Read Online This Is How It Ends by Jen Nadol - Free Book Online Page A

“College, I guess.”
    Mr. Peters nodded. “Well, whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll do great. Thanks for helping us all out today.” He stuck out his hand to shake. “I’m off to make sure there’s no other trouble. After that Milosevich girl’s OD, a snowless winter, and now today, it’s the last thing we need.”
    â€œBad things happen in threes,” Sarah said.
    â€œHope you’re right.” Mr. Peters waved and walked away.
    Trip, Sarah, and I stayed there for a while, talking to the kids around us, some of them from our classes, some having run the Dash today too. At one point I spotted Matty talking to Tannis, both of them half a head taller than anyone else around. Unbelievable.
    The football guys started an arm wrestling tournament inside and summoned Trip. “You mind?” he asked Sarah, already being dragged off by Galen.
    â€œGo.” She smiled, waving him away, leaving just her and me.
    â€œYou want to get a drink or anything?” I asked after a few seconds of quiet.
    â€œI’m okay,” she said. “You want something?”
    â€œNo. I’m fine too.”
    We stood, awkwardly looking at the people around us, until Sarah suggested we move closer to the hot tub. “I like the colors,” she said.
    The Peterses had put it in the far corner, with the most sweeping views of the valley.
    â€œNot quite as good as when we were at the summit today,” I said, looking out over the smattering of lights. “But not bad.”
    â€œWe had a good run,” she said, smiling. “Didn’t we?”
    â€œWe beat Trip,” I said.
    â€œAnd that’s all that matters.” Sarah laughed and held up her palm for another high five.
    I clapped her hand gently, and she tilted her head, grinning. “You can give me a real high five, Ri. I won’t break.”
    â€œSorry,” I said. “I didn’t want to be too rough.”
    â€œYou’re not the rough type,” she said, holding up her hand again. I hit it harder, the smack loud enough that the person behind her looked over.
    â€œOw!” Sarah frowned, shaking her hand.
    â€œOh!” I said. “I’m sorry—”
    â€œI’m kidding , Riley.” She grinned, rolling her eyes. “You worry too much about other people.”
    â€œI do?”
    Sarah nodded, looking out across the dark hills. “It’s not a bad thing,” she said. “But sometimes you have to worry about yourself, too.”
    â€œI worry about myself plenty.”
    She smiled. “Maybe ‘take care of yourself’ would have been a better way to phrase it.”
    â€œHmmn,” I said noncommittally, not sure what to think of what Sarah thought of me or that she’d been thinking about me at all or whether I was overthinking this. Which I’m sure I was, because I worried about myself plenty. Like I’d told her.
    â€œDo you like it here, Riley?” she asked.
    â€œIt’s better than standing in the middle of the crowd.”
    â€œNot here, next to the hot tub,” she said. “I meant in Buford.”
    My “no” was automatic—on the tip of my tongue—but I stopped to really consider it, and finally told her, “Yes. But I don’t want to stay.” I picked at the railing, adding, “Mostly because the people who make me like it will be leaving.”
    She was quiet, and I could feel her watching me, the party noise all around us but feeling far away. “Will you leave too?” she asked.
    â€œSomeday.”
    She nodded. “That’s why you’re dreaming about dorm rooms, huh?” I knew right away she was talking about the binoculars. Deepest wishes. She continued before I could ask her what she’d seen, “You know what I like about you, Riley?”
    I looked at her, my heart beating harder at the way it sounded. Her dark eyes reflected the underwater