36. Macy

Chapter 36

Macy

I brush the baby hairs off my sweaty forehead, looking around the space that's cluttered with boxes. I open my old closet and tackle the last bit of packing I have left. I grab shirts off their hangers and fill my suitcases when I notice a small jewelry box in the back of my closet. I kneel down, forgetting the countless items of clothes I still need to handle. I run my finger over the rhinestones and gently lift the lid. There's a purple and teal beaded bracelet, and my hand lifts to my mouth in recognition. Delilah made this for me.

I slide it on my wrist, along with the one Grayson made. I stare at the beads she once touched, that she crafted just for me. And then something snags my attention. A photo I hadn't noticed lies in the box. Young Grayson has his arm wrapped around a much smaller version of me. We have matching grins on our faces. I flip it over and see my grandma's cursive handwriting.

Macy and Daniel

2006

I find another photo beneath it. The both of us are a blur on the beach as he chases me. On the back, my grandma wrote:

It's only a matter of years until these two-start dating. Young love is so precious. I'm rooting for them.

I tuck the pictures back in the jewelry box, imagining her cheeky smile and the scent of her perfume that accompanied all her hugs.

The dreadful feeling I've grown familiar with fills my chest when I think about the day my grandpa died. She was all alone, and then she passed away the next day from the heartbreak, with no one there to hold her hand.