Page 70 of Refuel

Twenty minutes later, I strolled out of my bedroom wearing shades, a hat, and a purse. I was still sore, so walking from point A to B took me a little longer.

“You look like shit,” Essence blurted out.

“Thanks, Essence,” I responded as I rolled my eyes.

“You’re welcome,” Essence remarked.

“Where are you going, ladies?” Mom asked.

“The park; the boys want to play basketball, so I thought I’d see if Ari and Essence wanted to tag along,” Rylee told her.

“That could be good, getting fresh air,” Mom replied.

I hugged Mom and squatted down, putting Lucky and Dreamy on their leashes to bring them with me. Essence grabbed Dreamy, and we headed outside to Rylee’s car.

“Will we all fit?” I asked.

“Yeah, Jackson has the boys already at the park,” Rylee said, getting in the driver’s seat.

“Where’s Colton?” I questioned.

“Vegas,” Rylee stated.

“That’s just perfect,” I said.

Rylee sighed and put her seatbelt on.

“I know it’s not ideal, Ari, but I’d prefer Kamden didn’t do anything stupid. So Colton decided to go with him,” Rylee confessed.

“How long have they been out there?” I questioned as she drove off, then stopping at the stop sign.

“Right after you kicked him out of the hospital room,” Rylee said.

“They keep replaying the crash over and over again. I can’t escape,” I confessed.

Rylee pulled into the park a few minutes later and turned the car off.

“I think you both need some time apart,” Rylee said.

We stepped out of the car and walked over to the boys playing basketball. Jackson was sitting on the bench, talking on the phone. Rylee waved at him as we walked over and hugged him.

“Hold on one second,” Jackson told the person on the other end.

“Hi, Jackson,” I said.

“How are you, Arianna? I heard what happened. The boys wanted to make you a cake when they found out you were in the hospital,” Jackson stated.

“That’s sweet, but I’m fine.”

“Good. I’ll let you ladies have some privacy,” Jackson said and continued with his phone call as he headed to the boys on the court.

“So, what’s your plan?” Essence asked.

Sitting next to Essence, I let Dreamy and Lucky off their leashes, and they ran around the boys.

“About what?”

“The baby,” Essence replied.

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