“Good. But call me every day. I need to make sure you’re okay,” she says and my heart swells. I know Shayna cares about me. But she will never know just how deep my feelings run for her. I can never let that be known. It may ruin our friendship.
“Okay. I will. Now let me go so I can get out of here before Jase comes back. I don’t want to have to deal with the arguing tonight. I will call him tomorrow,” I say standing back up.
“Good. I will talk to you tomorrow. Love you,” she says.
“Love you, too, Shay. Bye,” I reply, and we hang up.
I grab my backpack, which holds my laptop and other work essentials, and stuff my phone in the side pocket. Picking up my duffle bag and pulling my suitcase behind me, I make my way downstairs slowly. I grunt and groan from the pain in my abdomen, but I turn off all the lights before heading out the door to my car.
I put all my stuff into the trunk and close it, then go to the driver’s side and get in. Before I turn the ignition, I look up at thehouse that I have lived in the last 5 years with who I thought was the love of my life. A single tear slips down my cheek. I hate that I wasted so much time with him.
Turning the ignition, I back out and head to a cheap motel I know of on the other side of the city—as far away from Jason Webb as I can get.
CHAPTER 1
Shayna
Present Day -Thursday
Iplace the final dried dish in the cabinet and close the door. I grab the towel from the island counter and begin to wipe the water from around the sink when I hear the doorbell. I smile knowing it’s my best friend finally making it here from Florida. I toss the towel back to the counter and make my way to the door.
I hear Landon’s door to his room open. “I got it. It’s probably Lexi,” I say as he rounds the corner. I open the door, and she is standing there with her signature backpack slung over her shoulder and a duffle bag on the ground. My face lights up at her and I immediately engulf her in a hug. “Finally. How was the drive?” I ask.
I feel her arm, not holding the backpack’s strap, circle my waist. “It was okay. Long but not bad.” She sounds tired or something just doesn’t seem right. She doesn’t sound like herself.
“Come on in. Where’s the rest of your stuff?” I ask her as I move out of her way. She reaches down to pick up the duffle bag from the floor and steps inside.
“In my car. I can grab the rest later.”
“Hey Lexi,” Landon says waving from the hallway.
“Hey,” she says and gives him a small smile before dropping her eyes. I can definitely tell something is off about her.
I close the door behind us and walk behind her heading to the living room. She drops her bag by the couch, pulls her backpack off her shoulder, and gently sits.
I sit down next to her. I look over at Landon who gives me an inquisitive look. I motion my head to tell him to go back to his room. His eyes go back to Lexi and I can see the sadness in them. Lexi has been a part of our family for a while now. My kids are close to her like she is their aunt.
When I hear the door softly click closed, I gently lay my hand on Lexi’s knee. When I make contact she jumps all over but quickly recovers with a little chuckle. She looks at me with a small smile. “Sorry. You scared me,” she says.
“I didn’t mean to, Lex. What’s going on? You’re not acting like yourself,” I say in a quiet voice, nervous to scare her again.
Her eyes drop to her hands that are clasped in her lap, and she shakes her head. “It’s nothing…”
I cut her off quickly. “Do not lie to me and don’t treat me like a fool. You’re my best friend and I can tell when something is wrong.” I say the last words quietly. “Talk to me, Lexi. Please?”
She slowly lifts her eyes to mine and they are filled with tears. I stare into her gorgeous green eyes, giving her a moment to gather her thoughts, as the tears pool over and cascade down her cheeks.
“Talk to me,” I repeat. “Please tell me what’s going on,” I soothingly say trying to coax her to actually communicate. “Is it Jason?”
She bites her bottom lip and nods slowly.
“What happened?” I ask scooting closer to her on the couch and moving my arm around her shoulder pulling her into my side. Her head falls onto my shoulder and she begins to cry. My hand drops and I begin to rub her back in slow circles.
“I… I can’t,” she stutters through her cries. “He… I don’t… I’m so ashamed,” she sputters as her hands cover her face.
“Ashamed of what babe? Talk to me, please. You’re scaring me,” I say in almost a whisper. I don’t want to make her nervous or cause her to revert back into herself. I need her to tell me what the hell is wrong.
I know she caught him cheating but other than that, we haven’t really spoken about her leaving him. Her hands drop from her face but she still doesn’t look at me.
