10 Years (Time for Love 5)

“Congratulations,” I said as I leaned in to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

We went back out toward the waiting room, giving the others a chance to go in and offer their congratulations to Victoria, and Craig put his hand on my arm to pull me aside.

“How’s Victoria?” he asked. Now that we were no longer caught up in the baby fever, he was back to looking nervous.

“She’s great. Amazingly so,” I replied, giving him a small smile. I tucked my hair behind my ear nervously and added. “We’re about to go, so I’ll call you tomorrow?”

His eyes searched my face, then he said, “Okay.”

I didn’t know if he was hoping I’d go with him and talk tonight, or what, but he seemed disappointed that I wasn’t offering up anything other than a promise to call.

“Okay,” I replied dumbly, then turned to catch up with my sister.

Chapter Thirty-Five ~ Craig

Present Day (20 years old)

“I have an appointment on Monday morning, so I’m not going to ride back with you to school,” Gwen had told me on the phone yesterday.

“I can stay,” I’d suggested. “We can ride up together after your appointment.”

“No, that’s okay,” she’d replied softly, and I wished so badly that she was telling me this in person, rather than over the phone, so I could see her expression. “You have class and practice; I don’t want you to miss it. Gaby’s taking the day off and bringing me up. I’ll see you when I get there.”

“You promise?” I’d asked, feeling like a clingy fool, but wanting to make sure that she wasn’t going to keep blowing me off. I thought back to my conversation with Brock and added, “I’ll give you the time you need, but, Gwen, you can’t keep brushing me off. Monday night, we will talk.”

“Yes, I promise.”

The trip back had been long and boring without Gwen to talk to and fight over music with, and the night in my bed had been lonely. It was my first night in my apartment without her since we’d started going out, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Dude, it’s gonna be fine,” Liam said when I scuttled back in from the kitchen with a bag of Doritos.

It was almost six. I’d gone to class and practice, and when I’d come home, still no Gwen. Not Gwen in the flesh, not a text, not a missed call. Nothing.

“He’s right,” Aliyah said from her place on the couch next to Liam. “Gwen will be here. I know you said there’s stuff going on that she has to figure out, but I really don’t think you need to worry about things going bad again. I’ve seen you guys the last few weeks, and anyone with eyes can see that you love each other. Relax.”

I nodded, not just because I wanted to believe my friends, but because I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She’d either show up tonight, or she wouldn’t. I was going to stop thinking about it.

I picked up my phone and turned it to look at the screen.

Yup, it was still on. No missed calls, no texts.

“Jesus,” Liam muttered. “This is getting pathetic.”

I pretended I didn’t hear him, or see Aliyah poke him in the side. Instead I turned my attention to the TV.

There was some girl lying in a hospital bed while her ghost hovered over her and some guy walked in.

What the fuck were we watching.

I got up and was about to leave the two of them alone to watch their movie while I went to bed, when the door opened and Gwen walked in.

She looked terribly young with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, her face free of makeup, and some sort of Nike training pants on. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were puffy. She stood there for a moment, her eyes haunted, just looking at me, and I was suddenly at a loss as to what I should do.

Go to her?

Wait for her to come to me?

Ask her if she was okay, which she obviously wasn’t?