Not Without You

thirty-three

Leo

I'm hanging out with Kolby tonight. He's just gotten back from a week-long camping-slash-hiking trip with his buddies.

"You should come along next time," he says as he chucks the ball for Buddy. I watch as the golden retriever bolts after the ball, splashing through the dark blue waters of Lost Lake. I rub my chin in puzzlement. I could have sworn there was a sign that said no dogs were allowed on this beach, but the idea of breaking a rule doesn't scare me as much as it used to. After being arrested and finding out that James, my mom's ex-fiancé, was the conservation officer that caught me, it's going to take a lot to shake me up.

Her ex-fiancé that she's meeting for dinner tonight.

"Nah," I reply, waving off his offer. My voice is almost as distant as my mind. I can't stop thinking about James and my mom. As much as I want my mom to be happy, I don't know how I feel about them potentially getting back together. Sure, they had feelings for each other all those years ago, but it's just...I don't know...Strange. "I'm not much of a hiker."

It's a bold lie, considering how much I love hiking and how much I've been doing since I arrived. But with the end of summer creeping closer, as each second passes, I know I don't have much time left with Aria. I don't have much time left to complete the bucket list. It's passing by too quickly and I wish I could freeze it or at least prolong the season. Despite how much I want to get to Halifax and play golf as my dad did, the ties to Whistler are becoming stronger and stronger. It's going to be difficult for me to leave this place.

Kolby laughs, running his hand through his chest-length beard. I touch my own face, cringing at the sight. I hope Aria never expects me to grow something like that. He claps me on the back. "That is such bullshit, man. I know you've been conquering the mountains with Aria Madden." He nudges me in the arm with his elbow. "A little bird told me the two of you were caught on private property."

"Technically," I say, staring out at the midnight-blue coloured sky, fringed with subtle shades of orange and pink. "I was the only one that was caught. By my mom's ex-fiancé, I might add. How did you even know Aria and I had been sneaking around?"

Instantly, I regret the words I've said. First of all, it implies that I took the fall for Aria and I's mistake. Which is something I actually did. That aside, nobody else needed to know about it. Secondly, it opens up a whole new field of questions for Kolby to ask. Despite the fact that we hang out whenever we get the chance, I've kept my ties to this town in the down-low.

Kolby gives me a look of shock as Buddy drops the ball at his feet. "Ex-finacé? James is your mother's ex-fiancé?"

"How do you know James?" I frown.

"I talk to him all the time," Kolby elaborates with a lazy shrug. He leans down to pick up the ball. It's sopping wet, causing water to slide down his wrist and drip from his elbow. "He's one of the best-known conservation officers in Whistler; he can always tell you which trails have seen the most active wildlife or which ones have been kept well-groomed. If you have any questions, he's the man."