But those words were only the middle of the story. There was a beginning here, too.

I didn't trot my pain out to show around. I kept it better hidden than anyone. I did.

This was how I was dealing with everyone and everything lately, taking the good when it came, and the bad the same way, knowing each would pass in its own time.

I got back in my car, starting the engine, then drove off. It wasn't until I pulled onto the highway that it all really sunk it, how temporary our friendship had been. We'd been on our breaks, after all, but it wasn't our relationships that were on pause: it was us. Now we were both in motion again, moving ahead. So what if there were questions left unanswered. Life went on. We knew that better than anyone.

All those clean, fresh starts had made me forget what it was like, until now, to be messy and honest and out of control. To be real.

If there's one thing I've learned in the last few months, it's that sometimes you just have to close your eyes and jump.

If nothing else, now we knew where to find each other, even if only time would tell if either of us would ever come looking.