Page 94 of Free to Run
37
Alison
The darkened windows of the car the courier is driving keep the blue of the sky at bay as we pull off of the Saw Mill Parkway and make our way through the winding roads toward Collyer. I memorize the leafy, lazy green trees as they lounge over the reservoirs that line our route.
I’m wrapped in my world of nothing, relishing the weight of it. I wish I could suffocate under the burden, be submerged and never come up, just so long as I never have to feel ever again. I wish I could go to sleep and never wake up if I never have to experience the pain that ripped through me today watching Keene with another woman.
Absentmindedly, my fingers are clutching the diamond he placed around my neck so reverently last night. If the diamond wasn’t his mother’s, I’d have ripped the damn thing off and thrown it into the traffic racing up Eighth Avenue. However, knowing the hell Laura Marshall had lived through in her short time on earth, I have more respect for the woman than that.
At this moment, I feel a deep kinship with her that I’d hope I’d never feel. A Marshall man proclaiming his love, swearing fealty with diamonds and fucking around with another woman right under your nose.
All while you’re pregnant.
What a fool I was to think that saving my early pregnancy test and adding the sonogram pictures, along with a series of framed photos Holly had taken of us as a birthday gift for Keene, would be looked upon with joy? What did he care about being a father? He cared about getting his dick wet with any variety of holes.
And I was just another one.
I mentally add an STD test to my list of items to ask my new OB/GYN about once I arrived in South Carolina. First, I have to get my pregnancy test, leave the diamond somewhere safe, and leave Collyer in my rearview mirror.
“Ms. Freeman, we’re here,” the Watson, Rubenstein, and Dalton courier announces. “Do you see your sister so we can transfer your bags?”
I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t realize we’d already driven down Main Street. We’d passed the local jewelry store, the local boutiques, the chocolatier, and even the Amaryllis Events office. We’ve pulled down the side street where The Coffee Shop is located, and I see Corinna’s delivery van. “There.” I point to the driver.
He pulls in next to her, and she jumps out. Together, they transfer three large suitcases and a few smaller ones to the back of the SUV I’ve been riding in. I slide out and face Corinna.
“It’s worse than I thought, isn’t it?”
I swallow and say, “Call Jared. He’ll fill you in. I can’t talk about it right now. I have to drive soon.” A tear trickles down her cheek. “Don’t cry.” I smile sadly. “This is how it’s meant to work out.”
“Oh, Ali. One day, you’ll find the person willing to go to the ends of the earth for you,” she counters.
“I already did. You,” I whisper. “Now, give me a hug to last me a while. Then you have to go back to the office. This isn’t over yet.” Not by a long shot.
She opens her mouth to ask and then closes it. The next thing I know, her body crashes into me and she’s sobbing. All I can think is, you can’t collapse yet, Ali. Not yet. Tomorrow, maybe. I stroke her hair to comfort her, and whisper, “I promise I’ll try to figure out a way we can talk, okay?”
“Promise me, Ali, this isn’t goodbye forever. Just for now,” Corinna mumbles into my neck.
Knowing I have a lot of thinking to do before I make my final decisions on forever, I can make that promise with honesty. “I promise.”
She steps back. God, she’s so beautiful, it aches just to look at her. I want to beg her to come with me. If I was going anywhere but Charleston…
“I’ve got to go, Cori.”
“I know.” Neither of us makes a move to leave.
It’s the coughing of the courier that finally gets our attention. “Ladies, it’s time. Ms. Freeman, if you could join me in the car?”
I lean forward and kiss Corinna quickly on the cheek. “Remember, I’m always holding your hand, Cori. Always. Tell Hols I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I just couldn’t figure out a way to see both of you, and you were the only one I could contact.” I slide my long legs back into the SUV and close the door. Rolling down the window, I watch Corinna’s face jerk.
“Wait, Ali! I got you these!” Corinna reaches into the van. “I wasn’t sure how far you’d have to drive, and I thought you might not want to stop.”
In her hands are two of The Coffee Shop’s extra-chocolate mochas.
I look at them, look at her, and a single tear escapes. Just one.
“After today, I didn’t think I could say this word so soon, if ever. But know I love you, Corinna. Hols too. Always. Forever. That will never change.” I take the drinks from her and put them in the cupholders in front of me. I’ll have to drink one today and one tomorrow to watch my caffeine intake because of the baby.
I reach my fingers out and capture hers briefly, as the courier backs the car up. Our hands gradually pull apart, and Corinna’s face dissolves in tears as he turns us toward the street.
