind has convinced me that it is what is best for Lily.
I’ve been putting it off for as long as I could, but the moment I saw her after the game, I knew it would come down to this night. When we left the party, we picked up some food before returning to the apartment. Over dinner, our conversation was light and happy. After eating, exhaustion hit me like a brick, so we went into my room to take a nap.
Now, lying here at eleven o’clock at night, I know that I have to tell Lily that we need to take a break. I can’t be what she deserves right now.
I’m always putting her last. I don’t want to, but it’s just the way it is. I’m so angry with my dad, but his arguments hold some truths. I did make a commitment to this school and my team. I have to see it through. It is all very stressful, and truthfully, it sucks. But it’s my reality.
Lily is two months into her first time living away from home. I want her to experience everything that college has to offer and enjoy this time. I don’t want her to be tethered to her phone, wondering when her selfish-ass boyfriend is going to throw her a line. That shouldn’t be her reality.
I want her to be young and carefree, to enjoy college life without the stress of a long-distance relationship. All the while, I’ll know that we will be together again when this is all over, when I can make her a priority in my life.
I pull in a breath and close my eyes. The next two years are going to be the hardest years of my life, but it’s what needs to be done. Right?