pursed her lips together before continuing, “But in proving how strong I was, I wasn’t dealing with what had happened. Being here alone just let me ignore it and push it away, but it didn’t help me get any better.”
“I didn’t realize,” I said, feeling guilty. Obviously, I’d noticed that day in the quad had rattled her, but I’d wrongly assumed she’d pull out of it. That it had only been a minor setback in the grand scheme of things and she just needed a little more time. I felt stupidly naive.
“I want to get better, Sunny. I used to be a really happy person,” she said with a laugh, like it was a silly thing to say but it wasn’t. I could see it. “I just want to be happy again.”
“I want you to be happy too.”
And even though I really, really, really didn’t want her to go, I did want her to be okay. Her emotional health most definitely outweighed my own selfish reasons for wanting to keep her here.
And that was when it hit me like a ton of bricks. The stark realization of how I felt about Rocky’s state of mind and how Mac had said he felt about mine. Him wanting me to be happy, accepting this job with Danika, was more important to him than anything else. He was willing to put his feelings and wants aside for the greater good of my future and my happiness. It was the most selfless thing a person could do for another.
“Can you tell Baseball Boy I said bye?”
“He’s going to be devastated he missed you,” I said, tempted to pull my phone out and call Mac so he could see her in person before she took off.
“He’ll get over it.” She looked at the floor before focusing back on me. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you!”
“What?” I wondered what had gotten her so excited.
“Hayley’s gone,” she said with a shit-eating grin.
“No way. What do you mean, gone?” I asked because I knew she only had to finish out this semester before she graduated. “Did you do something to her?”
Rocky blew out a harsh breath. “I wish. No. She got into a skiing accident. Broke both of her legs. She’s finishing the semester online.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I follow that bitch on all her socials. Gotta stalk your enemies.” She gave me a nod, and I stood there in shock. “I need to go. It’s already later than I planned.”
“You were going to leave without saying good-bye?” I asked, feeling a little hurt.
“I wrote you a note. It’s under your door. And I was going to text you later,” she said, like that made everything better, but honestly, it kind of did. Rocky didn’t owe me anything.
We hugged one last time, and I watched as she left before I made my way into my apartment. I sent Mac a quick text to let him know that Rocky was gone and that Hayley was broken. He called me immediately and pouted—about Rocky, not Hayley. And even though we had originally planned on staying at our own places tonight, he told me to “hurry up” when I asked if I could come over instead.
*
None of the guys were at the house when I got there, and Mac and I were so tired from our bodies being three hours ahead that we got into bed early.
I’d brought Rocky’s note with me, so Mac and I could read it together. It was short and sweet, basically thanking us both for caring about her and that she was sorry she couldn’t stay. She said she wished she’d met us sooner, but now that she had, we weren’t getting rid of her that easily, no matter where we lived. That last part made Mac happy.
“She’s one of the fiercest people I’ve ever met,” Mac said after I folded the letter in half. I realized then that he felt connected to her somehow. “It’s her attitude and the way she doesn’t back down when life throws her a shit sandwich. She isn’t going down without a fight. I respect that, you know?”
I couldn’t stop the smile that stretched across my face. “You should have seen her that day with Hayley,” I said, and he gave me a confused look. “When Hayley called you and you told me to get away from her,” I added, and his face fell. “Rocky was amazing. If she hadn’t been there, I don’t know what I would