Page 2 of Evading Fate

“You can’t cut me off, Trey,” I tease.

“Actually, Rob works at Moe’s so I can.”

“Whatever,” I grumble, my façade slipping ever so slightly and take a sip of the water, wishing it had more of a bite.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” he asks.

“He went home. Has to work early in the morning,” I answer, feeling a little guilty about my pity party when I actually have a guy. Kyle is a nice guy, albeit a little boring, but after a string of losers, he was a breath of fresh air. He’s a sweet, kind person and honestly, probably better than I deserve. We’re not serious though. If I’m honest with myself, I think I’ve known for a while that this isn’t going anywhere. It never can.

Needing to do something to distract myself, I take another gulp of water and stand in an attempt to go out to the dance floor, but the earth rocks back and forth violently, and my knees buckle. Before I can go crashing to the ground, Trey jumps up and catches me.

“Whoa. I think it’s time we get you home.”

I shake my head, half-heartedly trying to push him away. “I’m fine.”

“We’re leaving,” he asserts, not asking my opinion as he starts leading me across the yard to his car. I take one last look at the dance floor, anger twisting my gut before I turn away. When we round the front of the house, his blood red ’68 Charger comes into view, and I grin.

“I love your car,” I purr, and he starts laughing.

“Yeah, we better make sure you drink some water before you go to bed.”

“I’m not that drunk,” I scoff, and he chuckles again.

“Ad, if I let go of you right now, there’s no way you’d be able to hold yourself up.”

Whatever.

“Oh,” I exclaim, trying to jerk out of his grasp but he’s got a solid hold on me and I don’t go anywhere. “I need to say good-bye to Emma and Nix.”

“I already told them that we were leaving. It’s okay.”

I nod and remain quiet as we reach his car, and he tucks me into the passenger seat, securing the seatbelt across my lap before rounding the front and sliding behind the wheel. He starts it up, the deep rumble of the engine rocking through my body and I fight back another grin. I totally love this car. He pulls out of the driveway and when we’re on the road, he floors it – jolting us forward, and my heart skips a beat as he looks over at me and laughs softly.

He eases off the gas and we ride in comfortable silence along the back roads. Old oak trees dripping with Spanish moss line both sides of the asphalt, their branches stretching out over the road, only allowing patches of moonlight to stream through, and a warm summer breeze whips through the open window, drawing a sigh of contentment out of me. But somewhere along the way, my emotions shift in my drunken brain, and I start to feel the burn of tears in my eyes as I think about how much I want the things that I can never have.

The wedding was absolutely gorgeous – everything that the three of us dreamed about as little girls, and Emma looked like an angel in her dress, her little belly just starting to show under the lace. Subconsciously, my hand drifts over my stomach as I wonder what it would be like to be pregnant and to hold my baby in my arms. I can picture it so perfectly, a beautiful baby boy and a man that loves us both fiercely with his every breath. We’d be the perfect little family. By the time we reach my apartment, I’m biting my lip hard to hold back the pain that wants to spill out across my face.

“You okay?” Trey asks, glancing over at me as he opens his door. I nod and climb out, slowly making my way over to the sidewalk using the car to keep my balance. He meets me halfway, wrapping his arm around my waist again as we walk up to my apartment, a loft right on the edge of Port Allen overlooking the Mississippi River. We climb the stairs in silence, and once we’re in front of my door, Trey takes my keys from me, unlocking it quickly.

“Go sit down on the couch, and I’ll bring you some water,” Trey instructs, and I narrow my eyes at him.

“You’re a little bossy tonight. I think you’ve been spending too much time with Tucker.”

He laughs and starts walking to my kitchen. “Go sit down,” he calls over his shoulder, and I pout like a child as I stomp over to the new couch that Daisy just had delivered. I sink back into the cushions and marvel at just how well my friend decorated this place, not that I ever had any doubts but I know she did. It’s obviously something she was meant to do though. The way she captured every aspect of my personality in the design is amazing. But sometimes, it feels so empty that I can hardly stand it.

Trey comes back from the kitchen with a glass of water in his hand and sits on the coffee table in front of me, holding both hands out to me – one with the glass and one with two aspirin. “Drink.”

Rolling my eyes, I take the pills from him and swallow them before taking a large gulp of water. Looking around my apartment again, I realize it’s the perfect place for a single girl, and it hits me that I’m probably going to spend the rest of my life here, bringing a rush of tears to my eyes.

“Hey,” Trey says gently, reaching up and brushing my blonde hair out of my face, “what’s got you so sad, pretty girl?”

I focus my gaze on the glass in my hand, brushing away condensation as I consider talking to him about the mess that my life has become in the past year. With Emma and Daisy both preoccupied with new relationships, Trey truly has become my best friend, but I haven’t spoken a word of any of this, and I don’t know if I can do it now.

“You ever want something so much that it hurts? Like physically hurts deep down in your soul as if someone cut away a piece of you?” I ask, my voice shaking as moisture continues to build in my eyes.

“Yeah,” Trey answers, his voice rough, and my head jerks up, my eyes finding his and it’s like I’m seeing myself reflected back to me. Everything that I’ve been feeling and struggling with for so long is swimming in his honey-colored eyes, and I feel safe to let him see the things I’ve been hiding from everyone else.

My brows furrow, and I study him as the air seems to shift around us, becoming heavier. Trey and I were never very close growing up; he was Tucker’s friend and I was Emma’s, but when Emma started seeing Ryan and Daisy started sneaking around with Tucker, we became close. Truthfully, he’s one of my best friends now, right up there with Emma and Daisy but this… this feels different. More. Jesus, I must be drunker than I thought. Trey and I are friends – that’s it.