Page 24 of Aftersome
But that didn’t stop me from imagining him.
Then finally, after what felt like ten minutes, the light had changed to green and my foot slammed on the gas.
With my phone resting in my lap, I glanced down briefly until Kate’s name popped up and I pressed the call button. After a few seconds of ringing, she answered.
“Hey! You almost here yet?”
Smiling, I glanced over at the navigation I had up.
“I’m about twelve minutes away.”
An over-the-top squeal rang out through the phone as some muffled words from James had both Kate and I laughing.
“That wasn’t me squealing, that was James.” She chuckled, then almost immediately after, a loud screech pierced through the speakers and the sound of James on the phone had me shaking my head.
“My wife here is a little liar.”
Though I wasn’t there, it was obvious they were in a tickling war. Her bubbly laughter filled my car as a warmth spread throughout my chest. I was happy for my best friend.
“All right, well, I’ll see you guys when I get there.” I ended the call at the perfect time when I heard the tail end of something Kate had not-so-subtly whispered to James.
It didn’t take long before I was finally turning down a fancy road that led to a gated community where it was blocked off by a security booth and a tall, golden fence.
“Hi, I’m staying with the Hendricks’s,” I spoke to the security guard who gave me a quick glance before averting his stare back onto his desktop computer.
“Name?” he grunted.
“Wren. Wren Baker.”
Eyebrows pulled together, he tapped onto his keyboard before nodding and handing me a slip of paper.
“Keep this in your car at all times.”
Friendly.
“Okay, thank you.”
Not long after he rattled off the directions to James and Kate’s house, he was opening the gate, revealing a stretch of mansion-like homes that resembled something from a movie. All different, yet all huge, I couldn’t stop my mouth from falling open in awe.
Driving past a whole row of brand-new homes, I had taken a left down another narrow road that had taken me to a cul-de-sac.
My heart began to race, but my excitement to see Kate had soon taken over any previous nerves I had. If anything, I knew she’d be the calming voice I needed during all of this.
Then finally, as I approached the dead-end street, I had pulled into the biggest home I had seen yet, with windows the size of my own bathroom and a front yard that mirrored something out of a magazine.
To say I was amazed would be an understatement.
Before I could even get out of my car, I noticed that Kate was already sprinting across her lawn toward me with an eager smile spread across her face. Her coffee-colored curls bounced with each impatient stride she took and when I finally got out of my car, she launched herself into my arms.
“Oh my god, you’re actually here.” She cried into my neck as I wrapped my tired arms around her lithe body. Instinctively, my eyes closed as I soaked in this moment.
It had been too long since I’ve seen her.
And right now, I hated myself for not making an effort to come visit. Every text and call we had exchanged over the years was nothing compared to this. Though we were miles apart, living two completely separate lives, she would always be my best friend.
Our bodies shifted for a moment and that’s when I felt something soft and round pushing against my own belly. I went rigid.
Was she…
