I tilt my head in her direction, weighing the possibility that they are probably right.
“We just want the best for you, and genuinely think that Randy is that guy,” Jade adds.
I pout my lips and bring my friends in for a group hug. “Thank you. You guys are always looking out for me and seeing through my stubbornness.”
“You are fucking stubborn,” Molly mutters as we all start laughing.
Waving goodbye to my friends, I head off in the opposite direction toward my last class of the day and mull over their words. Maybe it is time I put the past behind me and look to the future and what that might be like with Randy by my side. I’d barely started processing my thoughts when I hear my name called.
“Rachel!”
I turn to the adjacent sidewalk and spot Shelby and Christian as we walk closer in each other’s directions.
“Hi.” I smile back because these two have been nothing but lovely to me before and after the comments about my son.
Shelby grabs me in a hug. “How are you going? I feel like it’s been ages since we have seen you.”
“I’ve been okay. Super busy.”
Shelby stands back at Christian’s side. “I’m so sorry about what happened; Randy feels so bad.”
“So does our drywall,” Christian states.
I don’t say anything but give him a puzzled look.
“Oh, he put his hand through the drywall when he realized what happened,” Shelby fills me in.
“Wow! He did? “Ouch,” I cringe. “So how has he been?”
“He’s next-level miserable and a fucking nightmare to live with.”
Shelby turns her head to Christian and gives him a death stare.
“What? She asked.”
He gives me a shrug and a look—not a bad look—more like his girlfriend is probably right but I’m not going to admit that. “Baby, I have to go to class.” He leans down and gives her a kiss. “It was good to see you, Rachel. If you could come by and visit my friend, that would be awesome. Otherwise, I’m going to end up suffocating that miserable shit in his sleep.”
“That’s a bit dramatic,” Shelby states.
He shrugs. “You fill her in with how difficult he is to live with at the moment.”
She rolls her eyes at him but doesn’t disagree.
“Seriously, though, Rachel, it was good to see you.”
“Thank you, you too, and congratulations on being selected captain.”
“Thanks.” He nods, turning and walking away.
I look back to Shelby, wanting answers. “So, are you going to fill me in?”
“Which way are you going?”
I point forward.
“Me too.” She sighs as we fall in step next to each other. “I guess since it happened Randy has been beating himself up a lot. He’s miserable to be around and just not his usual happy self. He really misses you.” She looks at me and I start to feel my eyes well up in emotion.
I nod my head gently, taking in her words. “I miss him too.”
