Aly sobered, and genuine sympathy edged the curve of her mouth. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” she murmured, and it didn’t hurt to hear her say it. Instead, I felt comforted.
“Me too,” I agreed, shaking my head as a saddened smile twisted up my mouth. “He’s the sweetest kid.”Well, he wasn’t so much a kid anymore. Really, he was almost a man, but it was hard to look at him that way when he was so frail. “I just keep praying for him, and I spend as much time with him as I can to keep his spirits up. He’s been pretty sick with the treatments, so he hasn’t been getting out of the house all that much lately. I couldn’t imagine having to go through my junior year of high school on-line, but he doesn’t complain.”
Stewart was now seventeen, the youngest in our family. My brother, Sean, was two years younger than me, in the same grade as Aly had been, and my sister Stephanie was nineteen. My parents had us in quick succession, and had had some kind of overindulgent love fest with our names since theirs’ were Sally and Stephen. It used to bother me when I was young.
Not anymore.
We’d been a normal, rambunctious family until Stewart had gotten sick when he was nine. When I met Christopher, Stewart had been at his worst. Well, at his worst...until now.
Ella released a shrill little cry, and squirmed in Jared’s hold. Gently, he bounced her, shushing her in a soft whisper against her head. “I think someone is going to need their mommy soon.” Soft affection flowed from Jared’s laughter. “She goes from completely content to starving in five seconds flat.”
“Oh, well I better let you two go,” I offered, hating that it sounded almost reluctant. “It was really nice to see you again.”
Aly hesitated, glancing at her husband, before she tipped her head and studied me with intent. “Would it be weird if we…I don’t know…had coffee or something? I totally understand if you’re not comfortable. I get it. But I’d love to really catch up with you if you’re up for it. I could use a friend around here.”
Maybe that’s what I liked about her most. She just came right out and said it, gave voice to that huge elephant that was snuffing out all the air in the room. That and she was genuine and kind.
I refused to allow myself to believe I was agreeing because she was Christopher’s sister.
“Yeah, I think I’d like that.”
“Good.”
She dug around in her huge bag for her phone, while Jared just stood their swaying Ella, his mouth seemingly pressed permanently to the side of her head as he showered her with small kisses.
Aly thumbed across the screen. “What’s your number?”
I rattled it off while Aly entered it into her phone. Two seconds later, my phone dinged with a new message.
“There, you have my number, too.”
This time, Ella’s cry was a demand.
“We’d better get her home so I can feed her. I’ll call you soon.”
“That would be great.”
She hugged me, only glancing back once as she followed Jared into a lane to pay.
I hurried to one of the express registers, all of a sudden feeling guilty, like I’d committed some sort of mortal sin by giving my number to a Moore.
Christopher had broken me, shattered my belief and trust. But more important than that, I had Ben to think about. Ben who had stood by my side. Ben, who even with all his faults, truly cared about me. He was my father’s best friend’s son, and basically we had grown up together. My parents had raised me with the impression that someone like Ben would be the right kind of guy for me, and with my demolished heart, it hadn’t taken him all that much to convince me I belonged with him.
I paid and rushed outside. The blistering Phoenix summer was in full force. Suffocating heat pressed down from above, taking everything hostage, the evening sky heavy with dense clouds building steadily at the edge of the horizon.
My feet pounded on the scorching pavement as I made my way up the aisle to my Ford Escape.
Funny, that suddenly felt like exactly what I needed to do.
Escape.