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KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, AND...
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EVAN
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Laney will be here, on my campus, in just a little while. I don’t care if I have to drive her home for missing the bus, we’re going to talk. We agreed making some changes was best for our friendship—what friendship? She hasn’t returned my calls or texts in way too long and I’m going to find out why today. This is unacceptable.
I pull into the parking lot right behind the bus and wait as girl after girl unloads until finally she comes into view. She’s everything to me. My Laney Jo is ten feet away. She’s even more beautiful than the last time I saw her, if that’s possible. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she’s in ball gear...so sexy.
Time to figure out just what the hell is going on with her. I jump out of my truck and call, “Laney!”
She turns to look at me and a gorgeous smile lights up her face. She throws down her bags and runs into my arms. I catch her mid-jump and twirl her around, planting kisses all over her face. There she is—my girl.
I set her down on her feet, already missing the feel of her in my arms. Once she’s over the initial shock of being near me again after so long, I see her smile fade and she suddenly looks angry. “Evan, why are you here? How did you know?”
“Kaitlyn doesn’t hold her alcohol very well. She let it slip the other night when she was drunk at a party. I texted you right when she said it, why didn’t you answer? In fact, why didn’t you answer any of my texts, or my calls?” I grip her shoulders and the mere touch helps calm me immediately. “You said you were fine with our decision, Laney, but how does ignoring me protect our friendship? How does it make me feel any better to not talk to you at all?” I’m kinda rambling, and my voice could be kinder, but damnit—it hurts to be ignored by your whole world.
“Evan, what are you talking about? I haven’t gotten a call or text from you in forever...NOT ONE.” She pokes me in the chest and reduces me to nothing with her glare. “I thought you hated me, or had moved on, or needed time. I would never ignore you, ever, you know that.”
She holds my eyes as her words linger and the look in them begins to slowly soften. Glancing over her shoulder and back to me she sighs. “Listen, I gotta get into this clinic; we can talk more after.”
The look in her eyes tells me she’s not lying. She really didn’t get any of my messages? What does that even mean? “Laney, do you have your phone on you?”
She hands it to me. “Why?”
“While you’re in there working, I’m going to take a look and figure out what’s going on, why you didn’t get any of my calls or texts.” I look down, taking a deep breath, not wanting to scare her with the intensity of my frustration. “That’s just crazy, and it killed me.”
“Oh, ok, I’ll see you after then; maybe you can explain this to me.” She picks up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. “Cause right now I’m hurt, too...and a bit skeptical.” She runs to join her team. Her ponytail bounces and she looks back over her shoulder at me once, gracing me with a small smile. I could stand here, in this one spot, for the rest of my life, just waiting for her to give me that exact look again.
She’ll be in there a while, so I decide to go grab something to eat and figure out this phone thing. I stop at Joe’s, a mom and pop burger joint, and grab a booth in the back. I don’t need anyone bothering me, so I sit with my back to the door. I’ve got to crack this phone and figure out exactly how my life was shattered the last few weeks.
Obvious step one, I call my phone from Laney’s. I got in on my first guess, my birthday was her code. I smile at that because hers is mine and it just reminds me how we share the same brain. It also reminds me how close it really is to her birthday and I need to get her something special. Something that says “I miss you like oxygen and I’m sorry I left you. Oh, and by the way, girls wake up in my room but I swear I don’t touch them and please don’t leave me or I’ll die.” Something tells me a teddy bear and card won’t cut it. I won’t be able to see her on the day, but I can still let her know how much I love her.