“Won’t he be expecting us at the hospital?” I asked.
“It’s late. I’m sure he’ll expect that we’ll come see the baby tomorrow,” Talon said.
Joe was a father.
Wow.
Being a father was something that had enriched my life in so many ways. It would be great to watch my best friend enjoy those things for the first time.
“What’s
his name?” I said.
“The text doesn’t say,” Ruby said. “You know, it’s funny. Melanie and I talk all the time, and she never mentioned any names they were considering. The few times I brought it up, she said they hadn’t decided.”
“We’ll know soon enough,” Ryan said. “He can’t be nameless forever.”
“Melanie was worried for so much of this pregnancy,” Ruby went on, “because of her age. I wonder if she was just trying not to get too attached to the baby, you know?”
“You have been spending a lot of time with Melanie,” Talon said. “That sounds exactly like something she would say.”
“Her pregnancy has been textbook easy,” Ryan said. “Nothing like Jade’s.”
Talon visibly stiffened in the driver’s seat. “Jade’s doing a lot better. She’s been feeling pretty good since that scare.”
Silence again.
Then, “Shouldn’t one of us text him back?” Ryan said. “Or call?”
“I’m driving,” Talon replied. “Jade will text him for us.”
I hurriedly tapped into my phone. “Wonderful! Congratulations! Welcome to fatherhood. Your life is about to change drastically, but you’ll love it. Love you, bro.”
“Text sent,” I said.
“Yeah, me too,” Ryan said. “I feel like we should call him.”
Talon kept his eyes on the road. “He’s busy. We’ll call him when we’re done with this.”
When we’re done with this.
Interesting choice of words.
This could very well be leading us to nowhere good.
Chapter Fourteen
Marjorie
No one would know.
Slowly I lowered the blade to the scar of my flesh. Tingles shot through me at the chill of the sharp blade against my skin.
Just a little cut…
Just a little, to relieve all this tension—
“What the hell is taking you so long?” Alex banged on the door.