The Step Brother

25. The End of the World.

Willow

In the weeks to follow, she tries to return to normal. She attends classes and completes her school work. She writes Brooke off completely and attempts to make new friends with her dorm mates. She takes up running after discovering Columbia's running track. So when she can't sleep or she's feeling overwhelmed, she runs. While she's always been driven by academic success, she finds herself clinging to the thought of moving back to California. She'll spend hours scrolling through apartments for rent and looking into universities there. She's even gone as far as book marking a few jobs to apply for.

It's not an if in her mind, it's a when.

Her and Jace talk as much as they can. It's not as much as it used to be, or as much as either of them would like, and sometimes it leads to petty fights and hurt feelings. He recently confessed to Jack about not wanting to continue playing football. It didn't go as well as they'd hope for. So now Jace is dedicating himself to his schooling even more. He's desperate to find himself and what he wants to do with his future, as if it all has to be decided today.

They try to make spring break work to see each other but Jace's jeep breaks down and he has to use his plane ticket money to repair it. She makes plans to fly home for a surprise on July 4th but gets sick two days before. The summer is spent saving up money from their jobs, Jace with the Hawaiian restaurant and Will being an assistant at the law library. Anytime she brings up moving back home, he ignores it or changes the subject. She doesn't know why and she's too afraid to ask.

Soon enough, it's October and it's Halloween and it's their anniversary. And it feels like things have changed but neither one of them mentions it. They manage to have dinner with each other over face time. There's a lot of smiles and giggling and simply appreciating the other's presence, even if they're miles apart. It feels like old times.

Towards the end of the night, she's snuggled in her bed and trying her hardest to keep awake in order to continue speaking with him. His voice is sleepy and there's a few times she hears him snoring.

"I'm going to hate myself in the morning," Jace says, his voice muffled by the pillow he's sat his phone next to. "I gotta go to sleep, baby. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," She mumbles. "Thank you for spending Halloween with me."

"It's our anniversary, I can't miss it. I'll never miss an anniversary," He's practically talking in his sleep now. "I love you."

"Do you really?" She hears herself ask. Maybe it's the exhaustion and so she doesn't care about being vulnerable and needy with him in that moment. "You still find me worth it after all this?"

"You'll always be worth it."

She smiles tiredly. It's exactly what she needs to hear. "I love you, babe. Get some sleep."

In November, she looks forward to holiday break like a little kid with Christmas. She has her bags packed a week before. Jace is stressed that whole week, mostly about school and work. They don't talk until the night before she's about to fly out.

She's excited. She's giddy. She can barely contain herself when she sees his name appear on her phone. "Hey, babe!"

"Hey."

She hears it immediately. The edge to his voice. She knows he's upset. Her heart drops a little but she tries to give him some lenience. She knows he's under a lot of pressure. She tries to lighten his mood and focus on the good. In less than a few hours, they'll be able to touch each other for the first time in months. "I get to see you tomorrow!"

"I know."

It hurts. She lets her insecurities get the best of her. "You don't sound that excited."

"I am."