I look at her and wait until I have her undivided attention. “You have feelings for Spencer, don’t you?”
Tully sighs and I see the indecision on her face. “I…I don’t know. I’m confused.”
“What do you mean confused? About what specifically?”
“About everything. About Rivers.”
“You know it’s ok to have feelings for more than one guy at a time, right? Besides, Rivers told you he wanted you to move on.”
“I know but…” she lets out another sigh. “How could I even begin to have feelings for someone else when Rivers has always been it for me? I’m so freaking in love with him that it doesn’t make sense that I’m liking Spencer.”
“I guess it kind of does,” I tell her. “Spencer has been there to put you back together every step of the way. He makes you smile and just when your world was falling apart, he was there to help you through it. It’s only natural for you to want to cling to that with everything you have, and I guess the news that he was staying around and was going to be near you was overwhelming and you acted on instinct.”
“What are you trying to say? That you’re all team Spencer now?”
“No. I’m a firm believer in team Rivers and I believe the Rivers and Tully train will roll once again and make the best kind of magic, but in case I’m wrong and that’s a lost cause, then don’t you think that once you’re ready, you owe it to yourself and to Spencer to explore what you two have? You never know, it could lead to something amazing.”
“It could also lead to another broken heart.”
“I don’t think Spencer has it in him to break your heart. He follows you around like a lost puppy. I think you’re the real deal for him. Besides, he’s pined after you all senior year after you dated briefly last summer. If he’s already waited that long after getting a little taste, then I think he’ll wait as long as it takes.”
“Ok. So, say I get together with Spencer and then Rivers show up out of the blue. What am I supposed to do then? He’s not the kind of guy I’m just going to forget about. Just thinking about exploring my options with Spencer makes me feel as though I’m being unfaithful to him. Rivers is my guy and he always will be.”
“I don’t know,” I tell her, leaning forward and squeezing her thigh. “That’s something only you can answer, but what I do know is that Rivers left saying that he couldn’t give you what you deserve, and despite how badly I want you two to make it work, he wanted you to move on. So, I guess you need to ask yourself if you’re prepared to wait around for something that could never happen or if you want to give it a shot finding happiness with Spence.”
Tears pool in Tully’s eyes as she looks up at me. “But what if I can’t find that same happiness with Spencer that I had with Rivers?”
“I…” I shake my head, unable to answer that in the way she needs. “Then you buy yourself ten cats and visit me on the weekends.”
“Yo,” the door flies open and Noah comes storming in, looking proud as punch. “What’s going on in…shit. Tears?” He comes to an alarming stop. “I knew there was a reason I let you talk me out of coming in here.”
I roll my eyes and throw one of Tully’s old teddy bears at him. “What do you want?”
Noah eyes his sister warily before turning his gaze on me. “I was just talking to Officer Langston,” he starts, making me sit up a little straighter. “They fucking got him. They’re pushing for trial in three months and with the list of charges against him, he didn’t get bail so he’ll be sitting in prison until then.”
“What?” I say, throwing myself off Tully’s bed and crashing into Noah. “Are you kidding? That’s incredible.”
“Yep,” he says. “You’re free of him.”
“Well, that’s assuming the trial goes as expected and he doesn’t get off on some ridiculous technicality.”
“Trust me,” he says, pulling me in. “They made sure to dot all their I’s and cross their T’s. They’re ready for this and a case this big they’re not going to screw up by messing up the paperwork. They had my statement, so they had probable cause to arrest and I don’t doubt that someone remembered to read him his rights. Everything is going to be ok. Remember that this is probably the biggest arrest of their careers. They’re not going to let him slip through their fingers. Every step is going to be checked, double checked, and then triple checked.”
“He can afford the best lawyers in the country,” I remind him.