Page 123 of The Young & the Sinner

Olivia

Lizzie never got backto me after Wednesday, and she never showed for school on Thursday or Friday. I didn’t know why.

Any attempts to contact her over the weekend went unanswered. I told myself not to start worrying. She probably had a lot on her mind, but I was going crazy.

Monday morning, I found her by the café she liked at school. She shot me a resigned smiled when she saw me, and I pulled up short. It didn’t take much to get the story out of her.

She and Sam were getting married. In August. Just two months after her baby’s due date. She delivered the news to me with Sam nearby and with a smile on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes. And as much as Sam liked Lizzie, I doubt he was any happier about getting married at twenty than she was.

I couldn’t do anything but stare at her blankly, mostly because she told me with only ten minutes before my next class started, and Sam was there.

I hugged her instead, and whispered, “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Lizzie shrugged and that was answer enough. I shook my head and she shot me a look. “I want you to be my maid of honor.”

I nodded, but I couldn’t even work up a smile. With that, they walked away, and I couldn’t do any more than stare off after them.

* * *

I spentthe entire day in a daze.

By the time I got home, I was nowhere near done processing what Lizzie had told this morning.

Max was home when I got there, and Mason was over, too, but I barely had the energy to smile at them.

“Hey, Livie. Long day?” Mason asked.

I blew out raspberries with my lips. “Yeah.”

He looked me up and down, and it looked like he wanted to hug me, but Max was here, so that wasn’t possible. Which was unfortunate, because I really needed to be hugged.

Max placed his cup of tea down on the table. “Come on. We need to do some grocery shopping. That might take you mind off things, yeah?”

I shrugged. I doubted grocery shopping would help, but it was better than staying at home, thinking about Lizzie. Mason joined us.

We went to Joe & Family Grocer. Joe wasn’t there—today was his day with his grandkids, so he usually took the whole day off. I smiled and waved at my co-workers while we went around the store, throwing anything and everything in cart.

I didn’t really eat my lunch today, so I was hungry, and everything looked appetizing. Max laughed when I came back with three different kinds of chips. “Hungry, kid?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

Mason had his own cart, shopping for his apartment, and when he pulled up close to us, his cart barely had anything in it.

“All done?” Max asked. Mason nodded. “Good, let’s go check out.”

We took twice as long to checkout than Mason did, and then the three of us made our way out the door. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I quickly pulled it out, hoping it was Lizzie.

I bumped into Max before I could read the text.

“Oomph.” I looked up and found both Mason and Max standing in the middle of the store. “Why are we stopping?”

No one answered me. I looked around the two large men to see what the problem was.

I didn’t know what to say. It had been years since I had last seen him. He didn’t look like he changed much, except he looked more mature. More filled out. Sturdier…

Just… more.

“Dad?”

---