Page 172 of As They Are
I winced. “Sorry I missed your twenty calls. Last night was ... unexpected, and then I had to film today.”
She was smirking when she pulled back. “I hear someone isn’t single.”
My cheeks heated and I laughed. “You’re right. I’m not.”
“Henry is a sweetheart. Even Cain agrees. He would have even agreed before he liked the town, which really says something.”
I laughed. “It does.”
“We’re almost done with dinner, by the way. Are you hungry?”
I paused. “I was actually gonna hang out with Henry tonight.”
Mollie raised an eyebrow. “You’re spending another night with him?”
“Is that okay?” I wouldn’t blame her if she felt exactly like I did when I first came. Like I was moving on without her.
But she shook her head. “Why would I be mad?”
“Because ... we don’t get as much time together, I guess?”
“You’re in a new relationship, and I know how it is. When you find your person, you wanna share a life with them. I mean, look at mine.” She gestured to the house. “We’ll make time for hangouts, girls’ nights, or just a night with Eric to play, but if you’re happy with Henry, I’m happy for you.”
“I am happy,” I said. “I almost don’t know what to do with it.”
“You’ve been dealing with a lot for a long time,” she said. “Some that I didn’t even know about. I hate that you don’t know what it feels like to be happy. Then again, with Trevor, I didn’t either. But I saw your misery, just as you would have if you were here.”
“I wish I had been,” I said with a sigh. “I felt terrible about it for a while.”
“You were busy with your show.”
“And look how that turned out.” I rolled my eyes. “I hate the show, and they tried to force me to do things I didn’t want to. What would have happened if I’d stayed in Nashville and didn’t come here? You could’ve forgotten me.” As I said the words, emotion hit me hard. My eyes prickled, though I tried to stop it.
The idea that people left was something I carried with me every day. Once Mom vanished, it left a crack inside of me, and from that, whispers arose from the depths.
Everyone leaves. Protect yourself.
If I wasn’t memorable enough to my own mother, why would anyone else care?
“Wren, I wouldneverforget you.” She stepped close, eyes also shining with tears. “You’re like a sister to me, even when we’re apart.”
“But people have before,” I said with a shrug. “It can happen again.”
“If I ever start to forget you, find me and kick myass.I would deserve it.”
“Bad word!” Eric called.
Mollie blinked. “Hey! Were you listening?”
“No!” he lied as he came into view. “I was just around.”
“I’m not dumb.” She pointed at him.
“My marble run fell over. I wasn’t listening for long, I promise!”
Mollie crossed her arms, watching him closely.
“It’s okay,” I said, shaking my head. “We were just talking about adult stuff.”
