Page 22 of Unbroken

I awkwardly waved, unable to speak, and then rubbed my sweaty palms together. It was freezing outside, but it was unbelievably warm inside Amanda’s house as they all gawked at me in silence.

Amanda’s hand covered her mouth, and I saw the unshed tears gather in her eyes. She tucked a loose strand of her long blond hair behind her ear, and Reed and Josh stepped in closer to each of her sides.

I held my breath when I realized that if they were all there, it was likely that the footsteps approaching were?—

Luke walked in and stopped behind Devon. The smile gracing his lips disappeared so quickly that if I’d blinked, I would have missed it.

The door to my right was taunting me. I could slip out right now, sprint back to my car, and never return. No one would blame me, and it would be expected that I would run as they all thought I had the first time.

But I couldn’t run. I refused to.

“What’s going on?” A voice from behind him spoke up, and I recognized it immediately. “What are y’all?—”

Luke’s arm struck out and pushed Hazel behind him.

“Luke, what the hell are you—” Her words stopped abruptly as her head popped out beside his arm.

Her crestfallen expression made renewed anxiety and guilt roll through me. It covered me like a wave, except it was high tide, and I couldn’t reach the surface. I couldn’t even see the surface.

I couldn’t imagine what it was like for her and Luke to see me again. I was the living and breathing embodiment of the worst time of their lives.

I didn’t want to be. I wanted to change how they thought about what happened two years ago and what they thought ofme now. I wanted them to know everything, so I had to withstand the awkward, tense reintroduction.

My eyes bounced between each of my friends as I wrung my hands in front of me.

“What are you doing here?” It was Josh who finally broke the silence.

“I…umm…I’m?—”

They all stared at me, waiting for my response, but the words were heavy on my tongue. The pressure was bearing down on me—intense and unrelenting.

No matter how much time I spent pondering that exact moment, nothing would have prepared me for all of them to be in the same room again.

Just when I felt like the panic would pull me under and I wouldn’t be able to go through with it, another friendly face appeared around the corner.

Shelly stopped in her tracks when she spotted me. But the shock that covered everyone’s faces vanished from hers once she realized who I was. A large smile, one I’d grown so fond of, graced her lips, and she walked toward me with sure steps and outstretched arms.

“My girl,” she said, bypassing the group and striding right up to me.

I was five-foot-ten, closer to six feet in the boots I was wearing, so I had to stoop to hug the petite woman. But it was the best hug I’d had in two years.

I wrapped my arms around her, and for the first time in so long, I finally felt like I was home again. More a mother to me than I could ever expect of my own flesh and blood, the comfort she gave was that only a mother could forge.

“I knew you’d be back,” she said loud enough for everyone else to hear.

I pulled back first. Otherwise, I didn’t think she would’ve let go.

Last time I’d seen Shelly, she was lying in a hospital bed,going through her first round of an experimental cancer treatment. But two years later, she looked healthy and strong.

Her eyes were clear, and her graying hair was long enough to brush the top of her ears. Suddenly, I felt lighter. Like maybe it would be okay.

“How are you? You look…wonderful.”

My smile was tentative. “I’m good. I’m…better.”

She rubbed my arms for a moment, appraising me and smiling kindly. She grasped my hands in hers and took a deep breath.

“I bet you have quite the story to tell,” she said with a long sigh.

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