I shifted slightly, needing to get to my phone and the door and Bo and Ember, but not wanting to roll Georgia onto the floor. I didn’t need to be concerned about that for too long, because as soon as I moved some more, and a soft knock sounded on her door, Georgia’s eyes shot open.
“Shit!” Her blue eyes widened in apparent horror as she shifted backward and landed on the floor with a thump.
“Georgia?” Ember sounded concerned as she knocked faster. “Are you okay? It’s Ember. We’re looking for Regan.”
“I’m fine. Just a sec!” Georgia looked between me and the door like we were all on fire. I chuckled as I stood, reaching down a hand to help her.
“This isn’t funny! What the hell is the matter with you?” Her voice was deep and raspy from the sleep. She refused my hand and stood, wiping her eyes and looking around.
I looked out the window and saw it was far darker than it should have been after a little nap. Once I reached my phone I saw it was past ten, meaning I was late for my drink with Bo, explaining their presence here.
As I placed my hand on the doorknob, Georgia snapped her fingers.
“What are you going to tell them?” she whispered in panic.
I shrugged. “Let’s find out.”
I wasn’t thinking clearly, and that was the only thing that was clear as I opened the door and found Bo and Ember standing there, looking around like they were playing a game of Marco Polo.
“Hey guys.” I yawned and stretched my arms overhead.
“Hey ... Regan.” Ember craned her neck and peered into the apartment. One look over my shoulder and I saw Georgia busying herself in the kitchen.
Bo leaned against the doorframe. “Everything okay? You were a no-show for our beer, then we couldn’t get ahold of you and Lissa told us Georgia had called in...”
I looked behind me again and found Georgia blushing as she seemed to move pans from one shelf to another. When I looked back at Ember, her eyes were deathly focused on my face.
“You’ve been crying,” she said flatly. “What happened?”
“What?” I waved my hand dismissively. “I’m fine.”
“You do kind of look like shit, dude. What’s up?”
I had to close my eyes and take a breath. I was certain it was inappropriate to still be feeling the heat from Georgia’s lips against mine as I was staring at Bo.
Rae.
The letter.
I winced, feeling like I was being kicked in the stomach all over again. It really hadn’t been a dream. She sent a letter. And told me she loved me. Georgia seemed to sense my stumble because she was right behind me within seconds putting her hand on my back.
“Sit.” She led me over to the couch, where I started to panic.
“Shit ... where’s the...” I patted my chest all the way down to my waist, and felt around my pockets for the card.
Georgia knelt in front of me and picked the envelope off the floor. “It’s right here.” There was a kindness on her face that brought tears to my eyes.
“Guys?” Bo entered the apartment, with Ember oddly silent next to him. “What’s ... going on?”
Thoughts of the beautiful and secretly sweet girl in front of me were pushed far away as the last piece of Rae dangled from my fingertips. I motioned for Bo to sit next to me, my heart racing a million miles a minute. If he’d received something like this, I’d have wanted to know. That’s what I kept telling myself as I slowly handed him the letter. Ember took a seat on the arm of the couch next to him, looking over his shoulder.
“What’s thi—” Bo looked at the return address and brought his hand to his mouth. His eyes watered as he took a long, slow breath, exhaling into his palm.
Ember’s head tilted to the side, and she carefully read the front of the envelope, her cheeks growing red as she stood. “If you don’t want me—”
I held up my hand. “No, go ahead.”
Bo kept his eyes on me as he pulled out the card. “When did you ... how did you...”
“David Bryson sent this to me. He said it was in a box of her things from school.” I chuckled. “She’d never asked for my address, so that will explain why there’s a stamp on it and only my name.”
Bo smiled. “When did you get it?”
“A couple of weeks ago.”
Ember’s eyes shot to me. “You didn’t tell me.”
I shrugged rather unapologetically. “I couldn’t, Em. I didn’t even know if I wanted to open it. Go ahead,” I nodded to Bo, “it’s so Rae.”
Bo’s hands trembled as he ran them over the inked words like he was trying to hold hands with his sister. The more flooded with tears his eyes got, the wider he smiled. His eyes were moving slowly over the lines, like he was trying to savor every second of Rae’s presence. As he reached the end, at the same time as Ember it seemed, he chuckled, a mix of laughing and crying that brought the heels of his hands to his eyes, wiping away a mixed bag of tears.