Free The Girl of Diamonds and Rust (The Half Shell Series Book 3) by Unknown

address in LA. That’s my new phone number. That’s my new mobile number…thank you, Patty, for no longer being a cheap-ass mom and getting me a mobile phone. The boxes with the pink tape go to LA. And the boxes with the black tape go to Santa Barbara.”
    I nod. “That’s easy enough to follow.”
    My head is swimming. After twelve years I will no longer be living with Rene. I’ve spent my entire life with her, neighbors in Hope Ranch, sharing a dorm room at boarding school, and now the condo in Berkeley. And poof, tomorrow we will be in different cities with different lives.
    I move toward my bedroom. “I’ll change and be right back to help you finish,” I announce over my shoulder.
    I close my bedroom door and sink down on the bed, trying to will the anxious churning of my stomach to stop. I’m frantic again and I don’t want to be.
    My eyes roam the confines of my bedroom and all the things I still have to do before the movers come tomorrow. Neil’s junk is mingled everywhere with my own. It’s strange how a guy’s things can rest in your bedroom and you don’t even notice them. 
    How could I not notice?
    Neil’s belongings are everywhere. A completely normal and comfortable thing. He may have moved out in December, but we have never totally pulled apart our lives, and staring at his possessions I’m shocked to realize it was because I didn’t want to.
    I held on to Neil even after I told him to go.
    I’m not completely clear why I did that. I pick up his picture from my bedside table. I didn’t even put this away. I kept it. Neil has never left me. Not for a moment. He’s been with me every minute of these awful months since December. How could I not see it before today?
    “It’s going to be all right, Chrissie.”
    Neil’s quiet voice makes me turn. He is standing in my bedroom doorway watching me. How long has he been watching? And why is he staring at me that way? The expression in his eyes is compassionate; sad and hopeful at once.
    “You’re going to be OK,” he adds quietly. “I’m going to be OK. If we stay together we will both be OK.”
    I nod, even though I don’t know what I’m nodding about or what Neil means by we will both be OK . There is nothing for Neil to have be OK over. He’s wonderful. Perfect. Emotionally together and not needy.
    He settles on his knees on the floor beside the bed, his body between my legs. I stare at him and he has that look in his eyes, the one that is glorious but makes my heart contract.
    He runs his hands up my thighs. “I’ll help you with this when I get back.”
    “Where are you going?”
    The edge in my voice surprises us both.
    Neil’s eyes widen, his thumb lightly brushing my cheek. “To get Chinese with Rene. I won’t be long. That vegan carrot cake just didn’t do it for me.”
    I laugh, a little sputter, rough. I lean forward and kiss his hair. “Didn’t do it for me either.”
    Neil smiles. “What do you want?”
    “I don’t care. Surprise me.”
    I watch him leave the room and in a few minutes I hear the front door slam. I change into a pair of sweats and go back into the living room. I stare at the boxes and all the things still unpacked, not sure where to begin.
    I sink onto my knees beside a bookshelf. All our silly photo albums are still there. Rene and I are crazy about making these albums. She probably left that, not knowing which ones she could take and which ones I wanted to keep. God, even Rene moving on is like a breakup, splitting our possession down to single photo albums representing both our lives.
    I pull one out and look at it. Senior year at boarding school. I flip through the pages and then grab another. Freshman year at Cal. Each year of my life neatly pasted into a photo album. I grab another. Every picture is us together. Together or us with Neil. Stupid adventures we had together. Happy moments. Sad moments. Me and Neil. Rene and Neil. The three of us. Or just us.
    I exhale heavily and stare at the