Page 17 of Love You Still
“And how did you find out?” I shift my attention to Leia, already knowing the answer to my question.
“Your mom called. She assumed you might not tell her, so my job was to get you talking.” Leia flashes me a smile before plopping into the chair across from us and putting her feet on the coffee table.
“Feet belong on the floor,” my mom snaps, causing Leia to grumble as she lowers her feet to the floor.
“You two are ridiculous.” I laugh softly while shaking my head. “There’s nothing to tell. He came to say hello and get our awkward first meeting out of the way.”
“That was almost a believable lie, Selina. Now, tell us the truth,” Leia retorts, pinning me in place with her stare.
“That man has not stopped asking about you every chance he got since you left town. There is no way he only stopped by to say hello,” my mom chimes in, reaching for my hand. “I know that things didn’t end the best between you two, but I know you know he still cares for you.”
“I don’t know anything, Mom,” I whisper, pulling my hand from her grasp and balling it into a fist on my thigh. “He’s movedon. I knew it was going to happen—hell, I wished for it at one point. Now we just need to figure out how to be in the same place together.”
“Vance Kirkland move on?” Leia scoffs, pushing to her feet and coming around the coffee table. She kneels in front of me, grabbing both of my hands in hers. “Vance has not moved on, Selina. Just like he never cheated on you. He’s always been here, waiting for you to come home.”
“It’s been sixteen years since I left town. There’s no way he has been waiting for me all this time.”
I want to believe every word that she’s saying with all my heart, but my mind knows better. Vance and I were only kids when we made all those promises to each other. Sure, he spent every day telling me how we were meant to be together and that nothing could keep us apart, but the moment I stopped answering his few phone calls, he went running into the arms of someone else. Okay, that isn’t entirely true either, but I’m sure he’s found someone else since then. Gone on dates and tried to forget all about the love we shared.
Lord knows I did, but nothing worked. My stomach turned every time I agreed to go on a date with someone, because no one could live up to Vance. He was my first everything, and after a few years, I realized he was going to be my only. I hoped that he felt the same way, but after seeing him with that girl, I knew he had had enough. He was ready to move on and repair the damage I had done to his heart. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy for me. I’ll love Vance Kirkland until the day I die.
“She isn’t lying to you, sweetheart. He’s never once wavered in his feelings about you. You are the girl he’s going to marry and spend the rest of his life with.”
“I know you two are trying to help me, but there’s no way Vance is still in love with me. Too much time has passed. There’sno way to repair the damage that was done. We are just another sob story. We grew apart, went our separate ways.”
“You’re full of shit, Selina Melissa Grymes, and you know it.”
Sometimes I forget how perceptive my mom is to my feelings. Sure, she’s my mother, but she’s also one of my closest friends. We had our problems as I found my way toward adulthood, but there was never anything we couldn’t talk about. Even when she didn’t agree with my choices, she was always there for me, supporting me even when she knew I was 100 percent wrong in my choices, and she was also there when I figured out I had fucked up, helping me work through my issues to find a solution I could live with.
“Damn, she said your whole name. She means business,” Leia jokes before giving my hand a squeeze.
“There is more to your love story than just growing apart, Selina. When you’re ready to face the fact that fate has given you a chance at love again, you know where to find me. We are all here to help you two find your way back to each other.”
We sit there in silence for a few minutes, both of them giving me time to process what they have said. Is it really that easy? We can just start over? Get to know each other as we are now and hope that the memory of what we once were is enough to bring us back together? No, it can’t be.
“I’ll think about it,” I whisper, not wanting to give them an answer either way. They’ve given me a lot to think about, but nothing has to be decided today.
“That’s all that we can ask.” My mom smiles at me before pushing to her feet and walking toward the kitchen. “Are you staying for dinner, Leia?”
“Depends. What are you making?”
“I haven’t decided yet. That depends on if you are staying or not.”
“No can do, Momma Grymes. Selina and I need to get moving or we’ll be late,” Leia jokes as she checks her watch.
“Late for what?” I question as she pulls me to my feet and drags me toward the front door. “Where are we going?”
“Umm, today is Friday. We need to get to Bristol’s for our weekly call with Audrey.”
Audrey and Bristol are the newest editions to our friend group since I left for New York. Leia ended up going away to college and met Bristol during her junior year. Leia and I had been chatting more regularly by then, and I immediately fell in love with Bristol. It seems she felt that same way about me, declaring I was her new sister. She introduced the two of us to her best friend, Audrey, shortly after that, and we have been chatting once or twice a week ever since.
When they graduated, Bristol followed Leia home to Tyson’s Creek and opened a yoga studio instead of chasing her parents around until her dad retired from the military. Business has been good for her, mostly because everyone immediately fell in love with her bubbly personality. Ever since Bristol told us she was pregnant; it’s been her life’s mission to get all her sister in one place to help her raise her child once they’re born. Now that I’m back in town for the foreseeable future, Bristol is working overtime trying to convince Audrey to move here with her daughter, Love.
“Ugh, do we have to?” I whine as she grabs my bag from the end table and shoves it into my chest. “I would much rather go upstairs, put on some pj’s, and sleep until Monday.”
“Are you that excited to see Vance again?” Leia jokes, shoving me out the door and pulling it shut behind her.
“No. Connor said he was sending a team over to work on the floors. I want to make sure I’m well rested and have a plan written out of everything that I want done so they can getfinished quickly.” I throw my bag over my shoulder and follow her to her car.