“Analeigh!”
twenty-one
Violet
“Oh my God! You’re here!” I scream as I rush toward her.
She pulls me into her arms. “You said it was an 811. What’s wrong?”
“You could have just called.”
She shakes her head, laughing, and then pulls me down next to her on the couch. “Like I didn’t try that first. You weren’t answering, and after an hour and about six hundred attempts, I called my pilot and got the jet ready. Within thirty minutes, I was flying here, all the while still fucking calling you.”
I look down at my phone. “I don’t have any missed calls.”
“Well, I can show you my call log. I was worried. I thought maybe you were abducted or being held at knifepoint.”
I laugh because that would be the conclusion she jumped to. She seriously lives on true crime podcasts. Ana is one of those friends that no matter what you need, she’s going to make it happen, because instead of waiting, like a normal person would, she got on a plane and came here.
“I live in Ember Falls. This place is safe.”
“That’s what they all say before they end up swimming with the fish,” Ana says, tilting her head. “Obviously it’s not that, so what’s the emergency?”
I still can’t believe she’s sitting here. I’ve missed her so much. I didn’t even realize how much until I saw her.
However, this is the hard part. Where I have to tell her what I really wish wasn’t my new reality.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurt out before I back out from telling her.
Her jaw drops.“No!”
“Yes, and it’s Dylan’s.”
“No!”Ana says again, her eyes wide. “Shit, I was hoping it was your sexy vet next door. Ugh, Dylan. Okay, well, I’m here and we’re going to sort this shit out.”
I lean against her, laughing once. “How are you going to do that?”
“I have no idea, but we have to start somewhere,” she says, crossing her legs and turning to face me. “Have you told him?”
“I did, and you can just assume how he reacted.”
She rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Asshole. I should’ve runhimover with my car.”
And I don’t doubt that she would’ve done that either. “It wouldn’t have changed this, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“I might do it anyway.”
I shake my head. She’s here and I’m ... alone, no thanks to my own decisions, but if there’s anyone who can fix this mess of a life, it’s Ana. My voice cracks as I plead with my best friend. “Just tell me what to do. Tell me because I clearly shouldn’t be involved in any decision-making.”
Ana shifts forward, taking my hand. “What do you want?”
I’ve asked myself the same question, but I just go in circles. I want Everett. I want the baby. I want to stay here, but I’m pretty sure none of that is possible. So I tell her the easiest answer I can. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do,” she chides. “You are just afraid of what you want. You always have been. Dylan did a number on you, and so did your parents. Is your life an absolute dumpster fire?Yup, it sure is. In the span of a few months, your marriage ended publicly, your soon-to-be ex-husband is already engaged, you came face-to-face with your first love that you still have unresolved feelings for, slept with said first love, and now you’re pregnant with your ex-husband’s baby. I mean, girl, you couldn’t get any messier than this.”
“Thank you for that lovely breakdown of my life.”
She smiles. “You’re welcome. My point is, before the last surprise, you were happy, weren’t you?”
