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“I’ll go with you.” She kissed Mittens and set her down on the
ground. She waved at Ernie and Sarah. “I’ll be right back.”
She closed the door behind her, following a silent Jared down the walkway.
“What’s up with you?”
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“I was thinking about today. It was a really good day, one of the best I’ve had in awhile.”
Anna Beth softened. “Me too.”
“But you’re going to leave and the more people who see us, the more they’ll suspect there's something going on.”
“True.” Anna Beth didn’t like the tone in his voice.
“And I’m not sure I want the attention.”
His words landed like a ton of bricks in the pit of her stomach. “Earlier you didn’t seem to care.”
“I was caught up in the moment before. Now I’ve had some clarity. I need to think.”
“Think about?”
“About whether I’m prepared to keep things casual between you and me. Because that’s what we’re doing right? If we keep going the way we are, we’re together until you leave and that’s it.”
Anna Beth didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to promise him she’d stay because she wasn’t sure she wanted to. But she didn’t want to just hook up with Jared either.
Maybe she needed time to sort through her feelings, too.
“I don’t know what you want me to say? I’m okay if you need a few days, but you were the one who started this.”
“I know and I’m not trying to send you mixed signals and I don’t need you to say anything. I think we both need a day or two to consider what we’re doing and the repercussions of our actions.”
“I agree,” she whispered.
He opened the passenger door and pulled out her back of clothes, handing it to her.
“I’ll text you.”
A lump formed in Anna Beth’s throat and she couldn’t speak as she watched him walk around his truck and climb inside.
As she trudged back up to the house, tears spilled over onto her cheeks.
When she shut the front door behind her, she ducked her head so Sarah and Ernie wouldn’t see her crying. “Hey, I’m not feeling so great. I think I’m going to carry Mittens upstairs and take a nap. You two enjoy your visit.”
“Anna Beth, are you alright?” her aunt asked.
“Oh yeah. It’s been a busy day. Just need a little power nap. It was nice seeing you again, Ernie.”
“You too.”
Anna Beth picked Mittens up and climbed the stairs slowly. When she reached her room, she sat on the bed, stroking the kitten’s soft fur. Mittens squirmed away from her to attack a bit of fluff on the floor and Anna Beth lay back on the bed, letting the tears slip down her cheeks.
She hated this confusion and hurt. Why couldn’t she have gone with her gut and kept her hands to herself?
