Page 14 of Afterglow

Me

I’m alive. I’ve got the stomach flu though so don’t come over here. I don’t want anyone else to get it.

Mom

Oh no. Do you need anything?

Me

No, I’m okay.

Mom

Are you sure? I hate the idea of you home sick all by yourself.

Mom has never handled any of us getting sick well after everything we went through with Jenna.

Me

Really, I’ll be fine. I even called a doctor yesterday and they said it should get better soon.

It’s not a lie, I did call a doctor—an OBGYN, to be exact—who told me the morning sickness would likely subside, and that it’s usually worst in the first few weeks. It’s whether I’ll survive weeks of this that’s most concerning.

Mom

Alright. Call if you need anything.

I react with a thumbs-up and drop the phone back onto my pillow.

I can picture Mom’s concerned face: brow furrowed and lips pursed as she relays the messages to my dad, since he refuses to be part of the group chat. He hates texting, always insisting on a phone call if he wants to talk.

I reluctantly swing my legs out of bed and take my time standing, knowing if I get up too fast, I’ll get dizzy, which will only lead to a one-way ticket to heaving my guts up.

Grabbing my phone off the pillow, I head for the kitchen. Maybe a cup of tea will help? I haven’t tried that yet.

I move on autopilot while my brain goes back to the day of the wedding—waking up with the early light of dawn, sprawled across Bryce’s chest, and panicking.

I left him there alone in that damned tent and scampered back to my room, praying no one would see my walk of shame. I spent the rest of the day pretending I hadn’t seen him naked, hadn’t felt his body moving with mine, hadn’t experienced a physical connection unlike any before. I treated him with the same level of indifferent agitation I had prior to climbing him like a tree. I could sense his confusion, feel his eyes on me throughout the day, but by the time the wedding festivities drew to a close, I didn’t seek him out—though my body wanted to. Instead, I slipped away to my room, packed my bags, and went to bed. Alone.

As soon as the sun was high enough for me to see where I was going, I loaded my things into Jenna’s car—she and Eric having escaped the night before in a limo bound for the airport and their honeymoon—and left before anyone else was awake. I’d done my part. I’d taken point on planning their wedding. I’d ensured everything went off without a hitch. I didn’t have to stay for clean-up; the rest of the family could do that.

I needed to get out.

Being surrounded by all that love and joy and excitement… Everything felt too raw. And no matter how much I tried to ignore him, it was like Bryce could see right through me. Like he could see all of me.

I think he did… in the tent. I haven’t felt that seen in a long time. And it scared the fuck out of me.

I couldn’t stand the thought of facing him in the light of another day. I didn’t think I’d be able to keep it together if I did. So, I left, and only in the rearview did I find him, sitting on the wraparound porch of his house, watching me drive away.

But now… What the fuck am I supposed to do now?

Do I call him? Will he even want to talk to me? Do I have a choice?

I inhale through my nose, willing the tightening sensation in my gut to release. I cannot believe this is happening.

Leaving my tea to steep, I stride to the counter and grab my phone. On impulse, I swipe it open—drawn to the contact I’ve been staring at off and on since I added it last night. But this time my finger slips across the middle of the screen, pressing his number in the process. My stomach plummets as his name appears, and I repeatedly hit the red button until the call ends.

It didn’t even get a chance to ring, so maybe it didn’t go through? I release a breath and assure myself that even if it did, he has no way of knowing it was me. Some unknown number, he’ll probably assume it was spam.