Page 74 of Perfect Chemistry

Jonas got it. He had been married to Andie long enough to hear most of our stories. “Bugger for him, then. You are a happy woman!” He laughed loudly and kissed me on the temple before climbing into the passenger seat.

I appreciated the show of solidarity and show in front of my ex. I finished pumping the gas and climbed into the Highlander I had bought myself the week before. Maybe it wasn’t a BMW, but it was all mine. Kai was still sitting there in his car when I pulled away from the gas station to take Jonas home.

I was just moving back to town, so Andie insisted I stay with her, Jonas, and my gorgeous godson and goddaughter until I found my own place. Jonas and I were coming back from the storage unit my parents stored all of my stuff in. It was overwhelming seeing my entire life shoved into a ten by ten, so I had only grabbed four boxes and closed up the unit.

“You okay?” Jonas asked once we were on the road and my fake smile had fallen.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” I admitted. Seeing that man brought up shit I hadn’t thought about in years.

“I know Andie is better at all of the advice stuff,” he started.

I nodded and gave him a weak smile. I had known her longer so it was a given.

“But if seeing that man reduced to tears at the sight of you happy, doesn’t bring you some modicum of joy, I don’t know that we can continue as friends,” he stated in no uncertain terms, smacking the dash for emphasis.

My jaw dropped as I stared over at him. I tried to say something, anything, but then he raised his eyebrows at me as if to challenge any argument I would make…. And I lost it. I laughed so hard, I thought I would have to pull over. “You’re killing me, Jonas!” I wheezed.

By the time we got to his and Andie’s house, I was still giggling. I couldn’t even explain to Andie why I was laughing without losing it again, so Jonas leaned in and whispered what happened. Andie’s eyebrows shot up and she smacked him in the chest.

“You can’t say shit like that…. out loud,” she praised him. Jonas started laughing at that point.

We unloaded the boxes I pulled from storage and set them in my room. I didn’t need anything in these boxes. I had enough clothes. I just wanted something from my life before everything went wrong. I opened one of the smaller book boxes, and pulled out two old notebooks.

The pages were filled with letters Andie and I had written back and forth to each other throughout high school. Most of the pages were filled with all of my thoughts about Kai before we had started dating. Rereading them after all these years made me smile a little bit for the unyielding optimism I used to have. Maybe Andie was right, and it was time to get on with my life.

I found myself caressing the wedding rings I still wore.

What should I do, Ty? No matter what we wanted for us, we ceased having a future together when you died…

I was a 29-year-old widow and a war vet. Maybe it was time to stop running from my life and start moving forward. I grabbed my phone from my bag and scrolled through my contacts.

There it was. The contact that I debated every day whether to delete or keep. I don’t know why I saved it, but some part of me always held out hope that things hadn’t been what they seemed back then. I bit my lip and typed out my message before hitting send.

[We need to talk.]

Chapter 25

“Dude, you ok?” Bradley asked his best friend of fifteen years. He hadn’t seen Kai get this drunk since they were in High School. He was usually the responsible one between them.

Kai sent him the message asking for a designated driver, and then asked him to pick him up at the Stone Balloon in town several hours. It wasn’t normal for Kai to get hammered like this. Hell, he hadn’t seen him like this since right after high school when-

“Shit,” Bradley whispered, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He must have seen her in town.

Looking at his best friend hunched over an empty glass he decided it was best to just get Kai home and sober. The last time Kai needed a DD he was drunk for a week. Amy, Bradley’s wife, would leave him if he took care of a drunken Kai for a week like he did back then.

“Come on, buddy. Let’s get you home,” he said quietly, pulling Kai up from the bar.

“Noooo. Imm gooo-,” Kai slurred out as he reached to stay at the bar.

“Come on, Kai. Amy is waiting for me to get back. Where is your phone?” Bradley asked ,looking around the bar top.

Kai seemed confused and looked around the bar top as well, “Huh? no phone. I’ll ged it frem my carrr-hic.”

“Dude, you’re drunk. Give me your keys, we can find your phone in the morning when you’ve sobered up,” Bradley told him while pulling him successfully away from the bar. He nodded to the girl behind the bar, “He paid up?”

She nodded, walking over to clear the empty glasses. “Yeah. He cleared his tab just before you got here,” she told him. The bartender was cute, and making eyes at his very drunk friend. Shame he was too blind to see shit like that anymore.

Bradley waved one hand at her, “Thanks.” He got his arm under Kai’s, and wrapped it around his chest before half dragging, half supporting Kai out to the street. His car was just two blocks down the road, but the walk would give Kai an opportunity to sober up a bit. He just hoped that Kai didn’t throw up in it like back then.

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