Page 55 of Spreading Her Wings

It was quiet and the light in the living room was off, but I could see the glow from the kitchen. I walked in, slowly guiding the door shut behind me so it didn’t slam, and made my way through the living room, dropping my purse on the floor of the entry on my way. Was he going to be happy to see me? Part of me feared he would throw me out and tell me he didn’t want me anymore after I’d refused to claim him.

Even though that was all I wanted to do now.

My excitement raced through me, crashing into dread when I turned the corner. In the kitchen was a woman with beautiful, long blonde hair with obviously lived-in roots. She turned to facethe sound, her piercing eyes pinning me to my spot. She was beautiful, with perky tits and full hips barely covered by the T-shirt she was wearing.

Auston’s T-shirt. The same shirt I’d worn the only time I stayed the night here.

My stomach dropped to the floor along with the pizza box. I looked at her and then spun around, practically tripping over the table on my way out of the apartment.

“Hey, wait!” The woman called after me, but the tears in my eyes were blurring my vision. My legs couldn’t move quickly enough to get me out of the room that felt like it was shrinking in around me.

I shook my head, hooked my purse, and took off running. When there was the rustle of the gummy worms dropping to the sidewalk behind me, I left them, desperately begging my quivering hands to get a grip and open the car door.

I slammed the door shut behind me and roughly turned my key. I jumped, startled by the sound of the engine. With a deep breath, I put the car in reverse, quickly pulling away from the duplex. From the front door, she watched me drive off.

Ahot shower was great to wash the smell of day-old gin from my skin, but it didn’t wash away the guilt of leaving the papers on Katie’s porch or the longing I felt to grab her. I sighed, tugging my T-shirt over my head and running my hand through my towel-dried hair.

My phone sat on the dresser, and I checked it, hopeful when I saw the flashing light that it would be Katie’s name on the screen.Andy.

ANDY

So are we ever going to talk about it?

ME

Talk about what?

ANDY

The reason you completely ditched all of us at dinner the other day?

ME

Not likely.

ANDY

Seriously? What’s your deal?

I typed out more than one message reminding her that she’d never had a problem keeping secrets from me, but I deleted them. I typed out a quick “not now” and hit send before I dropped my phone onto my bed and grumbled, knowing I should call her and explain. Before I could do that, I needed to talk to Katie, and to do that, I needed coffee.

When I walked from the bedroom and into the kitchen, the spicy smell of pepperoni filled my nose. Sky leaned against the counter, the T-shirt she’d stolen from my closet still the only thing she was wearing. I rolled my eyes, but my stomach grumbled.

“When did you order pizza?”

Sky giggled and took a big bite of the crust left in her hand. “I didn’t.”

I walked to the counter, flipping the box open as a wave of nausea rushed over me. Pepperoni and black olives. She looked startled when I met her gaze. “Where is she?”

“How do you know it was her?”

Who else would bring me a pepperoni-and-black-olive pizza at eleven on a Sunday? There was only one person I know who liked it, or me, enough to do that. “When did she leave? Where did she go?” My voice was frantic, and I looked around for shoes while Sky stared. Her eyes were wide, taking in every frantic movement with an amused stare while I hurried through my living room.

“She left like five minutes ago.”

“Why didn’t you stop her?” I shouted, ignoring the concerned look on my friend’s face. I didn’t give her a chance to respond before I spun away from her.

I skipped tying the shoes and rushed out the front door, and when I hit the sidewalk, I felt a small crumple and pop beneath my sneaker. I looked down. Gummy worms. “Fuck!”

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