Water droplets glistened on his chiselled upper body, and I had to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor in awe. 

Levi shirtless had blessed my eyes. 

'Maintain eye contact Sadie!' I reminded myself, fighting off the tempting urge to keep staring at his abs. 

"Get out!" he said coldly. His entire demeanour had changed from when I first entered the house. I could feel the anger roll off him in waves.

In my opinion, he was overreacting. It was just his room, he didn't need to act like it was so private and such a big deal. 

"You know, it wouldn't kill you to be a bit nicer to people.  Just because you're good looking and popular doesn't give you the right to treat people like shit! First, you insulted my best friend, didn't even bother to say 'hi' to me when I came here, and now this. You ever heard of manners? Clearly not." 

All my pent up anger and frustration at him came rushing out. He grabbed a shirt from his closet and pulled it over his head, probably in an effort to drown out my voice. 

Not allowing him to say anything, I went on. "If we're going to get this damn project done, you have got to learn to be nicer to me," I huffed in exasperation.

He looked shocked at my outburst, but quickly regained composure. His expression then morphed from anger to amusement at the fact I'd actually told him off. 

After a few moments of silence, he replied, "Fine. I'm sorry."

I hadn't expected him to cave so quickly and apologise, but I was glad he did. And I had to admit, he did look very cute apologising. 

Ugh Sadie, what is wrong with you?

"And I wasn't trying to rip into your friend, Athena, by the way. The reason I said that Carter wouldn't be into her, is because he's gay. He hasn't fully come out yet, so don't go telling that to everyone please." 

"WHAT?!" I nearly screamed. "He's gay? Oh my gosh, Athena is going to be so heartbroken. She's fully IN LOVE with the boy!" 

"I could tell, from that day at the restaurant. You know, when you called me arrogant and self-absorbed?" The corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk and embarrassment rushed through me. "Maybe, you should be the one apologising to me for being so rude."

I looked sheepishly at him. "Yeah...about that...I'm sorry. That was way out of line."

A soft smile spread across his handsome features but it was gone as quickly as it came, his face returning to its usual demeanour. 

Suddenly, I was aware that I had been at his house for nearly two hours and I had forgotten to tell Mom where I was. She would've been worried sick. I quickly checked my watch and was shocked to see that it was already 5 o'clock. 

"Ugh, I know that we didn't get much done, but it's getting kind of late and I should probably head home. Maybe we could catch up tomorrow during lunch to discuss some things for the project?"

"Yeah that's fine. Here's the book to read for some ideas," he said, handing it to me. "Oh, and thanks for wasting my time by the way," he replied, a glint of mischief in his eyes. 

Hmm...I wouldn't consider it a complete waste of time. I mean, I did get to see you shirtless.

✵✵✵

It was late and I had spent the last half hour arguing with my sister to let me watch TV in the downstairs living room. Annoyed that I hadn't won the argument, I bounded up the stairs and sunk into the plush sheets of my bed. 

Just as I was tucking myself in, my phone 'pinged' signalling a new notification. 

The last time I'd talked to Alec was when he broke the news of his move. I was glad that he was finally reaching out to me again.

 I hated any reminder of how short the time we had together was. But I knew that I definitely wanted to talk to him. There were so many things I wanted to tell him that I'd never gotten the chance to. 

Just as I was putting my phone away and preparing to go to bed, Mom gently opened my room door. 

"Hey sweetie," she said as she plopped herself down onto my bed. "Are you busy tomorrow afternoon?"

"No, why?"

"Can you and Aria help Ivory tomorrow after school?" 

"Ugh...fine," I replied half-heartedly, causing Mom to smile. 

"Thank you, Sadie," she said as she kissed me on the cheek and turned around to leave. 

"Hey, Mom..." I said suddenly, and she swivelled to face me. "Did you know that...that Alec is leaving to Greece in a bit?" 

Shock crossed her features and she came and sat next to me on the bed. "Really? But...why?"

"Some personal, issues I guess..." I replied, not really wanting to discuss it.

"And how are you feeling about the news?" she prodded, gently. 

"It just feels like...like everything in my life is falling apart. First, my boyfriend of two years cheats on me, and now one of my closest childhood friends is moving ACROSS the world!" 

Everything I'd been internalising came gushing out, like a burst dam. Tears welled up in my eyes, threatening to fall. Was everything that was happening in my life my fault? It's easy to blame yourself when things go wrong so quickly. 

"Everything is changing so fast, I can't keep up," I whispered as the tears rolled down my cheeks.

I was doing a lot of crying lately. 

Mom shuffled closer to me on the bed and wrapped her arms around me. 

"Oh honey," she mumbled, rubbing my back soothingly. "This past week has been absolutely terrible for you. I know that so much has happened, but I want you to know that things aren't falling apart; they're just realigning. Not everything or everyone in your life is meant to be something beautiful and lasting. Sometimes people come into your life to teach you about yourself - to show you who you can be, to show you what you want, or sometimes to just be that person you stay up late at night with, spilling your life to. Not everyone is meant to stay in our lives forever. But that doesn't make the memories you shared with them any less special." 

She paused for a moment, before continuing, "I know that your friendship with Alec did become rocky because of Elijah, but the friendship you share is real and genuine. Distance won't change that. Alec is moving on with his life Sadie. That doesn't mean he doesn't want you to be a part of it. And Elijah...well I know he didn't always treat you right and he hurt you bad, but the two of you did share a lot together. He was there for you when Dad died, and the weeks after the accident. I know you probably won't believe me, because you hate his guts, but Elijah was put in your life to teach you your worth. He wasn't meant to stay."

I needed to hear that. Mom always knew the right things to say and how to make me feel better. 

I hugged her tighter and whispered, "Thanks, Mom."