Addison comes skipping out the door. “We all need to eat. Chicken teriyaki coming right up. And dare I say, a round of tequila shots?”
Faith and Lane say, “Yes.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I have no idea. So much for even making a simple decision tonight.
A round of tequila is poured, and Addison makes a toast. “To making decisions.”
I let out a half-laugh and down the shot. Addison hands me my container of chicken and a fork. “Eat up, you need your energy.”
“Energy to make it up my stairs and pass out from being emotionally drained.”
“At least you won’t be sleeping on the couch.” Lane giggles.
My stomach is full. I ate almost the whole thing, but I hadn’t eaten all day, so it makes sense.
Addison jumps up and says, “Let’s hit the pool.”
I groan. “My bed sounds much more comfortable.”
“Stop groaning. It will take your mind off things, just for a little while. We can fantasize about our Aruba trip,” Faith chides.
My body perks up a bit. “Okay, that sounds like a good idea. I’m excited for Aruba.”
We clean up after dinner and change into our bathing suits. Addison already has hers on. Stepping down into the pool feels like I’m washing the day away. I drop my body under the water and pop back up. “This is hitting the spot—refreshing.”
Addison rattles off some excursions that we can do while on the island, and my mind drifts to sitting on the white sandy beach sipping frozen margaritas. All of my neck muscles relax, my worry dropping into the water, as I come to terms with what I need to do next. And it helps that we’re talking about our upcoming girls’ trip. It’s still months away, but it’s fun to explore what we will be doing while there.
Out of nowhere, Lane splashes me. Shocked by her actions, she knew it was the right thing to do, because I splash her back. We end up splashing each other and laughing our asses off. It’s sure nice to genuinely laugh after all that’s happened today. Once the splashing stopped, we all grabbed a float and hopped on. Linking our feet, we talk a little more about our trip and gaze at the stars.
My thoughts drift to Dane. The connection we have in such a short period of time. And Jane’s voice plays in my mind.When you least expect it. If that isn’t on point, having Dane walk into my life was the last thing I expected. And it was the best thing that could have happened. A smile takes over my face just as I see a shooting star fly across the sky. We all gasp.
“What are the odds we'll see a shooting star?”
“I think it’s a sign,” Addison says.
I hum in the air. Maybe she’s right. We stay in the pool for almost an hour; it’s relaxing and just what I need. Stepping out of the pool, we dry off and walk to the back door. I don’t know where I’d be without my best friends.
They made sure I was good before they left me alone. “I’ll be fine. A good night’s sleep will help give me some perspective and deal with this in the morning.” Convincing myself that a good night's sleep is all it would take to solve this.
As we make our rounds of hugs, my phone buzzes from the kitchen island. My heart stops, and I feel sweat forming on my forehead. I carefully pick up my phone, as if it were a bomb that would go off at any second. The knot in my stomach tightens when I see Dane’s name on my screen.
FORTY
Dane
Lying in bed with a heavy heart, the urge to at least text her is overwhelming, but I hesitate. What if she doesn’t want to hear from me? She's been on my mind all day, but what if I'm just making things worse? I finally decide to type and send it.
Dane:
I’m thinking about you. I don’t think there’s a time that I’m not thinking about you. I’m going to take care of all of this…I promise.
I can't tear my eyes away from the screen, hoping she'll at least read it. But what if it pushes her further away? Throwing the phone on the bed, I pull both my hands behind my head and stare at the ceiling, knowing sleep might elude me tonight.
Gram’s playing bingo today, so I couldn't meet up with her for dinner. And Logan has date night with Theresa. It feels like I'm destined to navigate this alone, but I'm not sure I can. As darkness takes over the sky, thinking about her crying after what my dad did replays endlessly, leaving me unsure of what’s next.
The room is lit only by moonlight, and I've been in this spot for what seems like hours. It takes all my strength to slide off the bed. My feet feel like lead as they drag along the floor toward the hot tub. Stripping off my clothes, I step into the hot water. The heat loosens my tense muscles, but my mind remains a battlefield.
Leaning my head back, I gaze at the stars, torn about my promise to Kendall. Dad was wrong, dead wrong, for approaching her and saying those things. I shake my head, knowing he handed over a check to her with those awful threats.
