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“Everything. Work. This thing in France. The pictures were terrible. My savings account isn’t where I want it to be.” I told lie after lie to my best friend, feeling more and more like shit with each one.
“Are you worried you won’t be able to afford to stand up? If that’s the case, Todd and I will cover whatever costs you need us to.”
I glanced down at my empty ring finger and sighed.
“No, no. It’s not that at all. It’s just – I don’t know. I got so overwhelmed all of a sudden.”
“I’m worried about you.”
“I know you are. And you don’t have to be. No one did anything. It’s just stress. That’s it.”
“Stress that made you come to your parents, Sam.”
“I get it. Coming to L.A. was an impulsive move. Trust me. I hear you,” I said.
“Then will you make another impulsive move with me?” she asked.
“What?”
I felt Lauren take my hands before she drew in a deep breath.
“It breaks my heart that you won’t be in my wedding. You’re my best friend. If you’re not my maid of honor, then who is? No one else knows me like you do, and whatever you need I’ll give it to you if you’ll be in it. Okay? If you don’t want to see my brothers, done. If you don’t like the dress, we’ll change it. But Sam, I can’t do this wedding without you. It won’t be the day I’d always dreamed of if you’re not a part of it.”
How could I stand up at my best friend’s wedding knowing I’d fucked all of her brothers at once? Who had I turned into? But as I looked into Lauren’s eyes and saw her desperation, I knew I couldn’t let her down. I wanted to be there for her big day. I wanted to see her marry the love of her life.
But lying to her?
I had to find a way to talk with her about all of this. It would ruin us if I didn’t.
And I couldn’t lose my best friend. Not after everything that had happened.
“Backing out of the wedding was idiotic of me. I’m sorry,” I said.
“Does that mean I still have a maid of honor?” she asked, smiling.
“Yes,” I said. “You still have a maid of honor.”
“Oh my gosh! Yes. Good. Okay. Because let me tell you, I’ve been breathing down my brother’s necks over this thing thinking they did something. We don’t have to talk about it now if you don’t want to. But if they really didn’t do anything, I have some serious apologizing to do. Because man, I’ve really been a bitch and a half to them. I’m choosing to blame the time of the month.”
Her words hit my ears but barely penetrated. Time of the month. What day was it anyway? I checked my phone and nearly had a heart attack. I’d been so busy feeling ashamed of what had happened in Vegas and focusing on the divorce that I never even realized that I’d missed my period. I mean, I had been stressed, but stressed enough to be late?
I’d never been late. I did three years of straight-up school in college. I pulled multiple all-nighters studying for finals, and not once had that stress caused me to miss a period.
Oh, no.
Fuck. Fuck no.
“Lauren?”
“Yeah?” she asked.
“I think we need to go to a drug store,” I said.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Um, well, I mean, it could be nothing.”
“What is it?” Lauren asked as she whipped a U-turn. “What’s going on?”
