“I want to get my things from his apartment, so I thought I’d go tomorrow morning after he leaves for work.”
“How are you going to get to Little Rock?”
“Bus. It’s the only thing I can think of.”
“Let me think on that. Are you hungry?”
Tessa shook her head. “No, my stomach is in knots.”
Brylee hugged her when tears filled her eyes. She cried for a long time, and having someone hold her felt nice.
“You can sleep in here tonight. The bed’s already made.”
“You have a beautiful room,” Tessa said.
“Yes. I love it. I wish you could have one, too.”
“I can. I can make my home any way I want it, so if I want to paint the walls pink, I will.”
Brylee smiled. “That would be awesome. I hope I can come and visit you.”
“I hope so, too. I’ll miss you guys so much. Can you tell all the girls what happened?”
“Of course, I can,” Brylee said.
They hugged again.
“Are you sure you won’t come down for dinner?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Thank you for your help.”
“That’s what besties are for.”
Tessa watched her leave and turned to look out the window. Night had fallen, so she only saw the yard lights scattered around.
She didn’t want to think too much about her future because it just made tears flood her eyes every time. She figured she had enough time for that later when she was home and alone.
Chapter Seventeen
The next day, the girls waited until Gage left for work. No matter how many times he asked, they never told him anything. She asked Brylee if she would get in trouble, and her friend said probably, but she wasn’t worried.
They called an Uber and then sat outside waiting for it.
When it pulled up, the girls hugged.
“Call me when you get to your house.”
“I will. Thank you for the loan of money and the phone.”
“It was an extra one that you put minutes on. I wrote the number down and gave you mine.”
They hugged again.
Tessa waved before sliding into the car.
“Where to, miss?”
Oh, God, she didn’t have the address. “I’m sorry. All I know is that it’s a tall building, uptown and across the street from the farmer’s market. Do you know where that is, sir?”