Page 55 of Right Place, Right Time (Second Chances)
When I don’t respond, she looks over to me, and I smile shyly. We stare at each other for a few moments, then she points the remote at the television and turns it off. The awkward silence continues before we both speak at once.
“Casey—”
“Kate—”
I close my mouth, waiting for her to continue. She seems to be doing the same. Catching each other’s eye again, we laugh.
Why is this so awkward?
“I’m sorry, Kate,” she finally says. “I put you in a bad position, not only recently, but ever since I was first hospitalized and that wasn’t fair to do. I realize now how much pressure I put on you. How much you must have needed to be on alert with me, not knowing what may happen. How scared you probably were every time you walked into the apartment or knocked on my bedroom door. I’m so sorry.”
Tears drip down Casey’s cheeks, and I walk over to the bed, taking her hand, the one without the wires. “I’m sorry, too, Case. I shouldn’t have given you an ultimatum. I kind of just lost it, you know? I was terrified. And I didn’t mean to stay away so long; I was embarrassed about the way I acted. Jay, Decker, and your mom finally convinced me that you were probably beating yourself up about it as much as I was, and since you couldn’t come to me, I should come to you. So I did.”
She smiles and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad you did.”
I take a seat on the chair beside her bed and look up at her. She looks so different from a few days ago. Lighter…healthier. Choosing to fight looks good on her. “So you and Decker, huh?”
“So you and Jay, huh?” she throws back, smirking at me.
“He’s been so wonderful to me these past few days.” I confide, so happy to finally be able to speak openly about my relationship with Jay to my best friend.
“That’s great. You deserve something wonderful, Kate.”
“You do, too, you know?” I tell her.
“I know,” she nods. “And I’ve got Decker now.”
“I don’t think you ever didn’t have Decker. That boy is crazy about you.”
“I’m kinda crazy about him, too.” Her cheeks turn rosy from her blush.
“So are you two together now?” I ask, leaving out the fact that Decker had already spilled the beans. I know this is something she’ll want to share herself.
“Yeah. We’re together. We’re going to see what happens.”
I can’t help it, I roll my eyes. “Like we all don’t know what’s going to happen. Yours is the forever kind of love, Case. Y’all have loved each other your whole lives, in one way or another. That’s jump-in-front-of-a-bullet kind of love.” She smiles a dreamy smile, and I just know she’s imagining the new idea of a forever with Decker. “Jeez, you’ve got that same goofy look on your face as your boyfriend.” I laugh, and she joins me.
“So tell me more about Jay,” she asks after we sober up.
I smile; this is what I’ve been missing the last few days. Girl talk with my bestie. “Well, I think I told you he’s a mechanic.” Casey nods, remembering our conversation at the apartment a week ago. “He works on motorcycles, and he’s really good at it. Sometimes at night he just rambles on and on about a job he’s working on, and I have no idea what he’s saying but I just love listening to him talk.”
We giggle and laugh and hold nothing back as we share stories of our new relationships. Well…I hold something back. There’s still one thing about Jay I’m not sure how to tell her. I’m not sure what she’ll say or how she’ll react. I hope she’ll be understanding, but it would be a natural response for her to freak out a little bit…to worry.
One day I’ll tell her…just not today.
