Page 3 of You Found Me
A car pulls in as I’m getting out, and I look over to see one of my best friends waving like a loon. I can’t help but smile as I wait for her.
Mia is tall—and I’m not just saying that as someone who’s vertically challenged—I’m talking five-foot ten, slim build, would probably excel in a sport like track if she wanted. Her sandy blonde hair is slightly longer than the last time I saw her, brushing just past her collarbones, and paired with her baby blues, she looks like a doll.
Mia is a ray of sunshine on my dark days and has been that way for all of us since we met her in the third grade after her family moved to town.
She introduced herself with the brightest smile I’ve ever seen, “I’m Amelia Elizabeth Callahan.” Told us her family calls her Bunny, but we weren’t allowed to.
Cori looked at her, face full of attitude, and asked, “So what are we supposed to call you then? Because you don’t look like an Amelia to me. I only know old ladies with that name.”
Instead of crying over Cori’s harsh words like most kids our age would have, she grinned real big and told Cori that she liked her. Deciding at that moment, we could have the honor of calling her Mia.
“So, what did he do this time? And before you ask how I know, you should know by now that I can read you like a book, Em,” she says, tilting her head.
My head falls forward and I release a breath. “Let’s go inside. I don’t really want to have to do this more than once.”
Looping my arm with hers, we walk up to the front door. But before we can even knock, the door swings open and there stands Colette.
Colette’s been my best friend for as long as I can remember. Our parents were friends in high school and ended up moving onto the same street when we were four. I immediately notice she downplayed how sick she is, and not just because her nose resembles one of Santa’s reindeer, but because her eyes are glassy, and her cheeks are flushed. Though not even an atrocious cold could take away from her gorgeousness.
Lettie’s got a few inches on my five-foot two frame, and has long, straight caramel-colored locks, piercing bright green eyes, and a body to die for. We often joke about swapping some of her boobs for some of my ass so that we would have the perfect amount of each. She and Corinne are identical except for the fact that Cori was born with darker hair and eyes. Which made it much easier to tell them apart.
I can’t stop myself from touching her forehead when I step into the house. Playfully swatting my hand away, she chuckles. “Okay, Nurse Emmaline, you’re not on duty right now and I’m fine. Let’s head inside and then we can talk about whyyournose and eyes are so red.”
“Are you sure it’s just a snotty nose?” I ask.
“I haven’t heard of anything going around at the youth center, but I know a few kids are out.” Colette shrugs. “This is just one of the pitfalls of working with kids.”
“True,” I answer with a laugh.
We walk into the living room, and I note that she’s put out wine and tissues. Not entirely sure this is all for my benefit, but it’s sweet. Once we sit down, I get into everything that’s been going on since I last saw them during spring break.
“My god, he’s a dick,” Mia exclaims.
A small chuckle escapes me. I can always count on Mia to make me laugh in any situation.
“Amelia Elizabeth! Not helpful,” Lettie scolds.
She looks over at Colette with a shrug, “Well he is! Bringing up Andrew was a dick move, and you can’t deny that.”
Colette shakes her head at Mia’s comment then looks at me. “What she means is that at some point you will have to figure out why, in the almost seven years you’ve been together, Chance has only visited Meadow Springs a handful of times.”
“I know, I know. I mean, it’s always football first for him. When we got engaged last year, he promised he would start putting me first, and he knew a part of that included my family and friendshere.”
Worry clouds their eyes, so I add, “I’ll just have to tell my mom that he can’t make it because of work, and I’m sure they’ll understand.”
They always do.
“But enough about me. Tell me what’s been going on with y’all,” I say, hoping to move on.
Colette tells us that she’s been on a lot of dates recently with guys she met online and all of them have been disastrous. I laugh then Mia pries, “Theremustbe one that went well. What about the guy I saw you out with last weekend? He was really cute.”
“He talked nonstop about himself. I guarantee he couldn’t tell you a single thing about me besides my name and the size of my chest.” Colette’s cheeks redden slightly as she continues, “So, at dinner I started acting like I might throw up just so we could leave.”
Mia scoffs, “Been there, done that. You’d think they’d be able to tell you're not interested.”
Colette groans, sinking further into the couch. “I’m not even to the worst of the night. Once we got in his truck to leave, hestarted singing old country love songs to me. I’m talking full-on singing, like I was getting a private concert. He grabbed my hand and sang into it.”
I take one look at Mia before we both double over laughing, tears streaming down our cheeks.
