Page 45 of Until I Found You
“Yeah… I mean, we have hardly spent time together lately. For a while, I used Callum and Ellie’s wedding as a way of keeping my mind off it. He blew off seeing me earlier this week. God, I just sound like this insecure twit.”
She runs her hands through her hair, shaking her head. “He’s just been acting so weird. I was looking forward to seeing him that night too. I spent extra time just getting ready, I had ordered out dinner and everything. He called me and said he was on his way home, he was just too tired.”
Turning her head toward me, she looks at me as tears fill the brim of her eyes. She blinks them away, letting out a slow breath again.
“Too tired? I mean, really?”
“Okay, forget going by and seeing him. Let’s go home, get drunk on wine, and binge watch Friends. It will be perfect.”
It’s been a while since we’ve had a night just the two of us. Between preparing for the wedding and dividing my time between the salon and helping Graham’s mom, we really haven’t had a lot of extra time to hang out.
“That sounds like exactly what I need,” Kinsley sighs, as she picks up her phone, tossing it into her purse. “I miss my Halle girl and I feel like we have a lot to catch up on.”
An hour later, we’re sitting on the couch with empty boxes of Chinese takeout sitting on our coffee table like a buffet. My hair is wrapped in a towel on the top of my head as Kinsley digs through her basket of nail polish trying to decide on the perfect color.
“I’m so full,” I say, sighing as I lean back, patting my full and happy stomach.
“It was really good. I just can’t eat very much right now,” she replies. She flashes me a sad smile, before continuing to rummage through her polishes.
There are so many attractive colors, it’s no wonder she’s having a hard time deciding.
“Kins, I am sure you don’t have anything to worry about. Wes loves you. He has since we were sixteen years old when he asked to take you to homecoming and you agreed, but only under the condition that he let you clean his locker.”
I can’t help but laugh thinking back on that memory because it’s totally something she would say.
Looking up at me, she glares at me. “You know what you can do? Pick up those empty cartons.”
I want to laugh, make a joke to pull her out of it, but I drop it. Picking up the garbage, I carry it into the kitchen. I make a pit stop by the bathroom, dropping off my wet towel and grabbing my comb to brush through my damp hair.
My phone vibrates with a text, seeing Graham’s name flash on my screen.
Graham:You’ll be on my mind all night. Have fun with Kins. Tell her I said hi.
Plopping back down on the couch next to Kinsley, I say, “Graham says hi.”
Looking up at me, she smiles. It’s the first real smile I’ve seen on her face all day. Running the comb through my hair, I flip through Netflix trying to find an episode of Friends that will help pull my friend out of her somber mood.
“How are things after the wedding?”
I think about her question for a minute while scrolling through episodes.
“Honestly, I guess I don’t know. He apologized for leaving and for hurting me. I’m not sure where we go now though.”
Even though we’ve talked every day since the wedding, I still don’t know what’s going on or what the future has in store for us.
“He loves you, Halle. I really think he regrets leaving you, for hurting you how he did. It was never supposed to be this way for you guys.”
“I know he does.”
Kinsley settles on a bright pink nail polish, setting the rest in the basket on the floor. Pressing play, we both settle in as the theme to Friends floats from the speakers.
“I think I just worry about it happening again, you know? What’s stopping him from leaving Arbor Creek again? If I wasn’t a reason for him to stay before, I don’t trust he won’t find a reason to go if something happens down the road.”
“Who are you right now?” Her question throws me off, as I look over at her. She slips the brush back into the nail polish, setting it on the coffee table. She has this stern look on her face and it’s throwing me off.
“The Halle I know is fearless. She doesn’t get hung up on the what-ifs. She puts her all into everything. It’s what I love about you. Don’t let your fears hold you back from moving on with him.”
“It’s not that easy.”
