Right Where I Left You

by Julian Winters

Some tears aren’t for wounds. Some are for healing.

Sunsets are this well-known secret: soon, everything resets.

I turn my head to look at him. My heartbeat finally slows. Diego’s smile is so bright, I forget the sun exists.

When I offer back his phone, our fingertips brush. And, no, there’s no electricity when it happens. There’s an apocalyptic thunderstorm.

I clinch my fists. I hold onto this moment. Home, home, home.

Maybe not every friend is the one you share your deepest secrets with. Maybe you’re that friend to someone else—the one they confide in. Maybe there are friends for laughing and crying and sharing food with while avoiding problems. Maybe every friend plays a different role.

My mouth opens, then closes. I’m confused and sad and oddly relieved. Maybe Diego is my first Crush Syndrome. Maybe he’s my One True Disaster.

I’m so done letting fear win. Sometimes, you have to be brave enough to give yourself the thing everyone else won’t.

People don’t just fall in love. No, we stumble and trip and collapse face-first into it.