Page 94 of Mr. Edwards

As for the car Grayson bought me, it was returned here the day I left him at the cabin. I parked the Mustang outside his house and slipped the keys into his mailbox like a coward. I couldn’t keep the car after what I’d done, no matter how much I wanted to. It was just another part of him I’d lost. I then flagged down a cab and cried my eyes out the entire way to the bus depot before buying a one-way ticket back home…to Reece. Because yet again I had nowhere else to go.

My fingers wrap around the car door handle as I gaze back at his house for the final time. That’s when I lose the battle on my emotions and the first tear falls.

Through blurry eyes, I look further down the street to where Emma and Ashton live with their daughter, Charlie. Although Emma and I have remained best friends,still managing to meet up occasionally when time permits, I haven’t been to their house in years. I’ve avoided this area like the plague.

I miss her, and my goddaughter.

With my mind made up I start walking in that direction. Maybe it’s hormones, or maybe it’s heartache, but I feel like I’m a dam ready to burst its banks. I’m not in a fit state to drive. I need a hug, a comforting ear and I don’t know…a few bottles of wine.

I pray that Ashton’s not home when I press the buzzer at their front gate. It’s a weekday, so fingers crossed he’s at work.

“Oh my God, Carlee, is it really you?” Emma squeals through the intercom.

“Hey, Em.” I lift my hand, giving the camera a half-hearted wave.

“Is everything okay?”

“No.” I sniffle, dropping my gaze down to my feet. “Not really.”

“Hold on, let me buzz you in.”

By the time I push through the gate, she’s already opening the front door. “I just put Charlie down for a nap, but come in.” When I reach her, she pulls me into her arms. “It’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you.”

“I know. I hate that I live so far away.”

She pulls back, scanning my face. “What’s going on?”

I release a puff of air as tears burn the back of my eyes, but I somehow manage to hold it together. “I just went to see Grayson”

“You did?” Her eyes widen.

“Yeah.”

“How did it go?”

“It was a disaster. He slammed the door in my face.”

The recognition that he no longer wants me is a hardpill to swallow. There’s always been a small part of me that hoped our circumstances would change, and we’d finally be able to be together again.

“Oh crap, I’m so sorry, Car.” Emma places her hand on my arm as she shuffles to the side, making room for me to pass. “Come in.”

We head toward the kitchen and she rounds the island, toward their fancy coffee machine. “Sit,” she says. “I’ll make us a cuppa and then we can talk.”

“A what?”

Emma laughs. “A coffee. Channing calls them cuppas… it must be an Australian thing.” She waves it off as I place the paper bag on the countertop in front of me. “What’s that?” she asks, maneuvering the mug under the spout.

“A pregnancy test.”

Her head whips in my direction. “Did I hear that correctly?”

I shrug. “I’m late.”

“How late?”

“A few months.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were seeing someone.”