Page 50 of Waiting for Her

She lets that settle a bit. My heart does a little double tap in my chest, reminding me it’s still beating. Likely still for her.

“Do you have time this weekend to meet for coffee? I think… we need to get together, in person this time.” I tell her, rubbing the back of my neck. My eyes travel to her stomach of their own will and I feel like a jackass when she notices. She doesn’t move to cover the area, though. “I’m sorry, I’m having a really hard time wrapping my head around everything, and I think if you tell me more about what happened, I’d feel a little better.”

“Of course, Grady. Anything you want to know.”

“Thank you, Bri. Will it be hard for you?”Of course it will be, dumbass.“I imagine it will be…”

“Grady,” she interrupts. “Relax. I’m still me. Yes, it still hurts to think about. But no, you don’t need to worry. I want you to know. You deserved to know six years ago, I’m not going to keep any of it from you any longer.”

She’s right—I should’ve been told six years ago. But, I can’t keep focusing on the past. Neither of us can. I need to move forward, and this new information is stopping me from doing that. Not that I was doing a great job of it in the first place.

“Thank you. I hate that you have to rehash all that you’ve been through, though.”

“Consider this part of my penance. If I had sucked it up years ago and told you, I wouldn’t have to be revisiting it now.”

“Can I ask one question?”

“You can ask as many as you want to.”

Oh, she has no idea what she’s offering.

“Why didn’t you?”

“Tell you right away?” I nod, and she continues, looking at the open sky around us. She shakes head. “The grief I felt was deep,” she says quietly, eyes focused on her lap. “Over the course of three weeks, my life was turned upside down not once, but four times. I wasn’t handling life well. You had the right to know, but I couldn’t put that grief on you. Not after what I did.”

There’s so much wrong with what she just said, I don’t know where to begin. For now, I recognize how hard it was for her to admit what she told me, and I don’t want to push anymore.

“Thank you, for giving me that piece of the puzzle.”

“You don’t need to thank me for giving you something that’s yours.”

Mine. Interesting.

Bri

“Hey, honey,” mymom’s sweet voice greets me after only one ring.

“Hey, Mom.”

She’s quiet for a beat. “What’s wrong?”

“Why do you ask if something’s wrong?”

“Because you’re my daughter, and I know your voices. Did the rest of the week not go well since we talked on Wednesday?”

“Well, that’s kind of annoying,” I joke.

“I bet it is, having a mom so smart.”

I roll my eyes.

“Tell me. How’s my favorite coach?”

“Ugh. You’re in a good mood,” I groan.

“Aren’t I always?” She really is. Especially after she got married to Andy. He’s a constant goofball so I’m sure that helps with her happiness.

“You are,” I murmur. “But dial it down a second, would you? I need to tell you something, and I can’t have you ready to start wearing your Team Grady shirt.”

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