Need Us by Amanda Heath Page B

because I don’t come around enough for him to get to know me.
    “I thought you might like some of this.” She hands me a pink coffee cup with a skull and crossbones on the front. “Sorry about the cup, Richard doesn’t drink coffee so all my cups are girly.” She nudges me in the shoulder and laughs.
    I sip at the drink staring off into space. “I’m sorry I don’t come to see Richard much. I think life has gotten away from me the past year.”
    “Broken hearts will do that to you.” She brings her cup up to her lips and looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “Richard isn’t here this weekend. He had to fly out to New York for some business. He’ll be back Sunday evening, if you want to come to dinner.”
    I nod. I liked Diana the moment I met her. She didn’t force herself into my space like some of Richard’s girlfriends. She kept her distance until I was ready to let her in.
    “You might want to look into getting some cover up. I don’t know how you’re going to explain all those love bites to Richard or Margret. If they find out it was Paisley, they might get their hopes up.” She reaches over and slides her hand gently against my back. It’s soft and comforting.
    I shake my head. “I don’t care if they know it was Paisley. They have no reason to get their hopes up. I made it pretty clear to her I wasn’t interested in getting back together. I was just scratching an itch.”
    She laughs and I have to look at her with both eyebrows raised. “You are funny. Channing, you and that girl will get back together. It might not be today and it might not be in three months. But I know it will happen.”
    “How do you know that, oh wise one.”
    She looks into my eyes, her way of saying you better listen to what I’m saying or I’ll beat you up. “Because neither of you moved on in the past year. She hasn’t looked at another man since the day she met you. I know I wasn’t here then, but I’ve heard the stories from Margret and Richard. Not to mention Henry, who had a front row seat to it all.”
    I sigh and shake my head. “That’s not proof.”
    “Oh dear boy. It’s all the proof you need. Neither of you will ever be happy without the other. You can’t even bring yourself to sleep with anyone else, not even for one night. You don’t need all the time in the world to understand that.” She pats my back and stands up. “Besides, she only stayed away because she saw what you did to that church. She couldn’t bring herself to hurt you any more than she already had. But where your destruction was on the outside, hers was just as bad on the inside.”
    I don’t know what to do with that information. It doesn’t excuse the fact she humiliated me in front of both our families. She could have talked to me beforehand, and she didn’t because she was scared. That I don’t understand at all. Why would she be afraid to talk to me about it? I would never hurt her and I wouldn’t leave her just because she didn’t want to get married. I thought she wanted it, that’s why it was happening. Yet I was left to pick up the pieces.
    Maybe I’m just meant to be miserable for the rest of my life.

 
    Rachel
     
    I stare down at the little stick. I can’t seem to look away or blink. One little plus sign and my entire life gets turned around. I can no longer drink any alcohol or take a puff off of one of Channing’s joints. Not that he smokes much but sometimes he needs to actually sleep and he doesn’t like sleeping pills.
    Seriously, don’t tell anyone I told you that.
    At least this time around I don’t have to worry about telling my parents because I was a dumb teenager and had sex before I was married. Though I’m not really in a strong relationship right now because I’m a fucking idiot.
    Asher will be happy. He’s been asking for a little brother for months now. Court and I have been trying to have another kid for years but it never seemed the right time. His school was in the way or he