“I’m going to do better. I’ll be better, whatever that means.”
I could feel the years of friendship between us as I studied her face. “Through fire and ice,” I whispered, reminding her of our age-old promise that we’d always be there for each other.
“Through hell and high water,” she agreed, with that small smile that I’d seen a hundred times before. It said things words couldn’t.
We were quiet for a few minutes before she said, “Now that Beck’s back, maybe you’ll get that happily ever after we always talked about.”
I looked away from her hopeful eyes. “We weren’t together. I told you that.”
“You also told me you never had the chance to tell him how you felt, but now you do.”
“It’s not like that now. I’m… it’s not like that.”
She stared at me for a moment before squeezing my hand. “I’m just saying, it could be.” Before I could argue, she rolled over to go to sleep.
I lay on my back and reached for my phone, wide awake and mind racing, thanks to my friend’s last words. Didn’t she realize how hard I was trying,notto dwell on such things? She’d all but thrown fertilizer on that seed of hope.Damn her.She’d unknowingly reminded me therewasa chance Beckett already knew how I’d felt about him when we were younger. If he read our comic book, then he would have seen the last few pages I’d drawn for him and he would have known.
I just wasn’t sure what to do with that now.
I flicked my phone on and saw I had missed two calls from Beckett about an hour apart. There was a text, too, sent right after the second call.
Just letting you know Michael is in custody and I’m at a hotel. Sleep well, Ry.
I read it about fifty dozen times, without replying, before sleep finally pulled me under.
