Page 86 of Revived

“Do you mind if we make a pit stop before the airport? We have plenty of time.” Maintaining my need to be early wherever I go, I made sure to leave way before necessary to make my flight.

“Sure. Where to?”

I point out the window to the coffee shop. “Can we actually stop here?”

“Oh, Skye’s? Hell, yes! I could use a caramel delight mocha right now.”

“Me too, girl. Me too.”

As we stand in line to order, I look around the shop, memorizing the small details that I loved about this place—the knickknacks for sale in the corner you can browse while waiting for your drink, the smell of fresh coffee, vanilla, and homemade baked goods made fresh each day, and the sound of the grinder and espresso machine steaming milk as the chatter of the customers gets stifled by the noise. But then the sound of a familiar voice pulls my eyes behind me.

“Rachel!” A flash of blonde hair races towards me and I swear, the tears come on instantaneously.

“Grayson! Oh my goodness! How are you?” I ask as I squeeze him in my arms, taking in his scent that I’ve missed more than I can put into words. I feel his small arms come around my neck as we hold each other close, clinging to a piece of the life I want back desperately.

“I miss you, Rachel. Daddy said you and he had a fight.” As I sit him down on the ground, I swipe my hand across my cheek, moving my dark hair from my eyes and brushing a few tears away in the process.

“Yeah. I guess we did.”

“But he’s making you a present! You need to see it! Grandma?” He turns just as Luke’s mother moves towards us. Apparently she was standing there the entire time, watching our reunion.

“Hi, Catherine.”

“Rachel. You look lovely, hun.” I know she’s just being polite as I glance down at my yoga pants, baggy sweater, and recall my hair being thrown up messily on my head. In my defense, I was headed to the airport and always opt for comfort when I fly.

“Uh, thanks.”

“How have you been?” She asks as the line moves forward and we shuffle our feet, Grayson still clinging to my legs.

“Um, I’ve been better. I’m actually on my way to the airport.”

Her face falls flat. “Wow. Where are you headed?”

“Uh… New York, actually,” I say as her eyes widen.

“Really? For how long?”

“Well, I’m not really sure. I need to see my family and then kind of decide where to go from here…”

She shakes her head and then pulls out her phone as a text dings.

“Rachel! Did you know that the human head weighs eight pounds?” Grayson gleams up at me, pulling my attention back to him. And my laugh is instant, followed by my smile. God, I’ve missed this boy.

“Yes. Did you know that belly buttons grow special hairs to catch lint?” I reply, remembering our morning ritual that Luke quickly helped me memorize.

He nods, grinning from ear to ear. “Did you know that thumbs have their own pulse?”

And now it’s my turn to nod. “I can’t believe that! That is so cool. But did you know…”

“Did you know that I’m a stupid fool that let you walk out of my life?”

The deep familiar voice resonates in my ears as I slowly lift my eyes and see Luke standing behind his son, his mother leaning around him, smiling hopefully.

I move to stand, still holding Grayson’s hand while my heart pounds like a jackhammer.

“No. I didn’t know that. Seems like a fact that could be fiction, though.” Luke standing before me might be my dream come true, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to let him off easily, even though I’m fighting every fiber in my body to run into his arms and kiss him senseless.

“Okay. Well, did you also know that sometimes when people are scared and someone else makes them face the truth they’ve been avoiding, they can lash out and hurt the ones they care about?”

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