I looked up the mountain, terrified about what this day was about to bring. For some crazy reason, Lilly thought it would be a good idea to go out and exercise in the middle of the summer at Stone Mountain.

“We’re taking the cable car up, so don’t worry.” I could hear the laughter in Erica’s voice as she reassured me. She and Lilly had been coming here every weekend to do their workouts, rather than going to the gym. Something about the fresh air and how it was good for you. Crazy people.

I did have to say, this was a sight to see, me in gym clothes. Adam would be proud. I had tried to give him a call this morning but ended up texting him that I wouldn’t have service for a while. I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes. Maybe they weren’t all that crazy about this fresh air thing, and luckily it didn’t take long for the cable car to transport us to the top of the mountain. At almost 1,000 feet from the bottom, I was glad I had my notebook in my pack. This was the perfect environment to get some words written down.

“You look calm today.” Erica’s words made me smile. She always seemed to know exactly what to say, and after last night, I was happy she didn’t try to pry more about Adam.

“I feel calm today.” We made our way out onto the mountain and I found myself closing my eyes again and just breathing. I tried to center myself as I thought about this mountain and the last time I was here.

“Did you even talk to him today?” Lilly’s words put a sour taste in my mouth, but I knew what she was talking about, and I didn’t want to start it.

“It’s fine.” My words had no conviction, they were empty. Erica gave me a sympathetic look. No matter how much I pretended, they knew. Adam and I hadn’t been talking as much, which was why they recommended that I come with them today.

“Do you need me to call him?” Lilly didn’t break eye contact with me and her question fueled an anger inside of me, that I hadn’t known was there.

“No!” I yelled, my hands fisted around the straps of my bag. A few people looked over at us. I moved closer to the girls, lowering my voice. “Don’t.”

I was stern with my words, not because I was scared Lilly would say something wrong, but I just didn’t know how Adam would react. Every time I talked to him, it felt like things were changing, and all I wanted to do was get back to normal. I backed away from the girls, leaving them alone as I found a spot off to the side.

Both girls made themselves comfortable, Erica getting out her camera and Lilly stretching. We were all just a little different, but I think that’s what made us work together. I got lost in myself as I wrote. I needed a distraction, and this was the most welcome one. Time was no longer a concern. I was living in a world of infinite possibilities in my mind. I didn’t even hear the footsteps coming from behind, or see the shadow cast over me.

“Your handwriting is immaculate.” Max startled me as he knelt down next to me. I shifted myself away from him, without trying to seem rude. I still wasn’t over the fact that he had been so forthright with his intentions of taking me out the other night. I made sure there was enough space between us for him to get the message.

“Look.” I tried to start writing again, but Max continued to speak. “I’m sorry for the way I acted. I didn’t mean to come on so strong. There’s just something about you. Something that drew me to you.”

I ignored him and kept writing. He didn’t move. We sat in silence while everyone else moved around us. I came to the end of the chapter I was plotting out and put my pen down. Max wasn’t going anywhere, so why not get everything worked out?

“Thank you for the apology.” I said it to my paper, not wanting to look at Max. I didn’t think I could handle another smug smile from him.

“I didn’t know you were a writer.” Max said it with shock in his voice.

I laughed a little at Max’s comment. He didn’t know anything about me. “You don’t really know anything about me.” I looked up at him now. There wasn’t a smug look on his face. No. It was clear he was upset.

“You’re right.” He moved so that he was fully facing me, one knee propped in the air, an arm resting on it. His other hand lay perfectly on the ground next to me, holding him up. “So, tell me what I need to know.”

And that was it. That statement and the look on his face were all I needed to know—that I should steer clear of Max Wellington.

“We’re going to start walking down now!” Lilly shouted to us from a few feet away, where she, Greg, Erica, and two others were standing. I pushed myself up, not grabbing the hand that Max held out for me. He walked over to the group with a defeated look on his face.

It was my first time looking down the mountain and seeing how we would get down. I hadn’t been paying much attention before, but seeing the railings down below spiked my heartrate.

I could do this.

I could walk down this mountain with my best friends. I looked around and it felt like a dream: Lilly smiling at me, Greg staring at Lilly, Erica talking with one of the other men, and Max laughing with the other man. Where did I fit in here? I clammed up, retreating slowly backwards towards the cable car station.

I couldn’t do this.

“Alexa?” It was Max who said my name, and for a man who knew nothing about me, he clearly knew something was wrong. His hand was outstretched to me, ready to pull me towards him.

“Um.” I pushed my hair behind my ear. I took another step back. “I think I’ll just ride down and wait for you all.”

“Alexa…” Lilly had taken a step closer to me. She knew the look on my face. She knew I was running. She knew all the reasons why.

“I’ll see you all down there.” I gave a weak goodbye and walked away. I clutched my notebook to my chest and paid the fee to go down alone. I was the only set to go down when the cable car finally arrived.

“We just have to wait a few minutes to make sure no one else wants to go down.” The attendant informed me as he opened the door to the car. I made my way to the back and stared out the glass window. I didn’t become aware that someone had entered the car until they sat next to me.

“This seat taken?” I jumped, looking over at who the voice came from. Max.

“No.” I looked back out the window, briefly seeing the cable attendant closing the door to the car. We were the only two in here.

“Why did you run?” I wasn’t expecting him to ask me that, but for some reason I wanted to answer him.

“I’ve been to Atlanta a few times in my life.” I didn’t turn around to look at Max. I didn’t need to see the confusion or questions in his eyes. “This is only the second time I’ve been to Stone Mountain.”

“It’s a beautiful place. You should come more often.” I tensed. My hand gripping the bottom to my seat. I thought I could. I thought I could get through this without anyone seeing how it affected me. It’s why I didn’t tell Lilly and Erica how much I was freaking out in the car ride on the way here. It was why I simply agreed to this on a whim, because if I didn’t overthink it, I thought I could do it.

“The last time I was on this mountain I was with my father.” I wiped away a tear that trickled down my cheek. “All I can remember about that day was that I was eating candy, taffy, to be exact, and it had been raining, so the mountain was slippery. I ate a few pieces and then tried to walk but slipped.”

A laugh bubbled from inside of me. I turned towards Max. He was listening intently, like the words coming from me were all that mattered right now.

“My dad thought it was because I was fooling around. When we tried to walk down the mountain he slipped. We laughed it off, slipping on and off all the way down until we hit dirt. It’s one of the funniest memories I have of him.”

I laughed to myself again and looked up to the mountain.

“I don’t want to sound rude, but I’m confused.” Max’s statement forced me to look at him and he looked confused. “Are you happy or sad?”

“Both.” I said it with such certainty. I was happy and sad, but for the same reason. I was happy that I remembered the memory, period. Anything that had to do with my dad was always hard to remember, but I was also sad because I remembered it. It had been five years since my father’s death, and anytime I thought about him, I stopped functioning properly. Adam noticed instantly when it happened because he could never get me out of my slump. I had to come out of it on my own.

“I thought I could go down this mountain today and replace the memory.” I looked out toward the mountain, a flood of emotions clouding my mind. “But then I realized I didn’t want to ruin such an amazing memory. So, I left.”

I didn’t turn back to Max. We sat in silence as the cable car continued down the mountain. My phone came to life in my pocket with multiple vibrations. I looked down to see numerous texts from Adam.

Hey.

Why did you go?

Why won’t you have service?

Why aren’t you answering?

Alexa.

Answer me now.

Fine.

I knew by the way my phone was angled that Max had read them all, too. His breathing increase beside me and then the cable car shook. I bumped into Max’s arms and they immediately went to steady me. His eyes met mine and I couldn’t look away.

“Thank you.” Then I moved. I moved as fast as I could out of the arms of my boss and out the door of the cable car that had just opened. I pushed the call button on my phone, hoping that Adam would answer, but nothing. I didn’t leave a message but called again. After two rings, it went to voicemail. The third call didn’t even register through, and the fourth, the same. Straight to voicemail.

Max stood far enough away from me to give me space but close enough for me to know he was still there. I sent a text to Lilly, letting her know I was heading back to the apartment. I had my own key, so I didn’t have to worry. I could call for an Uber with no problem, and I did just that. I waited by myself as Max sat off to the side. When the Uber came up, I looked over to him. I could see confusion and understanding written on his face, but I entered and shut the door before he could make it to the car. I couldn’t look out the back window as we drove away, because I knew that Max was still standing there, watching me leave.