Chapter Text
Sterling Point was different without Ramona. That much was strikingly clear to Oona. The group hangs and parties just weren’t the same without her best friend. She absentmindedly wonders if she could even still call her that. After all, she had been the reason for their breakup and consequential fallout.
She tried to ignore it all, go back to her old ways, she really did, but it wasn't the same. The girls were just flings, and it wasn't enough. They weren’t who she really wanted.
It had been nearly four months since Ramona left. Nearly four months since she lost the best thing in her life, second only to her sister, Maple. It had been hard at first. She wanted to shut down, but she knew that she couldn’t. Maple needed her, and that was more important. So she shoved it down deep, deep inside, and kept going. That was all she could do, right?
The time since then has been chaotic to say the least. Between working double shifts, getting herself and Maple to school, doing homework, and all the things, Oona was burnt out. She was overwhelmed and there was nothing she could do to change that. Her mom was gone which meant that it all fell on her until the next time her mother decided that her and Maple were worth enough to show up again, even if she definitely wouldn’t stay long.
She hadn't heard from her mom since early October, which was weeks ago. She couldn’t tell if she preferred it that way, or if that was just what she lied and told herself. In the letter she had said she was wrapping up in India and coming home, but it had been 6 weeks and she was still a no show. Maple was disappointed, and in a way so was Oona, even though she had gotten those letters enough to know it was likely too good to be true.
Winter break was coming up soon, just two more weeks and then she could have a break and worry about anything but school. Her friends had tried to be there for her, they really did, but she pushed them away. She didn’t deserve the care anyway, not when she could never be the person that people needed her to be.
Despite all of her attempts at turning them away, they still showed up. Sully came to bring lunch, be a shoulder to cry on, and drag her out of the house. They reminded her that it is okay to be imperfect, and that there is no shame in that. Ellis still helped with anything he could even if he was a little awkward. And Annie was much more supportive than she thought she would be, especially since she was the reason for Ramona’s broken heart. She cared more than Oona thought she should, but she didn't mind it. Annie was probably the only reason she made it through if she was being honest, her constant reassurance, constant positivity, and overwhelming selflessness was a bright spot in Oona’s days.
They worked together now at the store owned by Sully’s moms. Oona wasn't sure whether Annie had taken the job because of her, or if she just genuinely wanted to make money, even though she definitely didn't need to with Steven keeping her bank account full. Every few days, like clockwork, Ramona would call Annie at five o’clock. Annie would lie and say it was her Dad or Connor, but she knew better. One day in mid-October she had mentioned it.
That day had been particularly bad. Windy, rainy, and gloomy. She wanted to be anywhere but at work, but she had no other choice. She was working with Annie to clean out the storage room for an incoming shipment when the phone rang. Its dull ring broke the silence, startling them both and Annie rushed to pick it up.
“It’s Connor I’ll just be a minute, sorry.” she had said.
Oona saw right through it though, she knew it was the girl who haunted her thoughts. When Annie returned, they got back to work, but it wasn’t long before her curiosity got the best of her.
“You know, you don’t have to hide it right?” Oona asked.
“Hide? Hide what?” Annie said feigning ignorance. The high tone of her voice, which she usually got when she was nervous or badly trying to lie, gave her away.
“The phone calls Annie. I know it's Ramona.” She paused for a response, but when nothing came, she asked the question which had been nagging her mind for weeks. “How is she? Does she like it there?”
Annie paused for a moment, wondering whether she should deny it, or if she should give in and tell Oona. She eventually decided on the latter. “She’s okay, Oona.” She had said. “She likes it, she's making friends, learning dad...” she trailed off.
“That's good. I’m glad.” Oona tried to seem unaffected by the topic which she had brought up, but Annie could tell that it still bothered her.
“It’s okay to miss her, you know,” Annie had said. It made Oona feel perceived in a way that felt far too vulnerable for her tastes.
“Yeah, of course I know that I just- shit, It’s different without her here.”
“I don’t really deserve to miss her anyway, not when I'm the reason she's gone, plus I've moved on.” Oona said this, but she could tell Annie wasn’t convinced in the slightest.
Annie grappled with how to respond, but not knowing how to, she just decided to move on. After a few more seconds of uncomfortable silence, Annie decided it would be best to change the subject. “Anyway, let’s finish this so we can go home.”
Oona had been grateful at the time for the change of tempo. It gave her something else to think about, and within an hour they were done and she got to go home.
Since that very awkward conversation, Annie doesn’t hide the phone calls and sometimes Oona gets over herself enough to ask questions. Sometimes it makes her happy knowing that all of her heartache hadn’t been in vain, and that at least one of them could be happy. It had been through Annie’s phone calls that Oona finally started to feel okay again. Knowing that Ramona was happy was good enough for her. It was better this way, she thought. She knew it then that she was right.
If Ramona had still been tethered to her then she never would have thrown herself into New York. A piece of her would have always been stuck in Sterling Point. Not to say that a piece of Ramona wouldn’t always be there. Ramona is in every place on this godforsaken island. There was no way to escape that, even if Oona tried a little harder every day to wipe it away.
Oona was finally getting back to her old self.
Finally seeing the joy in life again. Maple appreciated it, even if she could never tell Oona that. Oona hears it from Annie, who has since become one of the people Maple trusts most. It made Oona sad to hear how much her sister worried about her; she was much smarter than others gave her credit for.
Life was great, which meant that a storm was coming soon.
Those fears were realized on November 26th, when the last person she needed to see showed up with gifts like nothing had happened.
Her mom. She was back.
Maple was ecstatic. Her spark began to shine brighter, and she was more enthusiastic than she had been in a while. Oona struggled with this. If she were enough for Maple then it would be no difference, but she was happier.
The day she came back Oona struggled with what to do. Ultimately, she decided to tell her mom that she had plans, a lie just good enough to get her out of the house, long enough to process the upheaval that her mother brings.
Her mom lets her leave, much to Oona’s relief, but says that she wants Oona to invite all her friends to a lunch party tomorrow in town.
It wasn’t soon after, that Oona haphazardly threw on her winter coat and ran. Desperate to avoid her the panic which had been brewing since her mother waltzed in like nothing had changed.