2: ____________ Dear Bailey Mae, Hi. It’s been awhile I guess. I’m glad you reached out though. Tell Evelyn I miss her and wish I could see her. Let her know she can send me letters as well. I hope you're doing well, maybe we’ll be able to call sometime. From, Abel I slammed the mailbox shut and yanked the flag up, the metallic thud echoing the knot in my chest. I didn’t know why Bailey had decided to contact me after all this time. I wasn't even mad, but the scars from the things she’d said still stung if I thought about them too long. I walked back inside and slumped onto a kitchen island stool, pulling out my phone to order dinner for when my dad and brother got home. My mind drifted to the news that her sister, Evelyn, had made the junior high dance team. I was happy for her, truly. Bailey used to be my entire world until everything shattered the night I told her I was leaving for Colorado. I thought we were going to be something more, and though that night still haunted me, I realized my body simply wouldn't let me hate her. Before I could spiral too deep into the "what-ifs," my twelve-year-old brother, Carter, burst through the door, buzzing with energy from soccer practice. "Abel, guess what! I scored three goals today!" he shouted. I gave him a forced but proud smile. "Good job, dude. Hey, could you do me a favor? It depends on if you actually remember Bailey’s sister, Evelyn." Carter just hummed an affirmative "Mhm" while focused on slathering peanut butter onto a slice of bread. When I tentatively asked if he’d be willing to send her a letter for me, he gave a casual "Sure" without missing a beat. I stared at him, surprised it was that easy, and quickly handed over the address before he could change his mind.
3: ____________ Hey Evelyn, I know this is kind of unexpected but my brother wanted me to send you a letter, though I have no clue why. I know we aren’t really close anymore which sucks, but I still miss our random talks at night. I hope you write back, not just for me but I think my brother just wants to get back in touch with your family. How’s your mom been? My brother got your sister’s letter. I’m not sure how he felt about it because he kind’ve just stared at the wall for like, 30 minutes because of it. Again I hope you write back soon. Your friend, Carter I had no clue, like at all, why I needed to send Evelyn a letter. We hadn’t spoken at all since I left. But then again we kind’ve just got up and left after Bailey screamed at Abel. It was not something I ever wanna see again. Since then we’ve kinda just been off the radar from anyone even within a 100 mile radius of Fort Collins, Colorado. I miss going to school with my friends but in the end moving was for the best I guess. During my parents divorce Evelyn was really the only one there for me. Evelyn is about 2 inches shorter than me. She has blonde hair with a slight wave in it. Her eyes were green with a tint of hazel in them. She was probably the most beautiful girl ever, in the entire universe. Now that I think about it I really do miss Colorado. Here in Oregon things are boring. My town, Amity, has a population of 1,757 so there's like no one here. I went to bed and woke up the next morning to my alarm blaring. I knew I had to get up or I'd be grounded. I didn’t wanna be grounded because it was friday and I knew that I would probably end up staying at my best friend's house. His name is Jason. We only met like last year but he’s really nice. I’m thankful for that, because when you come to a random school in the middle of the school year people aren’t exactly nice. (Especially when you join the class and are somehow smarter than everyone else). I trudged out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom. I got dressed and headed out of the house. I don’t usually eat breakfast unless it’s a special occasion. I got outside and started towards the bus stop. “Please don’t let today suck entirely.” I prayed right as the bus was pulling up. I saw someone in my seat so I muttered again “Please don’t let today suck.”
