7
Startled, Zoe nearly tripped over an invisible crack in the sidewalk. Padric grabbed her arm to keep her from falling, but she waved him off. “Go on.”
He ran his hand through his hair. “You were really important to me.”
Past tense, noted. Her stomach dropped.
“You were important to me, too.” She kept her tone as even and neutral as she could. “What’s your point?”
“When we left…I was a mess. Dealing with my parents, the move, a new school. I had to get a job to help out with money. It was a lot. I had to shut everything out else out. I channeled everything into my music, and I shut you out. I got your messages, and I didn’t answer any of them. I’m sorry.”
She drew in a long breath, feeling a painful echo of that long-ago hurt. Had she really been so easy to forget?
“Things change.
