...But do you remember?

James

Something was off with Augustine. I knew the moment I woke up and she wasn't in the bed. I had wandered downstairs to see her sitting on a living room chair reading.

"Morning," I smiled, heading over to give her a kiss. Just before my lips met hers, she subtly tilted her head, so I kissed her cheek.

"Everything okay?" I asked, taking her hand in mine.

"Yeah, of course," she said, forcing a smile. I saw right through her, noticing the sadness in her eyes. I could've pushed it but chose not to.

"I'll make breakfast, okay?" I told her.

Augustine nodded in response, going back to her book. I went to the kitchen and began making eggs and toast. I cracked a few eggs and mixed them up with a fork, my mind spinning of what could be wrong with Augustine. We had just decided to stay together. Maybe she was sad about leaving, but at least we'd still have each other.

Maybe she —

"James!" a voice squealed.

I turned to see Aurora in The Little Mermaid pyjamas with her curly hair even more poofy than usual. She ran over with her arms reaching for me.

"Hi, Aurora," I said warmly.

"Rory!" she corrected.

"Rory," I smiled, pinching her little nose.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, her voice sounding adorably funny. She giggled at the sound of it and pinched my nose.

"Say something!" she demanded.

"Hello, Rory, this is the tickle monster speaking," I began, smiling when Aurora giggled at my voice. "And this tickle monster is looking for someone to tickle!"

Aurora's eyes widened and she let go of my nose. She tried to squirm out of my arms, but I held her tight and began tickling her. Her high pitch laugh was hilarious as it was contagious, and I found myself chuckling as I carried her upside down to the living room, noticing Augustine was gone.

"Put me down!" she squealed, trying to talk through her giggles. In response, I tickled her stomach, and she laughed even harder.

"There you go," I said, gently lowering her onto the couch.

Aurora took a few deeps breaths, her giggles receding.

"Is the tickle monster done tickling?" she asked, her face turning serious.

"Hm," I pretended to consider. "Maybe just for now. But I do need help making breakfast. Do you know of anyone who could help?" I glanced around the living room like I was looking for volunteers.

"Me! I can!" she exclaimed, scrambling up so she was standing on the couch. "Let me help!"

"On one condition," I told her. "I get a hug."

Her face lit up as she jumped into my arms. "Big hug!" she squealed.

"Alrighty, princess, let's make some breakfast," I laughed.

Augustine

I spent the entire day avoiding James. I didn't know how to tell him we were done. It'd hurt too much to stay together, knowing I wouldn't be able to see him. I knew I was just scared, but I didn't care.

If James noticed I was off, he didn't show it, aside from the awkward conversation we had this morning. Part of me still hadn't made a decision. I chose to put it off until after the dinner.

A knock on the door downstairs stirred me out of my thoughts. I looked at myself in my bedroom mirror, smiling at the sky-blue sundress I wore, covered in a pattern of forget-me-not flowers. I radiated with confidence, reminding me of how much I had changed in only a few weeks.

Is it thanks to James, or me? I wondered, tying two blue bows at the end of my French braids. I heard laughter downstairs and headed down, unable to avoid what was sure to be a challenging night.

Turning the corner to the living room, I froze, my mind blanking.

James stood facing me, wearing a white, long-sleeve dress shirt and black dress pants. His hair was messy as usual, and he wore his signature glasses. My stomach fluttered and tightened at the sight of him.

"Hi, Augustine," he said.

I managed a small wave.

"Well, Augustine, don't you look beautiful," Leah gushed, and I walked over to give her a hug. Miles held out his hand for a fist bump and I obliged, taking in his appearance.

He wore the same outfit as James, except the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, and his hair was styled back.

I stepped back from Leah, giving her husband, Brian, a smile.

"Well, let's go eat!" Mom exclaimed, gesturing to the kitchen.

"Be there in a minute," Miles said.

"Everything smells lovely," Leah commented to my mom, causing her to blush.

"I've been experimenting with..." Mom began as they entered the kitchen, the rest of their conversation out of earshot.

"Uh, Auggie, can I talk to you?" Miles asked.

My eyes darted to James, but he was looking at the floor.

"Sure," I told Miles, leading him to my room. I opened the door, and he sat down at my desk.

"What's up?" I asked nonchalantly.

"What the hell is going on?" he burst out. "One minute, James is glowing brighter than a freaking firefly and now he's depressed and says you won't even speak to him. Is this your idea of a joke?"

My lip trembled as I sat down at my bed. I didn't know what to say and placed my head in my hands.

"Fuck, I'm sorry," Miles said, coming over to me. He placed his hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner. "I'm just confused."

"So I am," I said, slowly bringing my gaze to face him. "I'm so lost. I swear I care about him, but I don't know if we can stay together. I get that long distance can work, but I think I just need time to work on myself. That's not bad, right?"

"Auggie, no, it's not bad," Miles reassured me. "But that's no reason to shut him out."

I nodded, knowing I was being a jerk to James.

"The thing is, long distance is good for working on yourself. And you know James is always there if you need him. I know I'm biased, but he really is a great guy. You should at least give him a chance."

A few stubborn tears leaked out of my eyes. "I'll think about it, okay?" I said to Miles through my blurry vision.

"Just don't give up because you don't think you deserve happiness," he said, squeezing my shoulder.

"Ok," I sniffed.

"Let's go eat dinner," he smiled, standing up.

"Miles?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

James

"This chicken is absolutely delicious," Leah said, complimenting Francine's cooking.

"Thank you!" Francine smiled.

As the two began yet another conversation about food and cooking, I stole a glance at Augustine, who sat at the far end of the table next to Miles. She looked beautiful as always, with a gorgeous dress that immediately made me want to wrap her in my arms and kiss her. Her eyes were a bit red, leading me to believe she had been crying. Miles whispered something to her, and she nodded, sending him a grateful smile.

I thought back to the night before, when Augustine was convinced we could stay together. I poured my heart to her, and she trusted me. I thought back to sleeping on her chest, knowing there was no better feeling. I remembered seeing the lyrics and poems pasted along her wall, along with her journal laying on her nightstand.

Her journal.

My fork clattered on my plate, causing everyone to turn their attention to me.

"Sorry," I muttered, looking down at my plate. "I'm just going to go to the washroom. Excuse me."

I pushed back my chair and stood up, heading to the hallway. Hearing the conversation resume and making sure no one was watching me, I tiptoed quietly up the stairs and entered Augustine's room.

Her journal lay on her nightstand as usual. I ignored the pit in my stomach telling me what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn't help it; I needed to know what was going on.

Sitting on her bed, I grabbed the journal and opened it, flipping through the entries. I paused at one written on August 20. I skimmed the entry, stopping at a paragraph in the middle:

He held me after, kissing my forehead and softly scratching my back. His skin was warm against me, and I never wanted to leave. I fell asleep so easily, drifting away to the sound of his soft breathing and arms around me. I loved being with him.

I smiled despite my snooping, loving how she appreciated that night as much as me. I went back to the start of the entry, seeing if it said anything else about our night together.

After an amazing time at the Sandspit amusement park, I stayed with James for the night. My mom and Leah think James and I are very cute, so they had no problem with us spending the night together. Leah set up a mattress for me in James's room, which remained untouched.

After my mom took Aurora home, Leah, Miles, James, and I watched a movie before bed. I borrowed pjs and a hoodie from James again. I had to stop myself from smelling his hoodie, but honestly, it smelled so good. I couldn't help myself.

I smirked at the last two lines. Shaking my head, I kept reading.

Anyway, after the movie, James and I got ready for bed. Miles left us alone after making some sex jokes about the two of us. He seemed to be back to his normal self. It was so weird that I thought he liked me. He was definitely sending signals, but it was good to know he was just feeling off that night. I believed him. There's no reason he'd be into me.

I froze.

Miles liked Augustine? Is that why she's acting so weird?

The doorknob turned and Augustine entered her room. My heart stopped.

Fuck.

My eyes widened as she took in me reading her journal, a story of her most private thoughts, while sitting on her bed. She looked lost for words, similar to how I felt. I couldn't think of an excuse; all that went through my mind was the fact that I had messed up. Badly. I stared at Augustine, waiting to hear her reaction.

"I trusted you," she spoke finally. "I trusted you, and you shattered everything."

A/N: Almost at the finale here. Thank you to everyone who has made it this far, and thank you for 300 reads!