Page 68 of Breaking Bristol
“Hey, Bristol. You feeling better today?” The pen fell out of my hand as I jolted in my chair. Confusion made my head tilt at Reese’s question. “You were sick yesterday, remember… you called in.”
“Right.” I nodded. “Right. Yeah, I’m much better. Thanks for asking.”
I bent down to retrieve my pen, and when I sat up, she was leaning on my desk. “Andy got a job.”
“Oh, that’s awesome!”
“It is. I did what you said, and we agreed on an end date for the job search, and when he still hadn’t gotten any offers, he reached out to Blake. And he’s now actually excited about working for him.”
“I’m so happy for you guys.”
She was beaming. “Me too. I just wanted to thank you for listening to me and for the advice.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”
“Yeah, I do. Drinks are on me next time and don’t even try saying no. I won’t allow it.” The bell rang, and she backed away. “Talk to you later.”
I got on with my day, and time flew. I had just got done with a faculty meeting and came back to my desk to see a message waiting for me.
Matthew: Hey, baby
Me: Hey :)
Matthew: How’s your day
Me: Good. U?
Matthew: Excited to see you
Me: Me too
Matthew: I’ll let you get back to work
Me: Did you want something?
Matthew: Just to say hi and tell you I love you
Matthew: And I miss you
Me: Same. See you soon!
I added a bunch of X’s and O’s along with every heart and kissy emoji I could find then hit send so I could answer my work phone. “This is the counselor’s office, how can I help you?”
I heard a deep breath and then the phone clicked off.
My fingers were trembling as I put the receiver back. No… it wasn’t him. If he hadn’t found me for two years, there’s no way he did now. I was just being paranoid since I’d been thinking so much about it lately.
I got lost in my work and before I knew it, I was headed home, excited to come home to my man. Just as I was pulling up to my house, my cell phone rang. I glanced to see the number, and my stomach sank.
I shifted to park and answered Scotty’s call.
“Hey, Bristol. Bad news.”
“What?” I asked, panicked.
“Your dad had a heart attack and is in the hospital.”
My oxygen supply was cut off and I became dizzy. “What?”