Page 6 of Inked Craving

I had so many questions, so many thoughts flowing through my head. Paige was one of the strongest people I knew. If anyone could handle this, it was her. And yet I had seen her in the rain. I had seen the look of loss, confusion, and determination sliding over her face as she tried to come to terms with what she had just found out.

And she had told me everything. She hadn’t lied or held anything back or said that everything would be fine. Instead, she had bared her secrets to me before she even told her family about the pregnancy. While I wanted to feel pride at the fact that she could trust me, all I could do was wonder how I could help. I had no idea what to do about babies or pregnant women, as my odd dream surmised.

I paused. Maybe that was something I could do. Take the burden off her shoulders. Not that I had the time for that—or the right. We were just friends. She was my best friend’s little sister. I didn’t get to step in like that. Not that she would let me.

I shook my head, once again focusing on my work.

I was a mechanical engineer and focused on nanotech and robotics. Today, instead of being hands-on with applications and enjoying myself with experiments and testing things out, I was working on a paper. Even in the world of industry and not academics, it was publish or perish. We wanted to get this patent through, so I had to write this paper. And all I wanted to do was cross my eyes and pretend that it was already done. Only here, I wasn’t going to get that choice.

My phone buzzed about an hour into figuring out how to condense six months’ worth of work into a simple paragraph, and I eagerly set down my book and looked at my phone screen.

Benjamin:You up for lunch today? I’m near your office and starving.

I smiled, my stomach growling, and then I remembered that Benjamin didn’t know about Paige. It’d only been two days. If she had told her family, I would have heard about it. There would have been the great explosion. Not judgment, not anger, but it would have been something the Montgomerys would have talked to me about. At least, I thought so.

Meaning, if I went to lunch with one of my best friends today, I would have to hide the fact that I did indeed know something they didn’t about their baby sister.

Hell. This was why you always stayed away from sisters. It kept things safe that way.

If I didn’t text him back or go out to lunch, he would think something was wrong. While I had said no to random lunches with him before because I was busy, I would feel awkward saying no just because I was afraid of keeping someone else’s secrets. I shook my head and wrote back.

Me:Thirty minutes sound good to you? Want to go to our favorite sushi place?

See. That sounded normal and not as if I were keeping a gigantic secret from one of my best friends.

Benjamin:Sounds perfect. I could use a spicy crunchy roll.

Me:Is it odd that I just want the miso soup? They have the best miso.

Benjamin:There’s something wrong with you for saying that. While the soup is the best, you’re going to get a sushi platter with me. After this long of a day, I need it.

I tensed, wondering if maybe he knew about Paige and needed to vent. What was I going to say to that? I needed to talk to Paige and get my story straight. Not that Ineededa story since it wasn’t my secret to tell. Why was I making everything so complicated?

Benjamin:We had a water main burst at the other end of the neighborhood thanks to the city construction, and it screwed up my day.

Relief flooded me, mostly since Benjamin’s stress wasn’t about Paige yet. There was something wrong with me.

I signed off with Benjamin and gathered my things, frowning as I saw a note with my name on it at the front desk. “Hey, what’s that?”

Andrea, our admin, looked up and pushed the palm-sized envelope towards me. “Not sure. Our courier dropped it off earlier. I was going to head back and give it to you in the next minute or so, but since you’re here...” She smiled up at me, her glasses askew in the way that told me her mind was going over a thousand projects right then.

I smiled. “No problem. Thanks, Andrea.”

“Are you going out for lunch? Good on you.”

I snorted. “Why are you saying it like that?” I pocketed the note and met Andrea’s gaze.

She waved me off and fixed her glasses. “Because you never go out to lunch. You work more hours than the boss does. I’m sure they all appreciate it, but I’m glad that you’re actually using your lunch for something other than a quick salad at your desk.”

“Are you calling me a workaholic?” I asked dryly.

“It’s not my fault you called yourself that.”

I shook my head, waved, and headed out to the parking lot. It was a nice day, and there wasn’t any rain in the forecast, so I figured I could walk the two blocks to the sushi place rather than drive and try to find parking. I pulled the note out of my pocket, the envelope no bigger than my hand, and nearly tripped over my feet as I read it.

I miss you.

The stars are in your eyes.

---