I Can’t Keep You, so I’ll Let Go Chapter 09
Ollie’s POV
Half a month later, Julia finally tracked me down and showed up in Glenridge.
I had just walked out of the library when I looked down and saw her standing at the bottom of the steps.
She had lost weight, and there were prominent dark circles under her eyes.
The moment she saw me, she looked visibly relaxed.
“Ollie.”
She walked over quickly. Her voice was raspy as she said, “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
I stopped in my tracks but made no move to approach her like I used to. I just looked at her calmly. “Can I help you?”
Julia flinched slightly. She probably hadn’t expected me to speak to her this way.
After all, the old me would have instantly softened my tone no matter how angry I had been a moment
before.
Clutching something tightly in her hand, she said in a low voice, “Ollie, I was wrong. You should have been at Beaumont University.”
As she spoke, she held out that postcard, which had been taped back together.
The crease running through it was deep.
The tape cut right across the image of the lake, looking like a wound that could never truly heal.
“Ollie, I didn’t mean to say those things back then. Reynold’s health isn’t great, and I was just scared that something would happen to him again. I thought that since you were smart, you’d do amazing no matter where you went. I’m sorry. I forgot our promise.”
Looking at the postcard, I let out a soft laugh.
It was always the same excuse. Because I was smart, I could be ignored and cast aside.
Because Reynold was a little weaker and slower, he was entitled to steal everything that rightfully belonged to me.
I didn’t take the postcard. Instead, I asked, “Julia, do you remember my first night in that rented apartment?”
Her face went pale.
I continued, “A drunk guy from next door was slamming against my front door. I hid under my blanket and called you 17 times, but you didn’t answer a single one.
“Later, when I sprained my ankle and couldn’t walk, I texted you. You told me to stop bothering you because
you were tutoring Reynold. And when Reynold pushed me and I injured my head, you stood right there. You cooed at him, telling him not to worry and that no one was blaming him.”
With every single word I spoke, the color drained further from Julia’s face.
Her mouth opened as if she wanted to explain, but in the end, nothing came out.
Because every single thing I said was the absolute truth.
Those moments she was trying to brush off so casually now were the long, agonizing nights I had to survive all by myself.
“Ollie…”
Her eyes welled with tears. “I really didn’t know things were that hard for you back then.”
I looked at her and replied softly, “It’s not that you didn’t know. You just assumed I’d get through it.”
Julia froze entirely.
After that line landed, a heavy silence stretched between us.
In the distance, people walked past carrying umbrellas as the streetlights flickered to life one by one.
The damp evening breeze of Glenridge brushed past, carrying an unfamiliar yet liberating scent.
Finally, Julia asked, her voice cracking, “Can I wait for you again now? Your grades are so good. You could easily get into Beaumont University for grad school…”
I lowered my eyes to the postcard in her hand.
A long time ago, I had desperately wanted to go to Beaumont University. Not just because it was the best school, but because she was there.
But later, I finally understood that a person who was truly waiting for me wouldn’t turn her back on me
time after time when I needed her most.
I reached out and took the postcard from her hand.
As a sudden spark of hope lit up her eyes, I slowly tore it up. “Julia, I’m not going to Beaumont University anymore, and you don’t need to wait for me either.”
The shredded pieces dropped into a nearby trash can.
Julia stood there frozen, her face completely bloodless.
This time, I didn’t look back because the path I was on no longer led to her.
