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“No, please, don’t,” I said, fighting back tears. "I’m shocked you would even suggest that to me. You know how badly—” I stopped. There was no point in even continuing this conversation. She knew how badly I’d wanted a baby. She also knew how hard it had been for me to accept the fact that I would never have one.
I put the car into drive, checked my mirrors, and pulled out onto the road. The silence between us became so loud I turned the radio on. Soon, Brie kept her face down, typing away into her phone, no doubt telling Sawyer everything. He was probably on the phone to that psychiatrist they’d tried to set me up with when I’d first moved to Eastport, booking me in for an appointment instead of a date. I swallowed my hurt and my anger and kept my eyes on the road.
We’d switched up about halfway into the afternoon and finally stopped around eight at a small roadside motel. I would have been just as happy to continue driving through the night, but Brielle insisted I needed to sleep.
Two hours later, I was lying in bed watching TV when Brie came through the door with a bag of snacks. She smiled as she threw the bag down on the bottom of her bed and kicked her shoes off. Sitting down, she pulled out a bag of plain chips, tossing them onto the bed beside me, along with a bottle of soda.
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“You’re welcome.”
I watched as she pulled out a bag of barbeque chips for herself, as well as a bottle of soda, then she carefully folded the bag around something else and set it behind her.
I frowned. “What else do you have in the bag?”
“Oh, just a box of condoms. We’re out at home,” she said, giving me an odd smile.
I looked at her and rolled my eyes. “I’ve seen condoms before, you know. You don’t need to hide them as if they are a national treasure. Plus, I don’t think they are really necessary at this point,” I said, nodding to her small baby bump.
Her face went red, and she gave me an awkward smile. “So, when was the last time you spoke to Asher?”
I tore the bag of chips open and shrugged as I shoved one into my mouth. “I don’t know. I guess it would have been right after my mom passed.”
“You mean he hasn’t messaged you at all?”
“No, he has.” I hadn’t told her about the weekend he’d been in Columbus. She didn’t need to know about it, because I was certain I’d never hear the end about the pregnancy test.
“And…”
“And what?
“Are you two an item?”
I shook my head. “We agreed that neither of us were looking for anything. It was more of a healing journey. Honestly, it’s exactly what I expected. That we’d keep in touch, as friends.”
“So, he’s the one who messaged you. Does that mean you haven’t even tried to contact him?”
I shook my head. “I have, but honestly, there is no point. He was starting his new chapter, and I was starting mine. I need to get some rest.” I folded the bag of chips closed, reached up and shut the light off and rolled over onto my side, facing away from Brie. After I set my alarm, I opened my text messages to see Asher’s name. I clicked the messages open, reading the ones he’d sent.
ASHER: I hope everything is going okay. It’s been a few days since I heard from you. When you get some time, message me. Thinking of you.
ASHER: Hey Bella, I’m sure you are busy with the funeral and everything. Please, when you get a free moment, message me, I want to talk to you about something.
ASHER: I’m getting the weird feeling that you don’t want to talk to me. I hope that isn’t the case. Please let me know how you are doing. I want you to know that I am here for you.
ASHER: Letting you know I’m thinking of you.
I blinked hard, clearing the tears from my eyes. He’d sent the last message this afternoon. The rest, I just hadn’t had the energy to respond to. Plus, I was afraid of what it was he wanted to talk to me about. I had turned my entire world, as small as it was, upside down, and as much as it hurt me not to respond, I figured it was for the best. I couldn’t take any more disappointment. After all, even though I was on my way back to Eastport, Asher had left. I now needed to focus on my path of starting our lives over.
* * *
The scentof bacon and eggs woke me. I stretched, rolling over. Brie sat at the small table in our room, digging into a plastic container of food.
“Ah, you’re awake. I went to the small diner across the street and brought back breakfast.”
“What time is it?” I questioned, still noting it was dark outside.
“A little after five.”
