Page 29 of Aftersome
No. I wasn’t good. At all.
In fact, I was quite the opposite of good.
I was currently going over in my head all the reasons why I shouldn’t do this and what kind of excuse I could come up with to tell Greg and Shelia. I thought I was equipped enough to handle this, but I was severely wrong. I hadn’t even seen Mal yet and I was already regretting my decision.
“Hey, you’ll be okay,” James reassured. “I’ll make sure I’m with you when he sees you, so you don’t have to worry so much.”
James really was a good guy. The best, actually, but even with him beside me, I didn’t think I was ready to face Mal. I didn’t think I would ever be ready. Even after ten years, it felt like yesterday when our palms were locked together in the hospital and our worst fear became reality.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” I admitted.
With my hands clutching tightly onto my knees, I felt a surge of queasiness overwhelm me.
Oh god, please don’t puke in this ninety-thousand-dollar vehicle.
“Wren, you need to relax,” James tried calming me down but it was easier said than done. I couldn’t relax even if I tried.
“I can’t,” I mumbled as my eyes locked onto my hands that were currently digging puncture wounds through the tight fabric of my jeans.
“I promise you, it’ll be okay. You just have to get the initial part of seeing him over with.”
Yeah, and that was the part I’d been dreading the most. The unknown of how he would react. I was entering his space. His new life, and me, someone from his past who I’m sure he wanted to remain there, interrupting that… I could almost guarantee it wouldn’t end well.
“He won’t be happy.”
Again, his eyes wavered over to me.
“How do you know?”
I laughed—sarcastically, of course.
“I just know.”
With the subtle sound of music playing in the background, James spun the small dial on the dash until all that was left to be heard was our steady breathing.
And the awkward tension I was creating.
“He’s never happy, Wren.”
I expected to feel indifferent after hearing that, but instead, I felt the pressure of my heart cracking. Just because I despised him didn’t mean I liked hearing that.
“He needs this,” he said firmly. “He may not agree or like it, but he needs you.”
My throat was clogged with emotion.
He needs you.
“Well, I’m not doing this for him. I’m doing it for Greg and Shelia.”
I didn’t want to be seen as the one who could save Mal. I wanted no part of it.
“I know.” I watched from the corner of my eye as he nodded. “And I don’t blame you for not wanting to do this. Just know that I appreciate it.”
Casting my eyes in his direction, I noticed the raw reaction in the way his throat contracted.
“You know, when the Orchids drafted him, he wanted nothing to do with me,” he confessed on a chuckle. “I guess he still saw me as the loudmouth kid he knew at Sutton.”
“Let me guess, you broke down all those walls he had up and now you’re the best of friends.”
