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Banner: Nope to the big wedding. You’d hate that. We’re going to have a small one. Just our close friends and family: Lake and her boyfriend, your grandparents, Mark and Levi, and my mum, dad and siblings. Yes, to the dog. We can call it Bruno. The tree house may take time, but we’ll do it.
Emma: Are you for real? LOL. You do make me laugh.
Banner: You’ll see. Speak to you later. Tom’s here.
Banner: And while I’m gone, try to think on what we can call our second daughter. I’m at a loss.
I’m smiling when I roll my eyes, my stomach giddy with excitement. But I need to know…
Emma: What’s our first daughter’s name?
Banner: Easy. Lara Catherine Banner.
I flop down on the edge of my bed, feeling tears fall and drop down to my lap. He sounds so serious. If he’s not, then this is a cruel joke playing with me like this.
I don’t message him back, too afraid of what I’ll say—and what he’ll say in return.
A knock on the front door reminds me of Jordan. I rush out of the room, waving at Levi when he goes to get up from the sofa.
“I’ll get it.”
I open the door to find Jordan standing next to another girl. She’s tiny. She’s also really beautiful. But something about her seems broken. It’s her eyes, I realise. There’s an emptiness inside of them, like she’s lacking life. I should know; I looked at the same dead expression staring back at me in the mirror for years.
She gazes down to her feet when she notices me staring, and I instantly feel bad. I never liked people analysing me—still don’t—and I can see she feels the same.
“Hey, this is my friend, Rosie. We thought we could hang out together today, if that’s okay?”
“That’s fine. Did you want to hang out here or go somewhere?”
She turns to Rosie, who bites her bottom lip. “I don’t mind.”
“It’s raining, and I just had my hair dyed. Would you mind if we stayed here?”
I nod, opening the door for them to step inside. Levi gets up from the sofa when he sees we’ve got guests, but falters when he sees Rosie.
My gaze moves away from him when I hear a whimper. I turn to find Rosie shaking, and watch as she moves half a step behind Jordan, like she’s seeking protection.
Jordan gives us an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realise you had company. We can go grab coffee.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m going to surprise my boyfriend at work. You guys stay in the warmth. Is that okay?” Levi asks softly, his gaze on Rosie. Her cheeks turn pink, but she gives a barely perceptible nod, her focus downcast.
“You sure?” I ask, hating that he feels like he has to leave, but at the same time loving him for his consideration towards a stranger.
“Yeah. I was going to go later anyway, so it’s no problem.”
He grabs his keys and jacket, walking towards us slowly. Rosie steps out of his way, and as he reaches us, Jordan clears her throat. “Thank you,” she whispers.
“It’s fine. You three stay out of trouble,” he warns, before leaving.
When the door shuts, Rosie visibly relaxes, her face ashen. “I’m so sorry.”
Jordan wraps an arm around her. “It’s okay. You didn’t run off, so it’s a start.”
I’m missing something vital here.
“I think it was his size and all those tattoos.”
“Rosie was one of the victims from last year. She still has trouble being around males,” Jordan explains.