Page 21 of Slow Burn (The Boston Beauties)

BRETON:Please tell me you’re eating so much chocolate and food that your six-pack is disappearing

DREW:That must be the Easter Miracle you’re wishing for

BRETON:Speaking of miracles, your other gift will arrive shortly.

DREW:I’m not home

BRETON:You think I don’t know that???

It didn’t surprise me, I was sure he had GPS on this device and could activate the camera remotely to spy on me.

DREW:Thanks, man.

I was speaking with one of Lisa’s cousins about something that had been on the show, as he knew what I did for a living, when my phone buzzed again. I’d been holding it and looked down when another text message came through.

There was no picture, but the preview said the message was from Cupcake.

I nearly dropped the phone. There was only one person I called that.

I was momentarily frozen in place, my finger hovering over the message, unsure what to do. Shaking, I finally clicked on the message

CUPCAKE:shhhh

CUPCAKE:Happy Easter, Drew

DREW:Is this a sick joke?

I stood up and excused myself, walking outside, not bothering to put on a jacket in the cool spring evening.

I had to text Breton back, ignoring the time difference. Things just didn’t add up and heads were going to fucking roll when I found out who was behind this.

DREW:Is someone playing a sick joke on me?

BRETON:Nope, Happy Easter! Jesus isn’t the only one who can rise from the dead.

BRETON:I don’t need to tell you that this is top secret.

Holy fuck…

I dropped to my knees on the sidewalk a few houses down from the one I had been at, my knees giving out. Standing up I ran a hand through my hair, pacing back and forth.

Wait.

Jessa was fucking alive.When my mind caught up I was clearly in some kind of shock.

No…

DREW:Seriously?

BRETON:Why the fuck are you still texting me, she wants to know if you’re pissed and ignoring her.

Fuck yeah I was pissed. But I was also elated, overjoyed, ecstatic and every other adjective that means happy. My emotions were running the gamete, and when I looked down to my phone it was through blurry eyes.

I was crying, but no longer tears of sadness, or loss, but tears of joy, of hope.

Jessa’s alive.

I wiped the tears away and held my phone in shaky hands. I needed to calm the fuck down, but how do you do that when you suddenly find out your purpose for living has been reinstated. That you are essentially being given a second chance at life, at love, at happiness. Because that’s what finding out Jessa was alive meant to me.

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