Page 74 of Running from Drac

Rich glances over at me as I put the phone to my ear, both of us hearing Amber’s sobs on the other line before she says a word.

“Amber? Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Everything,” she cries, a shuddering breath stopping the word like punctuation. “Pippa invited my mom to thebachelorette party.”

“Shit. What she do?”

Amber’s mom is the kind of woman that drains the light from every room she walks into. A faded shell of someone who once had potential. All the drugs, booze, and years of letting Amber down has worn her down. Now she’s a piece of shit parent that’s barely there. When Amber’s dad died, it was like whatever good she had in her died too.

“She left. Like right in the middle of everything. She barely said a word to me the whole time she was here, and half the time she was embarrassing me with her half sober behavior. I defended her the best I could when Pippa and her friends were making fun of her, but then she just bounced.”

“She didn’t even say goodbye?” The grip on my phone strengthens. This is the last thing we need when the wedding is right around the corner.

“She left a note. A really, really shitty note. She’s not coming to the wedding, Eddie. She says she’s too fucked up and needs help, so she’s checking herself into a rehab center.”

“About time, but shitty timing nonetheless.”

“That’s what I’m saying,” Amber practically screams. “The woman has barely been in my life the last few years, and the first chance she gets, she suddenly grows a conscience and throws herself into rehab? Make it make sense. At this point, we might as well fucking elope.”

“Is that what you want?” I question, knowing damn well, it’s not.

“No, but what’s the point? Besides Mallory, Poppy, and Pippa, who do I have on my side?”

She has a point. Amber’s family is tiny. All of her grandparents have passed. Both her parents were only children, and besides her mother, she has no living family left. It’s actually heartbreaking when you think about it. Myparents have done their best to be there for her as much as possible, but it still doesn’t change the fact that the one person she has in this world is too damn broken and selfish to see what an amazing person she is.

“I’m so sorry, baby. If you want to elope, we can.”

She exhales a long, pained breath. “I wish it were that easy. It’s just... nothing has gone right. And I know it sounds shitty, but I’m starting to feel like this is the universe’s way of telling us not to do it.”

My heart stutters in my chest. “Don’t say that, Amber. Please. You’re breaking my damn heart.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I’m just trying to stay above water. Wesley’s in jail. My mom bailed. Nothing about this feels like a celebration.” There’s a pause before she says, “Maybe we should wait until Wesley gets out? He means the world to you, and I don’t want you walking down the aisle without him.”

Rich shoots me a look of pure pity. He and I are the only ones who know how long Wesley’s got. “That’s three years, babe. Are you sure you want to wait that long?”

She gasps. “He got three years?”

“They’re looking at more, but yeah, three is the minimum he’s facing right now. If we’re lucky. I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking we should just get it over with and do it, despite everything telling us not to.”

There’s a long pause before she speaks again. “I just know how much you love Wesley. I don’t want you to get married without him.”

My hand moves down my face, dragging the skin along with it. I hate hearing her broken like this, and her second thoughts about marrying me.

“He wants us to. Says it gives him something good to hold on to from inside.”

She breaks down again. “God, I hate to love that big guy, but he really is one of the nicest human beings on the planet.”

“He really is.”

Another long silence breaks the conversation; this time it drags on for what seems like minutes. “I don’t know what else Pippa has planned for today, but my heart isn’t in it. I’m tempted to call the whole thing off.”

“You should really try to have fun, baby. I’m sure Pippa put a lot of serious thought into this and is planning something epic.” My gut sours as I lie straight through my teeth. I’ve had a bad feeling about this bachelorette party since Pippa decided to throw it, but I don’t want to discourage Amber, not without giving away what happened between Pippa and me.

“You sound like you’re driving somewhere.”

“I am. Rich and I are driving to meet a guy about buying a couple motorcycles.”

“Motorcycles? Seriously, Eddie? You know how I feel about them.”