Page 48 of Rise After Fall

Zoey

“You’re one of us now, kid,” Erin says.

“I am?”

“Yep, and you too.” She points to Joanna.

We’ve been claimed.

“Cool. I don’t have many girlfriends,” Joanna says.

“I don’t either,” I admit.

“You do now. Friends are important,” Jena says.

“It’s true. I don’t think we put enough emphasis on friendships. Your friends aren’t bound to you by blood. They sign no contract. There is no courtship, proposal, or ceremony. You don’t exchange vows, and yet you’re there for each other for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. Through births and deaths until your own death causes you to part. You laugh together and make each other laugh. You cry together without judgment or shame. You hold each other up when one of you hasn’t got the strength to stand. You hit your knees and pray for each other. No, not because you’re bound by blood, but because you’re bound by love. I don’t think friendships are given enough credit. It’s a love like no other,” Sara-Beth says.

“That was beautiful, Momma Tuttle,” Erin gasps.

“It really was,” Ansley cries.

“Uh-oh. We’ve reached the point in the night where the waterworks are going to start and become uncontrollable if we don’t bust this scene up now,” Morris says.

Erin snaps her head around and points at him. “You! You are correct.”

He stands. “Everyone in my truck, let’s load up. The rest of you, sit tight. Graham will be here any minute to get most of you, and Pop is coming for Mom and Leona.”

Joanna gets up and follows Morris, Scooter, Clay, and Kinley.

“I’ll see you back at home,” she calls to me.

I wave as they disappear.

“I just realized my ride is gone,” I muse.

Taeli wraps an arm around me. “Don’t worry. We got you. I called Graham and told him to bring the Tahoe. It has a third-row seat.”

“Thanks.”

After Sara-Beth and Leona leave and while we wait for Graham, the girls start discussing the fact that Morris showed up with Kinley, which leads to me telling them about what happened between us.

A highly edited version.

“Wait a minute. You guys slept together, and now, he’s out with another woman?” Erin questions.

“No, they didn’t have sex. She said they made out,” Jena corrects.

“Still douchey,” Brandee says.

“Yeah, but that’s okay. It was a onetime thing,” I declare.

“A onetime-yesterday thing,” Taeli utters.

“What? Oh, hell no. Baby Tuttle is acting like Weston. We can’t have that,” Erin snaps.

She turns to Anna. “Sorry.”

Anna shrugs. “It’s okay. He’s reformed.”