The Escape Plan (Only Magic in the Building)

by Katie Bailey

“What’s for you won’t pass you, Beckett. So if music’s what’s for you, make sure you hold on to it. Never give up on it.”

“What’s for you won’t pass you” was Gran’s favorite. She loved the idea that we don’t get to control our own fates, that life has its own funny way of working things out. That if something is meant to be, it will be.

Times were often tough in our home, but when the going got really tough, Gran’s magic was always enough to make me believe in something better. Believe that there was always a little magic to be had, if you just looked in the right places.

I love my siblings to death, but most conversations with them feel like running a marathon.

That’s another thing about the Irish—someone always has a friend of a friend of a friend to hook you up with anything you might want.

When it came to the conversation of love, Gran’s opinion was “there’s a lid for every pot.” Which pretty much translates to there’s someone out there for everyone. AKA—no matter how quirky or odd or different you are, there will always be someone to match you.

Barf me a river.

If anything has juicy potential for a story, it’s that: a hilariously embarrassing meet-cute with a handsome, mysterious man. If I believed in meet-cutes. Which I don’t.

All of a sudden, the little flutter that danced in my stomach earlier is back. Now, it’s tangoing up a storm, Dancing with the Stars style.

My last coherent thought as I drift back to sleep is that I’m going to like being Keeley Roberts’ neighbor.

The only detail I leave out is the one where Beckett was shirtless and looking oh-so-sexy when I tapped on his window in the middle of night. That particular little morsel I keep stuffed in my pocket. For me to think about, and me only. Or, you know, not think about. Ever.

And then, one day, Gramps took me for a walk in Oldford Park. On this walk, he slipped a little black velvet bag out of his pocket and placed it into my hand with a squeeze. “This is for you, Keeley,” he said, eyes shining with what looked like tears. “Remember, my sweet girl, a light heart gives a long life, and in order to keep your heart light and free of burdens and baggage, remember to listen to it when it speaks. Don’t let circumstances dictate what your heart wants, but rather, let your heart shape your circumstances.”

And because the universe hates me and is clearly out to get me, the person who has just walked into the room is none other than Beckett freaking McCarthy.

Apparently, Keeley brings out my protective side.

Suddenly, between meeting Keeley, the Indie Music Night, and discovering what could be my Gran’s name on the wall, I feel like my summer in Serendipity Springs might be even more serendipitous than I first thought.

“Lawds a mercy.”

And though I don’t know her well yet, I already want so much bigger and better for Keeley than that rat of a guy.

I’m grateful that Keeley Roberts has become a part of my time here in Serendipity Springs.

It’s a bit strange, but when I’m with Beckett, I feel… relaxed, somehow. Like I don’t have to try to escape what I’m feeling.

It’s that old, still familiar sensation of letting music flow from somewhere inside of me, my body channeling it into something tangible that echoes in my ears.

But when Beckett looks at me, it’s like someone has parted the blinds and the sunlight is streaming in. The way he’s looking at me today when I’m perfectly made-up and dressed well is the exact same way he looked at me when I was covered in ketchup, or wrapped in a towel with soaking wet rat’s-nest hair. He looks at me like he likes what he sees.

“It’s weird our grandparents were once in love, isn’t it? Like, what if they’d stayed together? Gotten married and had kids?” Beckett snorts a laugh. “I guess we wouldn’t exist to even be having this conversation in the first place.

Kind of crazy, when you think about it, that one breakup can rewrite generations of people.”

There’s electricity everywhere we’re connected. An exciting, zippy kind of spark that makes me want to lean in and see what happens next. Which would be crazy… but the pull between us currently feels that strong.

My family were—still are—the world to me, and I’d do anything for them.

Keeley has only been a part of my life for a couple of weeks, but I already know that she’s made up of many layers. Layers I can’t get enough of peeling back and seeing. She’s strong and feisty and funny yet vulnerable and sweet and caring all at once. The best person I’ve met in a long time. My Gran would have loved her.

Everything about Becks captivates me. Draws me in. Makes me want more. He fits in with my friends, my family, even my apartment building, with an ease that makes it feel like he’s a piece of the puzzle that’s been there forever, but is finally in its correct place. Finally where it was always meant to be. And while

In a world of boys, he’s the gentleman of all gentlemen.

Because under Becks’s sunny, carefree surface, he’s a complex person who feels deeply. Who loves deeply and puts the people around him before himself. I think, in the process, he’s neglected himself, emotionally—a fact that hurts my heart.

I’m nervous, I realize. Have a stomach full of butterflies over a boy who makes me feel like I’m beautiful.

Sometimes, we’ve just got to be thankful for what we’ve got, in the moment we’ve got it. And trust that, no matter how the chips fall, the eventual outcome will be okay.

“Maybe she’s better off with you, you doofus.”

Instead, I’m diving in headfirst. Fearless.

Yet, somewhere on this journey, I fell head-over-heels into a summer love I didn’t believe would—could—happen to me.

Because love can enter your life in different ways, at different times. And maybe the answer isn’t how love begins or ends, but the journey on which it takes you. How it shapes you and molds you and makes you grow. Changes you, for the better.

If there’s one rule for the entire island of Ireland, it’s that a cup of tea is appropriate in all circumstances and can cure most ailments, up to (and sometimes including) murder. Cold? Warm up with some tea. Heartbroken? Sure, tea will cheer you up. Committed a heinous crime against humanity? Whack the kettle on.

“Of course that’s not enough! Love isn’t just a feeling, it’s a commitment. A decision. Something you need to fight for. You can’t just sit there on your laurels, you need to fight for her, son! Don’t run away. Stand strong and fight for what fate has put in your path. The gift of love that’s been given to you. Don’t let history repeat itself.”

Fight for whatever makes you feel something real.”

I love Keeley. I want to be with Keeley. I choose Keeley. And I’m going to do everything in my power to show her that. To fight for what I know we have.

“When fate gives you what’s for you… don’t let it slip away.”

“Remember, don’t let your circumstances dictate your heart, my sweet girl.”

“You asked me a moment ago how I know that Mae will never leave me, and the simple answer is: I don’t. I don’t know what the future holds. But I wake up every single day and choose her, and will continue to choose her, even when the going gets tough—because it does—because I love her. And when you really love someone, they will always be worth choosing. To the point that your fears of what you could lose in the process will come second to making that choice. So, make the right choice, Keeley.”

Beckett deserves no less in life than to be loved unconditionally.

What I’ve realized is that, when you’re with the right person, you make things work. You let your heart shape your circumstances.