Page 8 of Truth Or Dare
I scoff, feeling a smile tug at my lips. “Don’t worry about that. You’ll always be my favorite reason to lose sleep.”
She lets out a soft laugh, that sounds like the gates of heaven opening. God, I miss that laugh. Miss hearing it in person. Missher. “Don’t get soft on me, Hudson.”
I chuckle, settling into my gaming chair and grabbing my controller, ready to dive into the game I’ve been working on recently. “Why are you calling me this early anyway? Don’t you have class today?”
“Nope. My dance teacher’s sick. I’ve got the day free. What about you?”
“Nothing much,” I reply, glancing down at the phone. “My life is boring, Gabi.”Especially without her.
She really doesn’t know how much I miss being around her. She’s my home, and an adventure all at once.
“Well… you always know where to go if you’re bored of living in London.”
“Yeah?” I smirk. “Where’s that?”
“Barcelona,” she replies, her voice laced with a hint of excitement.
I chuckle, leaning back in my chair. “You want to go to Barcelona?”
“Are you kidding?” she says with a chuckle. “Spending all day eating tapas and getting a tan?”
“Sounds amazing.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “And you’d be there with me.”
“Yeah?” I love that she’s adding me to her imaginary plans. Love that she thinks of me, because I think of that girl nonstop. Every single day.
“Of course.” She scoffs. “No trip is complete without you.”
No trip is complete without you.Why do I love the sound of that so much?
“That’s good, because I’d hate to be anywhere without you,” I reply, a teasing expression in my voice.
She doesn’t laugh. Doesn’t reply. The weight of her silence hits me hard. I moved to London without her. And ever since then, the night I left has hovered over us like a dark cloud, a topic we’ve both tiptoed around.
I run a hand down my face, trying to shake off the tension. “So, are you excited about the summer?” I throw out the question, hoping to shift the conversation away from the awkward silence that just hung between us.
“Yeah,” she replies with a sigh. “I’m excited about Jane’s wedding. You know it’s the first ever wedding I’m attending?”
“Shit. I forgot about that.”
I tear my eyes away from the screen and glance down at the phone as Gabi’s words sink in. Gabi’s sister is getting married, and I won’t be there. She invited me a few months ago, and I never replied. I stared at that invitation for days, wondering what would happen if I went. Gabi would be there. I’d finally be able to see her again. But the wedding is in our home town, and I haven’t been in South Carolina since I left, four years ago.
Gabi’s voice cuts through the game’s soundtrack, drawing my attention back to the screen. “I’m not looking forward to going to this thing alone, though,” she admits, and I can almost picture the expression on her face, the way her brow furrows when she’s deep in thought. “I wish you were here. We could have gone together.”
“You do?” I ask her, my brows raising. I really want to be there, too. I want to see her again. Face to face.
“Of course,” she replies. “I always want you with me.”
My heart thumps at her words, and I lean forward, as if somehow I could bridge the distance between us.
I think about what it would be like to see her again, to see her face and hold her in my arms and be able to look into her eyes in person. My body warms at the thought. My lips twitch as I load up my laptop, and start searching for flights.
He’s in prison.
And Gabiwantsme there.
There’s nothing stopping me from hopping on a plane and going to visit her.
