Chapter 44 Not Goodbye

Chapter 44 Not Goodbye
POV: Valeria Cruz

The beach is louder than it should be for a goodbye.

But that’s the point.

No one said the word out loud.

No one planned it like that.

But we all know what this is.

Not the end.

Just the last time it looks like this.

All of us.

In one place.

At the same time.

Nico insisted on the location.

Of course he did.

“It has to be the beach,” he said. “We’re not doing some sad dinner thing.”

“Elena would make it sad,” Dylan added.

“I would make it organized,” Elena corrected.

“Exactly,” Nico said.

And somehow that turned into this.

Music blasting from a speaker that’s definitely too loud.

A cooler that’s already half empty because Nico forgot to bring half of what he said he would.

Blankets thrown everywhere.

Shoes abandoned in the sand.

Maya and Sofia already barefoot, walking toward the water like they belong to it.

Dylan and Matteo trying to set up a volleyball net that is very clearly not going to work.

And Rafe—

standing next to me.

Quiet.

Watching everything the way he always does.

Taking it in.

“You’re doing it again,” he says.

I glance at him.

“What?”

“Thinking too much.”

“I’m not thinking,” I say.

He raises an eyebrow.

“That’s a lie.”

I smile.

“Okay, I’m thinking a little.”

“About?”

I look out at all of them.

“At how this is the last time it’s like this.”

He doesn’t argue.

Doesn’t try to fix it.

“Yeah,” he says.

That honesty settles something in me.

Because I don’t need this moment to be softened.

I just need it to be real.

“Hey!” Nico shouts. “Are you two going to stand there and stare at each other all day or actually come hang out with us?”

“We are hanging out,” I call back.

“You’re standing,” he says. “That doesn’t count.”

Elena rolls her eyes.

“Leave them alone.”

“Never,” Nico replies.

“Go,” Rafe says quietly, nudging me forward.

“Before he gets louder.”

“He’s already loud.”

“He can get worse.”

That’s true.

I walk toward the group, Rafe right behind me.

And just like that—

it’s chaos.

“Finally,” Maya says, grabbing my hand and pulling me down onto the blanket.

“You’re late,” Sofia adds.

“I’ve been here the whole time,” I argue.

“Physically,” Elena says. “Not mentally.”

“Rude.”

“Accurate.”

Nico flops down across the blanket dramatically.

“I just want to say, I carried this entire friendship.”

“You carried nothing,” Dylan says.

“I carried the vibes.”

“You are the problem,” Matteo mutters.

“That’s a strong accusation.”

“It’s a fact.”

I laugh.

Really laugh.

And it feels easy.

Not forced.

Not careful.

Just natural.

We spend the next hour exactly how you would expect.

Loud.

Messy.

Perfect.

Nico eventually gives up on sitting and drags everyone toward the water.

“No one is allowed to stay dry,” he declares.

“I am absolutely staying dry,” Elena says.

He grabs her arm.

“You are not.”

She shrieks as he pulls her in.

“I hate you!”

“You love me!”

“I do not!”

“You do!”

Dylan runs past them and dives straight into the water.

Matteo follows like it’s a competition.

Maya and Sofia wade in slower, laughing as the waves hit their legs.

I hesitate for half a second.

Then Rafe takes my hand.

And pulls me in with him.

The water is cold.

I gasp.

“Rafe!”

He just grins.

“You’ll survive.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

I don’t.

Not even a little.

The sun starts to dip lower.

Turning everything gold.

Then orange.

Then something softer.

We drift back to the sand eventually.

Tired.

Wet.

Still laughing.

We sit in a loose circle this time.

Closer than before.

Quieter.

The kind of quiet that only comes after you’ve used up all your energy being loud.

“This is weird,” Maya says.

No one argues.

“Yeah,” Dylan adds.

“Not bad,” Sofia says.

“Just weird.”

Elena exhales.

“We’re not doing speeches.”

“Agreed,” Nico says immediately.

“Thank God,” Matteo mutters.

Silence settles.

Not uncomfortable.

Just honest.

Then—

“I’m going to miss you guys,” Sofia says.

Soft.

Simple.

And there it is.

The thing we’ve all been avoiding.

“Same,” Maya says.

“Obviously,” Nico adds, quieter this time.

“Even you,” Elena says, nudging him.

“I feel honored.”

Dylan leans back on his hands.

“It’s going to be weird not seeing you idiots every day.”

“You’ll survive,” Matteo says.

“I might not.”

“You will.”

I look around the circle.

At every single one of them.

At the people who turned my life into something I actually want to hold onto.

“You’re not losing me,” I say.

They all look at me.

“Any of you.”

Because that matters.

Because it’s true.

This doesn’t end here.

It just changes shape.

Rafe’s hand finds mine in the sand.

Warm.

Steady.

Grounding.

“And you’re not losing me either,” he adds quietly.

That—

that lands differently.

Because it’s not just for me.

It’s for all of them.

It’s a promise.

Not dramatic.

Not loud.

Just real.

The sun dips lower.

Almost gone now.

The sky soft and endless.

We sit there until it disappears completely.

No one rushing to leave.

No one trying to stretch the moment into something bigger.

Just letting it be what it is.

When we finally stand, it’s slow.

Reluctant.

Hugs happen naturally.

No announcements.

No “this is it.”

Just—

holding on a little longer than usual.

“I’m coming to visit,” Maya says.

“You better,” I reply.

“You’re not getting rid of me,” Sofia adds.

“Wouldn’t try.”

Nico pulls me into a hug next.

“Don’t get boring at Coral Bay,” he says.

“I won’t.”

“You better not.”

Elena hugs me after him.

Shorter.

Tighter.

“You’re going to be fine,” she says.

“I know.”

Because of her.

Because of all of them.

Rafe waits until the end.

Of course he does.

I walk to him.

And this time—

I don’t hesitate.

I wrap my arms around him first.

He holds me just as tight.

Not saying anything.

Not needing to.

Because this—

this isn’t goodbye.

It’s just…

different.

And for once—

different doesn’t feel like losing something.

It feels like keeping it in a new way.