August had been gone for over 4 years, at this point, but Devils Point was his home. He had grown up here, gotten his fits job, his first car, his first girlfriend, here. This was where he belonged. When his older sister had casually mentioned another veterinarian retiring from the practice, he couldn’t help asking for more details. The second that Anya had figured out he was interested in the position, she had basically given him the job over the phone that afternoon. Following a more formal interview process, August had been hired and given a start date a couple of weeks out. The vet he was replacing was slowly phasing out of the practice and wanted some time to say goodbye to his long-time clients, which was completely understandable.
He had broken the lease at his condo complex and paid the hefty fee to do it but it was going to be worth it in the long run. For starters, a two-bedroom apartment in Devils Point was more than half as cheap as it was in Boulder, where he had been working for the last six months. On top of the fact that his sister and father were in town, too. Plus, he had yet to meet the police officer his sister had been with for a while now. He hadn’t come down when she had gotten into the car accident a couple of months back but he had FaceTimed her nearly every day for a few weeks just to check in. Despite being the younger of the two, August still felt a need to protect his sister. It sort of came with the territory when you had a sister as nice, some may say naive, as Anya.
His hands were gripping the steering wheel of his Chevy Traverse as if he was worried the wheel might pop right off for some reason. It wasn’t until his fingers were going numb that he even realized how tightly he was holding onto the wheel. While there were plenty of things to be excited about in moving back home, there was one thing sitting heavily on his chest, and not necessarily in a bad way. Just sitting there, weighting on him.
He squeezed the steering wheel again, trying to take in a deep breath. It had been years since he had even laid eyes on her. He had seen her on social media - a photo here, a news article there - but he hadn’t seen her 1,273 days. August 19. It had been four years ago, on August 19.
“I know, I know. I just...I can’t just let you go like this. It’s not fair. We’ve worked together at this for too long to just...I fucking love you. You know have to know that. Please tell me you know that.”
Not that he was counting. He really wasn’t; but the math wasn’t that difficult when he knew the last day he had seen her. The last night he had run his hand through her hair and rested his hand on the nape of her neck as he kissed her goodnight. He could almost feel her lips on his --
August swerved out of oncoming traffic and slammed his palms against the steering wheel. “Shit!” Apparently, at some point, he had closed his eyes and drifted into traffic. He tried to settle his heart back into his chest from his throat and turned the music down in the process. He wasn’t even halfway home and he was already loosing it.
“You know I’ll always love you, Willow wind...right? Don’t ever forget that.”
He had been home for almost two weeks and had somehow managed to not see Willow. It hadn’t been easy, he was sure. He went straight to work and straight home. Anya had accused him of avoiding her and he had shook it off, swearing that wasn’t it. He wasn’t even trying to protect Willow; he knew she was strong enough to see him. He was protecting himself. He had nearly gotten himself killed on the way home just because had been thinking about her. His friends from high school hadn’t been able to get him out on a Friday night in two weeks so he hadn’t been surprised when the all showed up at his new place and basically dragged him from inside, much to his dog’s dismay. Taco had barked, whimpered, and then given up at trying to be a part of the fun. She had curled up on her dog bed and watched as August had wrestled with his friends, only to be shoved into a car and driven off.
Three hours later, he had forgotten the reason he hadn’t gone out until now, well, not forgotten. He just wasn’t expecting her to walk through the door. He was laughing, drinking, and every once in a while, yelling. The bartender was one of their old friends so the drinks just kept coming. He knew they were racking up a serious bill but they hadn’t done this in years. He had just passed his practical six months ago and gotten his license. He hadn’t done this when he passed his exam so he was doing it now. “Ay, listen, you are all just jealous that I’ve --” but he was cut off by a cacophony of boo’s from his friends as they all lifted a shot into the air. August followed, his head cloudy with the alcohol they had been drinking.
“Cheers!” He threw back the shot, slammed the glass back to the table, and then his eyes settled. When they did, the silence in the room was palpable; all his friends must have seen her, too. His heart was in his throat and he was now painfully obvious to him that he hadn’t had dinner before he had gotten dragged from his apartment.
