Page 2 of The Forever After Bet

I close my eyes. They’re puffy and burn from so much crying. “What happens now?” But nobody answers me. I let out a shaky breath and fall asleep.

My head is pounding when I wake up, but I keep my eyes closed, willing sleep to come again. I’m not ready to deal with the aftermath of what’s happened. I’m not prepared to live without Ford.

“I think we should tell her,” June whispers.

“Jack said not to,” Leah says.

“I agree with Leah. She’ll freak out,” Aubrey says. They’re all talking in hushed tones.

“Dave’s mom is a mail lady. The guys are going to talk to him and see if there’s anything they can do about getting into that mailbox before the morning.”

What are they talking about? And what do they need to get out of the mailbox? My head hurts too much to think and pretend to be asleep any longer. I roll over, pushing my blanket off me.

“Hannah, what’s wrong?” June asks, running up and climbing onto the bed.

“My head is killing me. How long have I been asleep?”

June glances at the clock. “About two hours.”

I groan, sitting up. “That’s it?” I thread my fingers through my hair, rubbing my head. I want to ask June to get my phone to see if Ford has called or texted, but I’m stupid for even thinking that. I’ll be lucky if he ever speaks to me again. “I need this day to be over.”

Leah comes over, wrapping her arm around me. “You need to eat something. We ordered food from Kneaders. We got you chicken noodle soup and some banana pudding. June says it’s your favorite.”

“Thanks,” I sigh. Leah and Aubrey get me the food they ordered, and we all watch a movie on Leah’s tv. I try to eat the soup. I get a couple of spoonfuls down, but when I take a bite of the pudding, it tastes like dirt in my mouth. It takes everything I have to swallow it and not gag. June gives me a couple of acetaminophen PM to help me sleep, and I crash in the middle of the movie.

Saturday morning, we’re all sitting at Leah’s counter eating cereal. Well, Leah, Aubrey, and June are eating cereal. I’m pushing my spoon around in my bowl, trying to look like I’m eating. Leah’s phone chimes with a text message. She reads it, then glances at me.

“What is it?” I ask.

Leah shakes her head. “It’s nothing. Jack dropped off your car. He left the keys under the floor mat.”

“Okay,” I say, standing up, dumping my cereal in the sink, and rinsing my bowl. I go upstairs to get dressed. My white phone is sitting on top of my clothes. I go to move it and see I have messages from Tyler and Leah. When I open the messages, I gasp. They are pictures from yesterday in the meadow.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry,” I chant, but it’s no good. Tears stream down my cheeks. We look so happy. The tears come harder with each picture until I’m sitting on the floor sobbing. The last photo is of me and Ford. Our hands are outstretched, showing off our rings.

I clutch the phone in my hand. I have the urge to chuck it across the room, but I don’t. I drop it on the floor and hold out my left hand to stare at the promise ring and wedding band on my ring finger. “What am I going to do?”

“Hannah, what’s wrong?” Leah asks as the girls come into the room.

“I still have my wedding band. I don’t know what to do. I had to give the diamond back, even though I didn’t want to. Ford’s mom knew it was his grandma’s. I just—” I cover my face with my hands and try to take a breath, but I can’t get myself to calm down. My heart is beating so fast. It feels like I’m running the eight-hundred-yard dash.

“Take a breath,” June says, rubbing my back.

I try again to take a breath, but it’s hard. I’m on the verge of a panic attack. “I’m sorry. I’m acting like a crazy person. I don’t know how to do this. Tell me what to do.”

Leah kneels in front of me, slipping a long gold chain into my palm. “The rings are a part of you, but just looking at them is causing you serious stress. You have to take them off.”

My eyes go round, and I stand up. “No. No, I can’t. I don’t want Ford to think I don’t love him.”

“He’s not going to think that.” Aubrey wraps her hand around my wrist.

I shake my head. “It’s not fair.”

“No, it’s not,” Leah agrees. “Please, Hannah, trust me. I know something about heartbreak. Looking at these rings every day will only make things ten times harder. You need time to heal, and that’s not going to happen with this constant reminder.”

“You’re right. If anyone asked me about them, I don’t know if I could answer without crying or breaking down.”

June takes the gold chain and undoes the clasp. Aubrey wraps her arm around my shoulder for support.

---