Prologue
Ryker
The room didn’t feel like home.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The walls were bare except for the university poster I’d shoved up with a piece of tape. My hockey bag sat half-open on the floor, equipment spilling out like I’d been too tired to care.
My roommate hadn’t arrived yet.
The whole building was quiet.
Too quiet.
I sat on the edge of my bed and pulled my phone from my pocket.
There was one notification.
Noah ❤️
I smiled before I even opened it.
NOAH: You made it?
I typed back.
RYKER: Yeah.
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
NOAH: How is it?
I looked around the unfamiliar room.
New school.
New team.
New city.
New life.
I typed:
RYKER: Different.
His response came seconds later.
NOAH: Good different?
I stared at the screen.
I wanted to tell him yes.
I wanted to tell him everything was perfect.
But the truth was, I felt like I’d stepped into a life that didn’t have him in it.
And that scared me more than I wanted to admit.
RYKER: Ask me tomorrow.
He sent a laughing emoji.
Then:
NOAH: I miss you.
My chest tightened.
I leaned back against the wall.
“I miss you too,” I whispered, even though he couldn’t hear me.
I typed it anyway.
RYKER: I miss you more.
Another message appeared.
NOAH: Don’t forget our promise.
I knew exactly which one.
One year.
One year apart.
One year until Noah graduated.
One year until he came to college.
One year until we’d finally have the life we’d spent so long talking about.
I typed:
RYKER: Never.
I set my phone down.
Then it buzzed again.
This time, it wasn’t Noah.
It was a message from my new hockey teammate.
CAMERON: Party tonight. You coming?
I stared at the message.
I hadn’t even met most of these people yet.
Already, they were inviting me into their world.
I looked back at Noah’s name on my screen.
Then at the hockey jersey hanging from the closet door.
HAWTHORNE — 27.
This was supposed to be my dream.
College hockey.
A scholarship.
A fresh start.
Everything I’d worked for.
So why did it feel like I was leaving the most important part of myself behind?
My phone buzzed one more time.
A picture.
Noah.
He was sitting on his bed at home, wearing one of my old hoodies.
His long hair was falling around his face, and he was smiling at the camera.
Underneath it, he’d written:
ONE YEAR ISN’T GOING TO BREAK US.
I stared at the picture for a long time.
Then I smiled.
Because he was right.
It wouldn’t.
I didn’t know yet that college would test that promise.
I didn’t know about the people I’d meet.
The secrets I’d uncover.
The jealousy.
The rumors.
The person from my past who would walk back into my life.
I didn’t know that Noah’s camera would eventually capture something neither of us was prepared to see.
All I knew was that I loved him.
And I believed love was enough.
I picked up my phone and typed one last message.
RYKER: Nothing is going to change us.
I hit send.
Then I turned off the light.
Across the miles, Noah was still holding onto our promise.
And so was I.
For now.
