I give him the best big brother withering stare that I can. “Archie, we are never, ever, going to talk about this, ever again. Got it?” He shrugs a shoulder at me and walks off, laughing to himself – the little shit.
“So, do I get a best friend dance or will Gabby claw my eyes out?” Lacey laughs as she looks around.
Clearing my throat, I say, “She’s gone, so no clawing of the sort, but yes to the dance.”
The music changes to “Perfect To Me” by Michael Sanzone, and I take her hand in mine while my other goes around her waist as we sway to the song. Everything falls away as I hold her in my arms and listen to the words, wanting so much to tell her that’s how I feel. Instead, I stay silent and enjoy the moment. She moves closer and rests her head on my chest, and my arms go around her back as I place my chin on the top of her head.
The music ends, and so does the magic because she pulls away and smiles softly as she turns and walks away to where Emmy and Hayleigh stand at the bar. I can’t help but feel cold and rooted to the spot.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I spin around at my mum’s voice.
I hold my hand out to her as I ask, “May I have this dance?”
She puts her hand in mine, and I spin her around to the music. When she comes back around, she looks at me intently, patiently waiting. I sigh. “I know what you all want from me, but you know as well as I do, Mum, that I can’t.”
She shakes her head. “Cole, it isn’t for me to tell you that what you’re doing is right or wrong. That’s for you to decide; you’re a big boy now. One thing I will say is that your idea of family is warped. Families come in all shapes and sizes, and being part of our family, well, that is something you should already know.” She pats the side of my face before going to sit down next to Dad.
**********
It’s well into the night; my brothers are drunk. Emmy and Cas snuck out early, and my parents are having the time of their lives on the dance floor. I look around to find Lacey standing near the buffet table and decide to go over to talk to her, to see if everything is okay between us.
I’m just a few feet away when I see her start to sway. She falls forward and grips the edge of the table. Just as I get there, she tilts sideways, and I catch her, watching as her eyes roll into the back of her head.
Out of nowhere, my dad appears next to me, asking me what happened, but all I can think about is that she isn’t waking up, and I don’t know how to fix this.
I shout for them to phone an ambulance, while I roam my hands over her face, her body, checking everywhere for what could have happened. She’s still breathing, but it seems shallow.
She has to be okay.
Chapter 3
Lacey
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I groan as the sound of my alarm beeps away.How much did I drink last night?
I crack open an eye and realise this isn’t my bed, and that isn’t my alarm. A sharp pain tugs at my right arm, and when I look down, I see an IV sticking out of the crook of my arm. My eyes travel around the hospital room and land on a softly snoring Cole, folded into a chair next to my bed.
“Cole,” I whisper to him, and he stirs but doesn’t wake up. I dread to think what I look like; I bet my makeup is smudged over my face. I try to move, but the IV snags, and I let out a gasp as the pain stings my arm.
“Lacey, what’s wrong?”
I turn around to look at Cole, a sheepish grin on my face. “Sorry for waking you. What happened?” He looks tired, and when I look outside the window, I see it’s already morning.
“I don’t know. The nurses wouldn’t tell me anything; they only let me stay with you because I said I’d camp out in the hallways regardless of what they said.” He looks hesitant before saying, “Has everything been okay with you, Lacey? You would tell me if something was going on, wouldn’t you?”
A part of me feels bad for him and how dejected he looks, but then the other part of me, the lonely part, is pissed off that it’s taken till now for him to realise there has been something wrong. So I tell him exactly how I feel.
“We’re best friends, aren’t we?”
He nods but doesn’t speak.
“So tell me, Cole, if we’re best friends, then why have you practically ghosted me since you got with Gabby? You haven’t even been to your mum’s Sunday lunch in the four months you’ve been with her. You haven’t so much asaskedif I was okay!” I can feel myself getting more and more riled up. Fuck him and fuck her. “You know what? I don’t even know why you’re here with me now instead of her. Just leave, Cole.” I turn away from him as the tears start to fall.
“Lacey?” When I don’t answer, he continues, “Okay, then. You don’t have to talk to me, but you can at least listen. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry I put our friendship on the back burner. I shouldn’t have done that. You mean the world to me, Lace, more than anyone.”
I hear the sorrow in his voice, and it softens me. I sigh. “Cole, it wasn’t just you. Hayleigh was reeling from what she had gone through, and Emmy was smitten with Cas, recovering from her own ordeal. I…I just felt so alone that I wanted to…feel, something, anything! Instead, I felt empty.” My shouldersslump. Cole grabs my hand, gently rubbing his thumb back and forth.
