AllFreeNovel
Share Us
62
Willow
Jamie MacKenzie, the good kid, consents to payment in the form of Nutter Butters. I wouldn’t survive without him. Hillary, either. She was crazy enough to want to enter litigation with her neighbors because this is her house.
For the past few weeks, Jamie’s dropped by to help with simple maintenance. I’ve slowly started responding to his brother in my twisted cycle of obsession.
About thirty minutes prior to Jamie’s usual arrival, I hurry to the door. The knock is so insistent. I realize I haven’t taken an inhale of oxygen since hearing the banging clear across the house. As I grip the handle, anticipation charges through me. Jamie must’ve told Camdyn, who’ll beat down the door until I answer.
My heart bottoming out, I’m pushed back a few paces as Tatum hurries into my arms.
“Hey, what’s up? You’re supposed to be at school?” I rub circles on her back. Her flushed face drenches my shoulder.
“It’s River.”
“What?” I gasp. My mom’s death had sent her reeling into a depression, longing for her own departed mother. Londyn and I did our best to help Tatum, but River finally became everything she ever needed. There’s nothing like a man’s arms wrapped around you during a hard time.
Knowing River wouldn’t get physical with her, I groan. Camdyn’s words flit through my mind. My psychology courses have helped me weave stories about our pasts. He’d said River always fucked up. It was the same afternoon he was obsessed with making love to me. I always thought of the way his mouth brushed across mine and how his soul spoke to my soul embodied love.
Voice broken, Tatum strains out, “River’s in prison.”
Full-fledged sickness stirs my abdomen as I escort her to the sole couch in the echoey living room. She curls into a ball in my lap while I fork my hands through her coils.
“Prison, though?”
“He turned eighteen, Lo. Prison, prison. For attempted murder.”
I groan inwardly. “Was there a fight?”
“Uh-huh, with . . .” Her voice fragments into devastated sobs.
A while later, Tatum’s subdued sniffles rip my heart in two. She’s running a hand over my belly. The evening sunlight hits the room at the perfect angle to send a soft glow across us.
“I’ll never be okay, Willow. But I appreciate you allowing me to cuddle with your tummy.” Her mouth trembles in a grateful, melancholic smile. “You’re very protective of our baby.”
Upon placing a hand over my hard, small belly, I’m rewarded with a soft flutter. “Our baby?”
“Our little boy or little girl. I wish you’d have let the doctor tell us during the last ultrasound.”
My eyes flicker away. Tatum and Hillary have been at my side during every obstetrician visit. I don’t have the heart to find out what Camdyn and I are having yet.
Her whisper trembles out, “I wish River got me pregnant, too.”
“Tatum,” I sigh. “You’ve got your entire life. What happened?”
She sighs deeply. “I, um, don’t want to talk about it. Not when my godchild’s growing up without a dad.”
I scoff. “The baby that’s the size of an apple or something?”
“Willow, Camdyn’s suffering. You were supposed to break the ice by asking him about genetic history in his family. Then say, ‘voila, we’re expecting.’ ”
Tatum played recon, delicately inquiring about family history with his mom, Nan. I bite the inside of my cheek. “Cam thinks I’m at Spelman.”
“The creeper glances at his phone all the damn time. Turn off the breakup song playing on repeat in your mind, Willow, because you’re torturing the two of you. Everyone knows you’re sharing your location on your phone. For the next time you need saving.”
“Kiss my ass, Tatum,” I deadpan.
“He’s miserable, Lo! You too! Now, I am too.” Tatum falls victim to more tears, shoulders rattling.
