Had Nick really said all that? It wasn’t going to last. It was just summer. His heart had popped like a water balloon inside his chest. He could feel parts of himself slipping and sliding, escaping from the shape of the man he’d thought he was becoming. He’d thought he was becoming someone, especially to Nick. Now he was nothing but pieces, the same broken jigsaw puzzle he’d always been, kicked over and scattered by other people. Pieces lost. Pieces broken. Pieces thrown away. Didn’t you know this was how it was going to end? It always ends like this. People leave when you’re yourself.
