The moon was casting a golden reflection down on the water that rippled with each passing wave. The ocean always reminded me of Dex, even at night. I expected to turn around on the beach and see him there, his eyes glinting, his mouth quirked up in a smile. Steady, reliable Dex, the one person I could always count on.
Willow tugged again gently at her leash. She’d spotted something in the distance—a bird? A plastic bag?—and was eager to investigate it.
“Okay, girl. We’ll go check it out,” I told her.
As we set off to hunt whatever it was, I realized suddenly that I was wrong. Dex wasn’t the only person I could count on. I had lots of people I counted on. Charlie. Hannah. Dad. Even Finn (although how much anyone could count on Finn for anything without having to bribe him first was open for debate).
And then there was me. I’d learned I could count on myself. I’d proven that to myself just this school year. After all, everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. My boyfriend had moved away. Someone I’d trusted had deliberately set out to hurt me. My best friends hadn’t backed me up. My first article for The Ampersand had been a failure. I’d been plagued with feelings of jealousy and insecurity.
But even after going through all of that, I was still here. I was happy and whole and a stronger person than I’d been a few months ago. I was standing on my own two feet, moving forward, ready to face whatever it was that was ahead of me.
And if I can count on myself, I thought, nothing I face in the future can be all that bad. That was what being fearless meant.
“Bring it on,” I said out loud. “Bring it on!”
Willow paused in her hunt to look up at me questioningly.
“It’s okay, girl,” I said, patting her head. “I’m just letting the future know I’m ready for anything.”
Piper Banks lives in South Florida with her husband, son, and smelly pug dog. You can visit her Web site at www.piperbanks.com.