As July turned to August, it became very real to me that this was the final month at the mountain house, and I was going to be starting college before I knew it.

The first weekend of August, Edwin came up for a few days, as his parents were getting on his case again.

At one point during the day while we were hanging out, Edwin was ranting about his mom and dad. He then turned to me and stated, "Sometimes I think you should count your lucky stars that you don't have to deal with your mom."

Um, what?

Before I could respond, Heather jumped in, "Now why the fuck would you say that, Edwin?"

Edwin's eyes widened, "I didn't mean it like that!"

I took a pause before saying, "I know you didn't. But I'm not lucky that I got kicked out of my house and my mom doesn't want to talk to me."

Edwin bowed his head shamefully, and then nodded, "Sorry."

As Edwin looked at his phone, Heather mouthed, "Are you okay?"

I nodded, even though what Edwin said bothered me.

The fact that my mom kicked me out of her house was something that stung every single day.

That night we were all going to Julian's, as it was his sister's 22nd birthday."

Julian seemed happy that Edwin was there, and the two immediately started to get flirty. Though I noticed that Edwin seemed in low spirits.

Haley kept going up to Miranda, Julian's older sister, and singing the song "22" by Taylor Swift. As Miranda rolled her eyes but laughed, Michelle said to Haley, "I had no idea you were a Swiftie."

Haley smiled and shrugged, "She's only been my top artist on Spotify for 3 years in a row."

At one point as Heather and I were grabbing drinks from the cooler, Julian came up to us.

"What's up with Edwin?" he asked, "He seems down. He's barely giving into my sexual innuendos."

"He said something really dumb to Alice and I think he feels bad about it," Heather rolled her eyes.

"What did he say to you?" Julian asked me.

"Basically that Alice is lucky that she doesn't have to deal with her mom," Heather explained.

Julian's eyes widened, "Your mom kicked you out for being gay, right?"

I nodded, "She did. Hence why it was dumb. But I don't want him feeling too bad or letting it ruin his whole day."

"Edwin speaks without thinking sometimes," Heather looked at me, "His mouth has gotten him in trouble before."

"Hey, I've experienced his mouth doing wonderful things," Julian said, and Heather and I both couldn't help but to laugh.

As the three of us stood together, drinking our Truly's, Edwin came over and he looked nervous.

"You okay?" Julian asked Edwin.

Edwin shook his head "no", and then looked at me, "I'm so sorry for what I said earlier, Alice. I've been feeling so guilty about it all day, and I shouldn't have said it."

For the first time, I was seeing Edwin vulnerable. He always acted like a bit of a diva, so I wasn't used to seeing this side of him.

"Please accept my apology," he added.

I nodded, "I accept your apology, Edwin. Thank you. I don't want you feeling guilty about it, I'm okay."

Edwin gave me a relieved smile, though it didn't quite meet his eyes, "Thank you, Alice."

As the night went on, I didn't really want to swim, but I dipped my feet in the water as the others went in the pool.

To my surprise, Edwin sat down next to me.

"You don't feel like swimming?" he asked.

"Not really. I just showered before coming here, and I'd have to again after swimming. Why don't you want to swim?"

Edwin turned to me, "Do you see my makeup? It's flawless, I don't want even a speck of water ruining it."

Edwin's makeup was flawless. His skin looked like it was airbrushed, and his eyeliner was better than I've ever been able to do in my life.

"You do look great," I said to him.

"Thank you, though I don't really deserve your compliments. Once again, I'm sorry."

"It's really okay, I accepted your apology."

"You're better than me, I'd hold a grudge forever if I were you."

Just to mess with Edwin I responded, "Who says I'm not going to?"

His eyes widened, and I laughed, "I'm just kidding."

Edwin chuckled, and he then said softly, "You don't have to tell me. But what happened when you got kicked out? I can't imagine how that day was for you."

"I think my brain has tried to block most of it out. There was a lot of my mom yelling at me, and then she started to cry and told me to get out of her house," I said, feeling detached as I spoke, "I packed a bag quickly as she kept on telling me how ashamed she was of me, and I then rushed out to my car, and called my Aunt. She immediately told me I could come over and stay with her. My mom yelling at me how ashamed and disgusted she was still haunts me."

"I'm so, so sorry Alice. You didn't deserve that,". Edwin said to me, "I can't believe what you've been through."

I looked at Edwin and said with a playfulness to my tone, "Not to mention, this all happened on a Monday night. Terrible timing."

Edwin looked at me and smiled, "You're a trooper. I'm glad I know you, Alice."

Edwin's words made me smile back at him, as it meant a lot.

For the first time in my life, I was truly feeling valued, and like I meant something to someone.

That night I joined Heather in her bedroom, and of course we fooled around. I couldn't resist her.

Afterwards, I lay next to her, my body still warm and my legs feeling like Jello.

"I saw you and Edwin talking," she said to me, "I assume he apologized to you again."

I nodded against Heather's chest, "He did. We had a good conversation as well. He was really kind, surprisingly."

Heather chuckled, "He can be sweet when he wants to be. He's kind of like a sour patch kid."

"I can totally see that."

Heather mindlessly played with my hair, and I said, "He told me that he's glad he knows me, which meant a lot."

"That's high praise coming from him. However, I wholeheartedly agree, "I'm glad I know you too, Alice."

I lifted my head and looked at Heather, "I can't really picture my life without you, honestly."

Heather gazed at me with a look I hadn't quite seen before, "I feel the exact same. I wish we were going to the same college, but like I said, we will visit each other. Plus, you can stay with me during your breaks if you don't have a place to go."

"I'd really like that," I said back softly.

Heather gave me the same look she had given me seconds before, and then cupped my jaw gently and leaned in.

She gave me the most gentle kiss that I wasn't used to.

When Heather pulled away, she leaned her forehead against mine, "I've never felt about someone the way I feel about you, Alice."

My heart immediately hammered as I said back, "Neither have I."

Heather pulled away slightly, and she asked me, "Not even about your ex, Kiana?"

"No. I liked her, sure. But she's nowhere on your level."

Heather smiled, and I asked her, "What about any of your ex's? You haven't felt the same?"

Heather chewed her bottom lip and responded, "I've never actually had a girlfriend. Sure, I've had flings and crushes. But nothing...like this."

I knew we both felt the same way, however something was holding us back from admitting that we wanted more from each other.

That night I fell asleep in Heather's bed with her. I didn't even bother going back to mine.

I know this is something I could get used to.

As the next week went by, Heather started to plan something for Michelle's birthday, which was August 22nd. It was going to be our last hoorah essentially, as the next week we would all be going off to college.

"I want to do something special for Chelle," she said to me as we took a walk one morning, "She's always been there for me."

"Michelle is great," I responded, "I'll help you plan something."

"Great," Heather smiled at me. She then said, "Michelle was actually my first friend around here. Our parents met when we were 13, and we became fast friends. Haley and Julian joined us a year after that."

"Would you ever see them during the school year?"

"We would try during winter breaks, but it was difficult as we're all pretty spread out around the state. But it's like a common understanding that even if we don't speak a ton during the year or see each other, we'll pick right back up where we left off during the summer."

"I'd really like to stay in touch with everyone," I said to Heather, "Even Haley, who I honestly was unsure about at the beginning."

Heather laughed, "Haley is a tough one. I had the same first impression of her. But she's actually a pretty great person once you get to know her and she opens up, which I'm sure you've realized."

I nodded, "I have. She makes me laugh as well."

Heather nodded and then looked at me, "You're part of the crew now. Of course you're going to stay in touch with everyone. Including me."

I laced my hand through Heather's and looked back at her, "Especially you."

For the rest of the walk, Heather's fingers were laced through mine.

And nothing in my life had felt more right.