Page 127 of The Lucky One
Breana giggled. “The story isn’t finished yet.”
“It’s not?” I raised my brow, both entertained and slightly worried about what was coming next.
“Maddy and I realized we had a lot in common. Difficult mothers, jerky ex-boyfriends, no idea what our futures are gonna look like. So we somehow became friends.”
“You and—Maddy?” I remembered Madison looking down on Breana back when I first started hanging out with the Fam.
“Yep, I even went with her to tell her mom about the baby. Let’s say it didn’t go well, and Maddy moved in with me.”
“Madison’s living with you now?!”
“That’s not all.”
I jumped to my feet. “Seriously? What happened then?”
Breana remained seated. “One day I saw this apartment close to the woods with a For rent sign. It’s not big or anything fancy, but it’s good enough for two people and a baby. I got a job at this vegetarian restaurant thanks to my culinary skills, and Madison has some money saved up and found a decent-paying job in an office. So yeah, we’re moving in together.”
“You and Madison?” I said, feeling stupid for parroting everything she said.
“Yep.” Breana grinned. “But there’s more. One night we stayed up talking until the sun came up, and... I don’t know how it happened, but we ended up kissing.”
I slapped my hand over my mouth. “You two are...?”
“Seeing where this is going, and I’m her date for prom tonight, yes.”
“Oh my gosh! That is amazing!” I bent down and put my arms around her. “I mean, I’m shocked you and Madison get along, but I’m so happy for you two.”
“Thanks, Emily,” Breana giggled into my neck. We separated. “I realized when I kissed her, I had never felt so much before. It made my heart fly over the treetops. It felt so right.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
Just then, the door opened and Danielle stuck her head out, her makeup nearly done and her hair curled to perfection, the front strands held back with clips.
“You two ever gonna come in and join us? I’ve got big plans for your hair.”
Breana and I looked at each other. “We’re coming.” We swooped up on Danielle, arms open wide.
“Ahh, no! My hair, stop! Stop!” Danielle complained as we pulled her into another hug. “I hate you guys,” she mumbled, but accepted our snuggles.
Playground Talk
Jon
On the swing at the playground where Paul and I used to hang out, I waited to see if he’d show. I’d texted him to meet me here, but with prom just hours away, he probably had better things to do.
I gripped the metal chains and gazed up at the sky. Emily was leaving soon. The ache of missing her intensified with each passing day. Life without her was fucking shit—but I had to respect her decision. She said no, so it meant no... Despite myself, I was proud of her for taking a stand like that.
The grass edging the playground was speckled with daisies. She looked so freaking cute with a daisy behind her ear.
“Hey, man,” Paul’s voice said, and for a second I had to convince myself it wasn’t an auditory hallucination.
“Hi.”
He settled on a swing next to me. He looked exhausted. I instinctively reached for my squares.
“Not getting high?” he said.
“Nope, that’s in the past.” I pulled out two, passing one to him along with a lighter. For a few moments we sat in silence, inhaling and exhaling like back in the day.