“Have you seen your brother? Fucking huge loaf knocked me up with mini King Kong. Prince is heavy, okay? So call me a pussy, I’ll take it.” She chuckles when I finally catch up and walk through the open door.
“I didn’t call you a p-u-s-s-y. I called you a weakling.” I look over to her, did she just spell out pussy?
“You can say pussy, it won’t hurt you Mother Mary.” Pushing my shoulder lightly, I remove my purse and place it on the chair in the waiting room taking a seat.
“Shut up. I have class,” she teases.
“Sure you do, ‘Miss Knocked Up With Twins Before Marriage.’”
“At least I’m married now, you slore. Doesn’t count.”
“Touche.”
“I’m just teasing.”
“I know.” Leaving it at that, I don’t take any offense.
We check in, well Shayla does, I sit back and run my hand over my belly. We don’t say much in the waiting room, more silent than anything. I needed this terribly, I have swollen ankles, my back is killing me, my breasts feel like heavy bags of sand and my belly is getting bigger by the day.
I also need a hot second away from all the house hunting, it has me stressed beyond my limits. I can’t help but feel like I’ve been getting more anxiety lately, a touch of depression at times. I constantly have this looming feeling that I’m losing something or something bad is going to happen.
Partly with Joel getting ready to be released in a few short months, maybe that’s it. He didn’t contact me after that night with Kingston. No more letters, no more anything. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, which further piles on my anxiety.
“Shayla, Lana, are you girls ready?” the masseuse calls to us and we both nod, grabbing our bags and following her back. Getting into our robes, we head out of the changing room to get our manis and pedis first.
“How’s house hunting?” Shayla asks the question of the century.
“Not good. I found one house I really wanted, it was perfect. Just a block over from your place, but we didn’t put an offer in on time. Someone beat us to it.”
“Oh, that sucks, L. I’m sorry. I know how stressful that can be. How about everything else?” she questions, I know she’s wanting to ask about Joel.
“Fine. I guess. It’s just weird.”
“What’s weird?”
“He hasn’t said a word. Kingston said the detective spoke to Joel and his attorney, he denied everything of course, then I filled out a report about the things being sent to me and nothing came of that. So, it all seems too fishy to me. How can he just stop after one conversation from the detective? Joel’s...dangerous. He fears nothing,” I say this with a chill bleeding down my spine. “He’s the worst kind of monster, he has no fear, he lives for the high, the danger, the pain. Joel’s the devil in sheep skin.”
“I don’t disagree. I understand your reservations. Have you talked to Kingston about it?”
“No,” I say bluntly.
“Why not?”
“Shayla, that affected him more than I think anyone knew. The night I told him about the things Joel sent me, I found him in the shower...crying.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he started saying that he needed me to show him that I loved him on my own free will. He actually thought that I fell in love with him because he forced me.” I take a deep breath, looking at anything but Shayla.
“I will suffer just to know that my best friend is okay,” I admit, finally looking over.
“You’re forgetting something, Lana.”
“What’s that?”
“Kingston would do the same for you.” The truest of words.
“I know, that’s why I need to just ignore it. Joel is out of the picture. Me second-g