AllFreeNovel
Share Us
All that time, circumstances and misunderstandings kept us apart. Maybe, if I’d realized my mistake earlier, apologized and made amends, we’d be together now. Maybe we’d be planning a future together instead of having broken apart. Naomi might not have been missing vitality in her life. Not if we had each other.
Except this is who she is. A free spirit charmed by adventure.
I’m on the treadmill of life Naomi hates, my future mapped out, taking me where I always thought I wanted to go. Except, somehow, she has altered the speed and incline and everything’s getting harder.
Like every other morning this week, I wait in the boring line and get my boring coffee, all enjoyment having been sucked from these ten minutes of my day. I try not to fall asleep on my feet as I close my eyes and take my first sip of caffeine.
By the time I open my eyes, Ricky is in front of me. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks for the news bulletin.” Because, yeah, I could double as a walking corpse. Ricky, however, looks different. Like he’s trying not to whistle a tune and high five every person in here. “Why do you look so happy?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “I may have seen Aaron last night.”
The rich coffee aromas suddenly smell bitter, the acoustic tunes sounding too loud. Customers by the window laugh loudly and I wince, unsure what’s up with me. I’m thrilled for Ricky. I’ve wanted this for him for ages. I also want to smack that contented smile off his face.
Which makes me a horrible friend.
I’m just feeling so out of control. Not like myself.
Jealous of my best friend for being happy.
I glance at the door, try to will myself to leave for work, get away from the memories turning me into an impostor, but my body seems to weigh a thousand pounds. Not even the prospect of being late has my brain communicating with my feet. Instead, I do the upside-down Avett thing and fall into a chair, then proceed to stare at nothing.
“I think someone cast an immobility spell on him.” Ricky’s sarcasm breaks my stupor.
Delilah’s beside him now, the two of them wearing matching looks of exaggerated contemplation. “Maybe he got Krazy Glue on his butt, and he can’t stand without making a scene,” Delilah ventures.
“It’s possible.” Ricky nods sagely. “He doesn’t like making scenes.”
I sip my coffee, even though lifting my arm is an effort. “Glad to see you’ve both been watching comedy shows lately.”
Ricky kicks out the chair beside me and sits down. “I assume a certain dark-eyed beauty is responsible for your current state of glumness.”
I run my tongue over my teeth, unsure how to unpack what I’m feeling. I doubt telling them I’m a werewolf-dog will help. “Her flight leaves this afternoon. Once she’s gone, I’ll get my act together.”
Or I’ll end up running myself into the ground.
“I saw her this morning,” Delilah says gently, like she’s worried I might break. “At youroldusual time. First morning she’s been in here all week. She kept watching the door, and when you didn’t show she looked as bad as you do now.”
So this is how it feels to be stabbed in the heart.
Did she come to say goodbye to me? To share one final kiss before she leaves? And I didn’t show. I didn’t let us enjoy her last five days together, because I care about her too damn much.
“Did she say anything?” I ask Delilah, desperation seeping into my voice. “Tell you why she came?”
“Only that she never thought leaving would be this hard.”
Christ.I rub my chest. The movement doesn’t ease the spreading ache.
Ricky leans his elbows on the table. “I didn’t put off asking Aaron out because I wasn’t sure if he was my type.”
“I know that,” I say, latching onto the diversion. “You were insecure about the weight you’ve gained since high school.” The only weight he’s gained is muscle, but watching his face pinch and his spine straighten, as though he’s sucking in his gut, brings me a modicum of joy.
He kicks me under the table. “I’m more fit than I’ve ever been. You try hauling lumber all day long.”
“Heislooking a bit flabby around the middle,” Delilah says, getting in on the game.
Ricky grumbles, and I smile. For a second, it’s just me and my friends and our usual jokes. Then I picture Naomi in here, upset and antsy, watching the door, waiting for me to show.
