Finding Unity - Ripley Proserpina Page 0,2

had changed the past few months—some things were obvious—like Ryan’s graduation from Brownington College and Cai’s new job as a youth counseling supervisor.

Other things were subtler—Nora’s slight limp, her short hair that covered her scars like the fine dark brown line that wove through one eyebrow. The way her pinky was permanently bent now. The accident that had wounded her was a memory, but for Seok and his best friends, it still felt like yesterday.

A car went by, someone yelled out the window, and Apollo whipped his head toward it. Seok stilled, waiting, but Nora only waved her hand, like there was no reason for anyone to pay attention to whatever the driver had said.

“Hovering?” Matisse leaned against the windowsill, gripping the edges with long fingers. His hair had gotten so long it touched his shoulders.

“Yes.” Seok didn’t even try to deny it.

They’d gone to Mississippi over Thanksgiving break, and Nora and Matisse had been in an accident, hit by a drunk driver while riding Matisse’s motorcycle. Matisse ended up with some broken bones and road rash, but Nora, who’d been in back, had borne the brunt of the force. She’d been placed in a medically induced coma when her brain had swelled, but she’d come through it all.

Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy. It had taken over their lives for a while, but now things were back to normal. Or as normal as they could be.

Nora glanced toward the house, caught him staring, and waved. Matisse waved back and Seok lifted a hand.

“Let’s go out there.” Matisse was already headed for the door. He opened it, waiting for him, but Seok shook his head.

“I have some things to do.”

“It’s too nice to stay inside.” His friend waited, hand on the door, and glared. “Go for a walk. Hold Nora’s hand.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw her wave again. Then came Apollo’s voice, loud, demanding. “Get out here, Seok!”

Despite the worries causing his shoulders to slump and the responsibilities piling up in his inbox, he smiled.

Matisse grinned in response and held the door open wider. “Come on.”

He hurried down the front steps after his friend, careful because the winter had pushed and heaved chunks of the pavement.

Glancing up, he met Nora’s gaze. No one looked at him the way she did. Her lips were already turned up in a smile, the corners of her eyes creased with happiness. She held out her hand. “I’m so glad you’re outside. We all need some sunshine.”

Wasn’t that the truth? He didn’t want to admit it, but he’d been hiding lately. Physically and… mentally. He supposed it was his turn to have a bit of a crisis. Since Nora had come into their lives, it seemed each one of them had a mini-breakdown.

Apollo, whose crisis had made him break up with Nora, was in a better place that he’d ever been before. At least since Seok had known him.

But all of them were relatively independent. They didn’t have the anchor Seok did. They didn’t have expectations and responsibilities to anyone other than themselves.

Not fair. Seok recognized that he wasn’t giving his friends credit. Each one of them had a past that had an impact on the paths they’d chosen for themselves.

But that was the thing. They’d had choices.

Apollo had chosen to share Nora—accepting that while he wasn’t going to be the only love in her life, what he could offer her was utterly unique.

Ryan had chosen to become a lawyer. He’d worked tirelessly, starting volunteer programs and support groups in an effort to make amends for sending his best friend to jail. But he’d had the luxury of making that choice.

Choices. Choices.

Everyone had choices.

It was part of the culture here in the States. There was this vein of self-determination. In Nora’s interview today, she’d spoken about what Dr. Murray had asked her when she first started the study.

“Do you believe in destiny or can you make your own path?”

He wondered how she answered.

If he’d been asked, he would have said, “The path you take is determined from the moment you’re born.”

He’d been foolish to think he’d be able to choose his destiny. After Nora’s accident, his destiny had begun to gently, but relentlessly, prod him.

“Where are you?” Nora’s voice was quiet, running like a brook beneath a bridge compared to Matisse and Apollo’s roaring white-water voices. She reached for him, accepting his arm when he hooked it around hers.

He couldn’t lie to her. “A thousand miles away.”

She nodded, gaze going to the