Reese shrugged. “Thanks.”
She took the box and made a few more stops before turning on the road that would take her to Phillip’s house. Her heart picked up in speed when she saw his house and then his car, meaning that he was home. She wanted to text Claire and ask her to come out, but that was rude and made her a coward. She had to live with the decision she made or she had to change it so, with a heavy heart, she pushed her car door opened and made her way up the driveway she had came up so many times. When her lips started to wobble from all those amazing memories, and how she’d probably never get the chance to have them again, she heaved out a sad breath. She bit into her lip to keep it still before knocking on the door. Her heart was in her throat when she heard the footsteps. When it opened to Claire, her heart broke as she met the same eyes of the man she loved.
“You ready?” she asked as normally as she could.
Claire nodded, and Reese took in how cute she looked in a pair of jeans and a pastel blue shirt and white scarf. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she was wearing tall, brown boots over her jeans. She looked a hell of a lot better than Reese did, that was for sure. In a pair of ratty jeans and an old Beatles shirt, Reese was pretty sure everyone at the party was going to think she was homeless, but she really didn’t care. Turning before she saw Phillip, she headed for the car with Claire right behind her. She waited until they were both buckled up before driving out the driveway and heading for Elli’s house. She didn’t want to talk to Claire, or anyone for that matter, and she really didn’t want to even go to the damn baby shower, but she knew she had to go on with her life. She had to ignore the desire to hide under a rock and live somewhat of a life after Phillip.
Or she had to get him back.
So with a smile, she said, “How has school been?”
Claire looked over at her and shrugged. “Fine, where have you been? You’ve been kind of MIA.”
Had Phillip not told her? Surely, he had but, just in case, she didn’t want to be the one to do it. “Just busy I guess, getting ready for the baby shower and recital.”
“Yeah, I figured.”
“Yeah,” she said as she drove to Elli’s house. When she pulled into the full driveway, she groaned. She didn’t want to do this.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m not in the mood for a party today,” she said, unbuckling her seat belt and opening the door.
“Are you sick?”
She shook her head and reached for the cake and bags from the back. “Nope, just feeling shitty.”
“Cause you miss him,” she said, and Reese looked over her shoulder at her. She stood by the car, watching her, and Reese couldn’t lie.
She slowly nodded her head as she said, “Yeah.”
She knew that Claire was going to say something but thankfully, Piper came up to them, taking the cake for Reese. “Shit, you’re super late!”
Reese shrugged as she took in her beautifully made up sister. “Sorry, I couldn’t get my hair to look right.”
Piper scrunched up her face. “Did you even try? Jesus, you look like roadkill.”