Landon used the three weeks that Kaelyn was gone to figure out the other aspects of his life. He couldn’t help but feel pressured to pick either her… or Katrina. Despite all the history he had with Kaelyn, he had really come to care about Katrina, more than just a friend, of course. She was the ideal girlfriend: pretty, smart, sociable. Kaelyn, on the other hand, was unstable, reckless, and undeniably flirty with about every male in sight. But there was something about her that he really loved… Maybe it was because they were so alike. They understood each other. Landon felt simply torn. He had no idea what the right thing to do was.

A couple days after Kaelyn left, Landon decided to go over and talk to Katrina and try to sort things out. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too rocky.

“Landon!” Katrina said in surprise as she opened the door. “Hi…”

Landon tried to smile. “Hey,” he said amiably. “Are you busy?”

“I just got back from practice,” she answered. “But I’m free now. What’s up?”

Landon shrugged. “Wanna go for a walk?” he asked. It was a beautiful day out. Thanks to Florida’s near tropical climate, even late autumn was comfortably warm.

Katrina pondered the idea for a moment. “All right,” she said. “Come on in. I’m just need to get out of my uniform real quick.” She opened the door wider for Landon to enter, and she led him to her bed where he sat down.

“I’ll be a couple minutes,” she told him as she made her way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Landon sat there, considering what he should say to her, and when. As he continued to think for a few moments, he shook his head in frustration. He was never good at planning things out anyway. He’d just wing it.

A few seconds later, Katrina came out of the bathroom. A snug, white T-shirt hugged her upper body and her legs displayed a pair of faded, torn, jean shorts. Her golden hair was wavy now and fell about her shoulders and down to her mid-back.

“How do I look?” she asked him with a smile.

Landon looked up and smiled back at her. “As good as usual,” he said, standing up. “You ready?”

Katrina nodded, grabbing her phone and discreetly slipping it into her bra since her shorts’ pockets were too shallow. “Yes,” she said, walking toward the door. “Any place in particular you’d like to go?”

Landon shrugged, got up, and followed her outside. “Nah,” he said. “Let’s just walk.”

“Aimlessly?”

“Sure.”

Katrina shrugged, not really caring where they would’ve gone anyway. The two of them walked side by side along the side of a road silently for about a minute before Katrina finally spoke up.

“How’s Kaelyn?” she asked, looking down.

Landon took a deep breath. “She’s fine. She’ll be gone for a couple weeks to recuperate.” 

“I didn’t even know she left,” Katrina said. She had been thinking she was still at the hospital.

“Yeah, she left kinda quickly. I barely came in time to see her off.”

Katrina nodded. “How long will she be gone for?”

“I dunno,” he answered. In all truth, he didn’t even know if Kaelyn was planning to come back any time soon. He hoped she was doing okay.

Another silence began to creep into their conversation. Suddenly, Landon stopped walking. Katrina continued for a few more steps, and turned around to look at him when she noticed.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, Katrina,” he said, not making eye contact with her.

Katrina’s heart hurt. She wasn’t sure how to react to this. He had betrayed her trust… But… He seemed to genuinely regret it.

“Even… If I did have feelings for her,” he said, “I shouldn’t have done that while we were dating. I’ll never be able to forgive myself for what I did.”

Katrina felt a couple tears beginning to form in her eyes but blinked them away quickly. “Landon,” she said, taking a step toward him. “It’s okay…”

He shook his head, still looking down. “It’s not okay,” he said. “I’m just… I’m so stupid… You don’t deserve someone like me.”

Katrina placed a hand on his shoulder and crouched down slightly to look up at him. “Don’t say things like that,” she told him. “We all make mistakes, okay? I know how much you care about her.”

Landon looked down at her. He could see forgiveness shining in her eyes. It wasn’t something he got to see very often, in anyone. It was… nice.

“C’mon,” she said, straightening back up. “Let’s go grab some coffee.”
-----

Three weeks had passed since Kaelyn left South Florida State. Most of the talk had faded since she left. The overdose scare went as quickly as it came. But, those three weeks gave Kaelyn a lot of time to think about her life and what she wanted. She went to therapy sessions three days a week while also trying to rebuild the broken relationship between her and her mother. And in truth, it was not easy. They had moments where they faught and Kaelyn would shut down. But ultimately, everything seemed to slowly fall into place. The genuine state of remorse shown by Janelle brought down Kaelyn’s walls. 

Kaelyn forgave her. Janelle and Kaelyn held each other in a tight embrace, both in tears in that moment. 

Ever since then the weeks passed by faster. They enjoyed their time together. The golden sun shining through amongst the clear blue sky. Kaelyn and Janelle went out for lunch and dinner often; spending quality time as mother and daughter. Once they even went to the beach to reminisce about earlier times.

Kaelyn for once felt clear-headed. Happy. She could finally move on from the past and go into a new life without having her defensiveness drag her down. 

But, there was one thing that felt incomplete. She felt it when it was time to return to college. As the time drew closer, Landon frequented her mind a little bit more every day. She hoped he was okay. She hoped he and Katrina were okay. It saddened her to think about it, but Landon deserved someone good in his life. 

The day finally came for her return to campus. The drive was pleasant and relaxing. Kaelyn let her arm hang out the window to feel the warm breeze.

At last, they arrived to her dorm. Kaelyn opened up the door and pulled out her suitcase. She took a deep breath. Janelle came around to be by her side.

“Well, we’re here.” Her mother said.

“Yeah…” Kaelyn replied, looking around.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Kaelyn smiled. “I’ll be better than okay. I feel really good, mom… I’m going to miss you.”

“Oh, honey. I’ll be around whenever you need me, okay?” She hugged her tight. “Now you just keep your head high and do great.”

Kaelyn’s eyes watered a bit. “I love you, mom.” Janelle started to tear up. “I love you too. I’ll only be a phone call away.” They left their embrace. Janelle got back into the car and started it up. She drove off waving, and Kaelyn waved back.

After her mom was gone, Kaelyn thought about going straight to her room; but she kinda wanted a coffee. 

She rolled her suitcase to the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts and walked in. To her surprise, Landon was sitting at a table. A devilish smile crept on her face. Silently, she picked up her bag so it wouldn’t make so much noise.

Kaelyn moved up behind him. She put her hands over his eyes.

“Guess who.”