Page 80 of Refuel

“Are you planning on getting a house together?” Tennessee questioned.

“Shit, I haven’t even thought about that either. Arianna stays in her condo, I have mine. Maybe, we should discuss it though.”

“Seeing as how you two are bringing a baby in the world, it would help.”

“You think, Sherlock?” I jokingly stated.

After dropping Tennessee off at home, I drove over to my mom’s place for a few minutes to talk before the day got away from me. She kept texting throughout lunch because she hadn’t heard from me all day.

“Finally, the lost son has come home,” Mom teased, standing to kiss me on the cheek.

“Sorry, Mom.”

“What’s going on, son?”

“Nothing much.”

“I think you can do better than that, Kamden,” Mom said, and turned off her Planet Earth program..

“Women.”

“Well, I’m the perfect person to give advice,” Mom said.

“Arianna is pregnant, Ronald and Josie tried to kill her, and I blame myself.”

“That’s a lot to handle, son. Have you and Arianna talked about everything?” Mom questioned.

“Not exactly. She needs space right now,” I told her.

Mom patted my leg.

“Do you love her?” Mom asked.

“More than anything,” I admitted for the first time to my mom.

“Then you give her the space she needs, but show her that you trust her and want to build a lasting relationship,” Mom said.

“What if I want her to stop driving?” I questioned.

“Would you quit driving?” Mom asked.

“No, I love driving.”

“Then don’t expect her to quit something she loves. Love is not conditional, Kamden,” Mom said.

We stayed up late talking and laughing about old times when I used to get into trouble around the neighborhood, and I ended up falling asleep at her place. The next morning, I had a text from Arianna, and she wanted to talk. I showered, and grabbed a few clothes I had left at my mom’s place in case I ever needed to change clothes. I ran down the stairs and saw Mom in the kitchen cooking breakfast. I kissed her cheek and told her I’d come by later in the week with Arianna to do lunch or dinner. One day, we’d need to get our families together in person since we were bringing a child into the world together. I jumped in my car, pulled out on the street, and headed to the red light. I turned the radio up, listening to talk Sports Channel discuss the trial with Ronald.

26

Arianna

I showered and waited for Kash to come over so we could talk and figure out our next steps. Rylee was a big help in figuring out that I couldn’t keep putting space between us if my intention all along was to still be with him. It wouldn’t be fair to string someone along that tried to make an effort in making our relationship work. At first, I wanted to block him from everything when I saw those text messages and nude pictures of Josie that she sent to him. The girl was obsessed with him, and Ronald was delusional just as much, wanting to kill Kash at first. I knew Colton was planning on having a meeting with all his drivers, even going as far as offering therapy if they needed. The doorbell rang, and I hopped up from my chair and checked myself in the mirror with the pair of tights and big t-shirt I wore. Cicely was off today, and I cooked a little food for us to have. I opened the door, and Kamden smiled as I stepped to the side to let him inside. He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

“Hey,” I said as I closed the door behind him.

“You look beautiful,” Kamden said.

“Thanks. Take a seat. Are you hungry?”

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