Chapter 34: Vee

Two years had passed and everything had changed so fast. Patti and I had moved into an apartment that a few months earlier, we couldn’t even have dreamed of. It had two bedrooms and a view of some basketball courts.

A few weeks later, I finally got a break and boarded a plane with a lump in my throat and all the desire in the world churning in my stomach. I was coming back home.

I chose to keep my return a secret.

I preferred seeing my father drunk rather than watching him try to pretend he was someone decent, which would only turn him into someone he wasn’t.

I preferred Barnaby pointing his shotgun at me before he could hide the fact that he had missed me.

I wanted to see the genuine excitement in Yaron’s eyes when he saw me. I knew he would be home— it was a long weekend, and he would want to spend it with his family.

I wanted them all as they truly were, without masks, even though I knew surprising them came with risks.

I smiled to myself, proud, and walked through the city that had watched me grow up, my head held high and without regrets. For the first time, I wanted to be seen—and I enjoyed being seen.

I made my way to the Beilinson’s house. Standing at the front door, memories hit me hard. I rang the bell and waited.

It wasn’t Yaron’s mother or one of his sisters who opened the door. It was Daniel.

“Unbelievable. You show up out of nowhere and didn’t even bring a pie?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. That’s why I liked Daniel—he never treated me differently, never acted like I wasn’t still the quirky girl who always hung out with his best friend.

“Yaron! Someone’s here to see you!” he yelled, and winked at me.

“Who’s at the door...?”

My heart skipped a beat. There he was. Yaron. My Yaron.

He didn’t react at first; he just stared at me, as if trying to figure out if I was real.

I gave him time. I still felt like the same person, but maybe his perception of me had changed. Or had I changed...?

I didn’t know what to say. We had been playing an unspoken game of hide-and-seek for a year, but lately, Yaron and I had been missing each other. We were still looking for one another, but it seemed like we rarely found each other.

I was scared. At that point, Yaron and I were walking a tightrope so thin that any slip could make us fall.

That’s why I came back to Seattle. I had turned down some events to escape my new reality for a few days to try to get things back on track. It wasn’t much, but it had to be enough.

Yaron was the same as always—but also different. Older. More mature. I recognized his jeans; I even remembered the feel of the fabric between my fingers. But his shirt was new.

His hair was a bit longer. His skin, always pale, had come to have the complexion of someone who’d spent too much time indoors. His clear blue eyes still looked at me with that same intensity— a mix of love, fear, and curiosity.

I dared to take a step toward him. I didn’t need to take another.

He hugged me, catching me by surprise. I buried my face in his neck.

I was home.

“I can’t believe you’re here.”

He smiled and held my hand.

After a slightly awkward conversation with his family, we left.