“Dani?”
“Yeah, I’m coming home. I’ll see you in a few days.”
“Okay. And Dani?”
“Yeah?”
“If you need anything, you call, okay? I’ll drop everything and come help.”
“Okay.”
“I love you, sis.”
“Love you too.”
Click. Haylee says those three words all the time, but to hear them from my sister, I can’t even describe the feeling.
I open a text message to her and send her the address. Once it’s sent, I decide to torture myself and scroll through all the hundreds of text messages left unanswered. I push that to the back of my mind; all that matters is that she wants to come home. She is coming home.
I wipe the tears I finally had allowed to fall. I’m grateful Kyler isn’t home to see me crying, although it wouldn’t be the first time he had witnessed it. I slowly walk back to the bedroom and sit on the bed. I see that Haylee changed positions but no sign of her having woken up. Shit, Haylee. I never said anything about her to Dani. I guess I was just so overwhelmed by her calling.
I stand back up and walk over to the closet and pull out the box of ties. Inside I find the small black velvet box where the engagement ring I still have yet to give her sits. I’ve now tried four times to propose, and something always happens. It’s like I’m reliving our first date all over again. The first time, it was just a coincidence, but multiple times, I know my best friend is fucking with me from the grave.
I open the ring box, making sure to block it from Haylee’s view if she were to wake up. I look down at the diamond-and-amethyst ring that has been burning a hole in my pocket for months now. I can’t wait for my girl to wear this proudly on her finger to show the our friends and family, the world, that she’s mine.
My mind drifts back to my sister. She actually called—I can’t get over it. How the hell am I going to tell her that while she was God knows where, I fell in love, and with her best friend at that? We’ll be open and honest and say that we fell in love. Yeah, should be as simple as that.
I walk back to the bed and lie back down in hopes that I will be able to calm my thoughts and sleep will overtake my mind. I close my eyes and wait. I wait for hours, tossing and turning, but rest never comes. I lie on my side and watch Haylee sleep peacefully. A few times throughout the night, she makes almost a purring sound, and I’m half-tempted to wake her up and ask her what she is dreaming about, but I choose to let her sleep. At least one of us will be well-rested for tomorrow.
I look over at my phone and see it’s already 5:00 a.m. Wow, how did that happen? I get up and decide to go for a run. I throw on my running clothes and shoes and grab the earbuds from my gym bag. When I walk outside, I feel the brisk morning air before sunrise. I pull up my running playlist on my phone and head out.
I run for as long as I can before I feel my legs start to give out. I don’t want to have to call Haylee or Ky this early in the morning to come to pick me up because I overdid it. By the time I get back, I’ve run ten miles. I walk into the bedroom on the way to the shower and see Haylee hasn’t moved. Good. I had hoped that my run would help me clear my head and figure out a way to not only tell Haylee that Dani called since I’m not sure how she’ll react but to fill Dani in on all that she’s missed. I also need to figure out what I’m supposed to tell my parents. Do I tell them she called? That she’s going to be staying here? I can’t break her trust and have them show up and bombard her.
I step out of the bathroom wrapped in only a towel as Haylee starts to stir.
“You’re up early this morning.”
“Yeah, I went for a run. Ended up running ten miles.”
“Ten miles?” She reaches for her phone to see the time. “It’s not even seven in the morning. How long have you been awake?”
I shrug. “A while.”
I walk over to my dresser and grab a pair of boxers out of the drawer and sit back on the bed to put them on. Haylee crawls over and puts her arms around my shoulders, my back to her front.
“Are you okay, babe? You seem off. You didn’t sleep well and then just ran ten miles. What’s wrong?”
I shake my head. Her arms tighten, and she adjusts herself, wrapping her legs around my waist, almost as if I were giving her a piggyback ride. My mind reverts to the memory of carrying her around Baltimore last summer after we splurged on Maryland steamed crabs. The thought brings a smile to my face, and I run my hand up and down her leg in a soothing motion.
“What is it, then?”
I take a deep breath. “Dani called.”
Dani called? Did I hear that correctly? No, maybe I’m still half-asleep and heard what I wanted to hear.
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that? I thought you said Dani called.”
“I did.”