Twenty-nine
TWENTY-NINE
Josie
“This was so wonderful for all of you to do for me.”
I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.
When I’d made the decision to attend this party for Jessica with the rest of the female coworkers from the diner, I hadn’t realized the level of satisfaction and happiness I’d feel once I got here.
It was as though I’d just taken another giant step toward recovery and was finally building the life I’d wanted all along.
Sure, it still felt scary at times, and I knew I had a long road ahead of me to get to where I ultimately wanted to be, but this felt good. It was just one more way in which I believed I was coming into that independence Huck and I had been talking about for weeks now.
I was legitimately in the best place I’d been in my whole life. I was happy in a romantic relationship with a man who loved and respected me, I was working and earning my own money, and I was forging friendships with my coworkers.
The very best thing about this moment, though, was that I was here celebrating a joyous occasion, and I wasn’t worried about what would happen when I left. I knew that returning to Huck’s place would be a safe place for me to go, that he’d likely even ask about how the celebration went and whether I had a good time. He’d be interested to hear the details, and he’d be happy for me.
That’s how I knew he was the guy for me. He was precisely what a man in a romantic relationship should be—loving, supportive, and protective.
Knowing I had that, I was able to focus fully on what was happening around me, and right now, that meant taking part in reassuring Jessica that she deserved to have this.
“Oh, Jess, we’re so happy for you,” Lori told her. “I’m just glad we were all able to make it today.”
“Me, too,” Kerri added.
Tears filled Jessica’s eyes, and as she swiped at them, she said, “This helps so much. I appreciate the gifts, obviously, but it goes way beyond that for me. This situation has been such a mix of excitement and fear. Obviously, I can’t wait to meet my baby, but I’m afraid of having to do it all on my own. Knowing I’ve got some support from my friends at work means the world to me.”
I couldn’t say I didn’t understand that sentiment. I’d felt the very same way as Jessica, even if for an entirely different reason. Wanting to offer her some solidarity, I said, “It’s going to get better, Jess. I can only imagine how scary it must feel going into this next chapter of your life and feeling like you’re all alone, but you’re not. I’ll be here for you.”
“Us, too,” Brenda added, gesturing toward the rest of the ladies at the table.
“Thanks, girls. I really appreciate that.”
“If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine, but have you heard from him?” Lori asked Jess, referring to her baby’s father.
Jess shook her head. “Not really. Or, well, not in the way I had hoped. Dan’s contacted me a couple of times over the last two months or so, but it’s never been about the baby.”
Kerri asked the questions that immediately popped into my head. “Are you joking? He doesn’t ask about the baby at all?”
An audible sigh filled with disappointment escaped. “I wish I were joking.”
“So, what does he say when he calls, if not to discuss the baby?” Brenda pressed.
After lifting her glass of water in her hand to take a sip of it, Jess shared, “I mean, the topic of the baby is sort of unavoidable, but he’s not the one who brings it up. I don’t know what his goal is, but he’ll call and just ask me if I want to get together. The first time he did that, I got excited and agreed. I foolishly believed he was having second thoughts, that he’d gotten scared when he first learned I was pregnant, but ultimately realized he needed to step up and do the right thing. I believed he loved me and wanted to reconcile, to try to work things out.”
The despondency in her tone was heartbreaking. Seeing that look on her face and that tone in her voice hit close to home for me. I used to be that person.
“I can only assume, based on the way you are now, Dan wasn’t interested in working things out,” Lori declared.
“You would be correct,” Jess confirmed. “I think he thought he could sweet talk me into being okay with being a booty call, but I made it clear I wasn’t interested. Even still, it hasn’t stopped him from trying. It breaks my heart, and I feel guilty for the baby.”
“Guilty?”
With a slight nod, Jess explained, “I wonder if I’m doing more harm to my baby by not doing whatever I can to keep Dan around. Shouldn’t I be doing what I can to not push him away?”
Before anyone had the chance to respond, I blurted, “No. Absolutely not.”
Several sets of eyes snapped in my direction, but it was Jess who spoke. “No?”
I offered an apologetic look. “My heart breaks for you. I wish there was a way to fix all of this and make it be what you want, but I can’t. What I can do is tell you that you deserve so much better and promise you that you’ll get that.”
“I know I deserve better, but I’m not convinced I’m going to get that,” she murmured. “Who’s going to want me?”
“The right man,” I insisted. “Look, you all know just some of what I went through. When I tell you how easy it was to feel like nothing would ever get better, I’m not joking. It was awful. And Jess, I’m sure you’re feeling this horrible sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, like you’ve ruined everything. It’s just not true. I’ve been through hell, experiencing such terrible things in my life, so I understand that feeling of despair. But it got better for me, better than I ever thought possible. I waited a long time for Huck, longer than I would have liked, but he’s been so worth it. Coming from someone who had no hope, trust me, you’re going to come out the other side of this better than you could have ever imagined.”
Jessica smiled at me as Kerri said, “That was very sweet of you to say, Josie.”
“And encouraging,” Jessica added. “I know it’s not going to be easy; I hate that I’ve got to do it on my own. But you’re right, so I’m going to lean on the people I do have in my life right now for help, and in the end, it’s all going to work out.”
“That’s the spirit,” Lori bubbled.
“Alright, time for gifts,” Brenda announced. “I’ll go first.”
For the next hour or so, the girls and I showered Jessica with gifts for her baby. Beyond that, we continued to offer words of encouragement and promises of help as she entered this next chapter in her life. She was fortunate to have a good family behind her as well.
By the time we decided to call it a night—the pregnant woman was growing more and more tired by the second—it was safe to say she was in a much better headspace than she had been at one point in the evening. I’d had a wonderful time, and I was excited about having more opportunities in the future to get together with these women.
For now, I was eager to get back to the guy who’d made it possible for me to have this experience.
So, after we all made our way out of the restaurant and helped Jessica carry her gifts to her car, we said goodbye to one another. Then I walked beside Lori toward her car, pulling my phone out of my purse as I did. The conversation I’d had with Huck earlier this morning rang in my head, and I thought I’d have some fun with him now when I sent him a text.
Josie
I sure hope that everything you got during this morning’s fun hasn’t worn off yet. If it has, you should know I’m on my way back.
“This one’s mine,” Lori declared, recognizing I’d gotten a ride to dinner with Kerri.
As we went to opposite sides of her car to get in, my phone buzzed in my hand. Just before I opened the door to get inside, I glanced at the display and noticed Huck had responded.
Huck
I hope you had a great time tonight. But I’m glad you’re heading home, because I’m just barely hanging on.
My lips twitched.
Josie
I’ll be there in less than fifteen minutes.
Huck
I’ll be watching out the window for you. See you soon.
I tucked my phone back into my purse and allowed the smile to creep onto my face. Huck was the best guy in the world. Everything I’d said to Jessica—and the rest of the girls—tonight was the truth. Huck had shown me a life better than I’d ever imagined. He showed me what it was like to truly be loved.
Wanting to get back to him as quickly as possible, I finally opened the door and got into the car.
A moment later, I had given Huck’s address to Lori, and she backed out of the parking space. She navigated her car through the lot toward the exit, and once we were on our way, I said, “Thanks again for offering to drive me tonight.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” she insisted. “I’m so glad you were able to come.”
“Me, too. I had a really great time, and I think it was wonderful that we got to do this for Jessica, too,” I told her.
“Yeah, I think she needed this. It really seemed to lift her spirits, especially after you said all that you did.”
Shaking my head, feeling a bit embarrassed, I replied, “I just wanted her to know that it gets better. She deserves to have hope.”
Lori pulled to a stop at a red light, glanced over at me, and smiled. “We all do. I’m so happy for you, Jo?—”
That was all she got out, because the car jerked forward violently. There was a brief moment of confusion before we both realized what had happened.
“Oh my God. Are you okay?” I asked, feeling my heart pounding.
“Someone just rear-ended me,” Lori announced.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m okay. We should pro?—”
Lori and I both screamed as the car went sailing out into the intersection. We’d just gotten hit a second time. This time, we couldn’t manage to get our bearings about us, because the car behind us continued to drive forward.
I was frantic, worried that someone was having a medical incident, had passed out, and was no longer in control of their vehicle. Holding on to the handle above my head, I saw Lori was gripping the steering wheel with everything she had.
As we were being propelled forward, I turned around to see what was happening, and that’s when my stomach dropped.
“Oh, God.”
“What?” Lori questioned me.
“It’s my ex.”
“What?” she shrieked, the panic rising in her tone.
Terror gripped me, too. “We have to get away from him.”
It took Lori half a second to react. She mashed her foot to the gas pedal and took off. I looked back, saw that Kurt wasn’t being deterred by Lori’s desire to get away, and knew we were in big trouble.
“What do we do? Where do we go?” The worry was dripping from every word Lori spoke, and her eyes were wide with fear.
“Drive toward the police station,” I ordered, reaching into my purse for my phone as my heart raced.
I barely got those words out before Kurt rammed into the back of Lori’s car again. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
I knew it.
I knew he was never going to let me just walk away from him.
Continuing to hold on to the handle above my head, I yanked out my phone. Despite the terror I felt, I was still lucid enough to know there was one person I could depend on for help.
Huck
It had been a matter of minutes since I’d told Josie I’d be watching out the window for her when my phone rang.
As soon as I saw her name on the display, something made my body go alert. I didn’t know why I was reacting or feeling the way that I was, but I couldn’t ignore the ominous sensation that had come over me.
“Josie?” I answered the call.
“Huck,” she shouted. I’d always loved hearing her say my name, but this time I didn’t. There was nothing but unadulterated fear in that one single word. “Huck, he’s coming after us.”
She didn’t even have to say his name for me to know who she was talking about. I began moving—doing it quickly—to throw on a pair of sneakers. As I slipped my feet into them, I asked, “Where are you? What’s happening?”
“We just left The Ridge,” she shared. “We came to a red light, and not even thirty seconds later, he rammed his truck into the back of Lori’s car.”
I heard a loud bang, followed by screams. “I’m coming, Josie. Tell me exactly where you are.”
“I told Lori to drive toward the police station, but I don’t think we’re going to make it there.”
Fear.
God, the fear was laced through her tone in a way I’d never heard it before.
“You’re going to be okay,” I promised, unsure if I was in a position to be making such bold claims. I wasn’t there; I had no idea how bad it was yet. And given what I knew about this guy and his willingness to hurt Josie, I wasn’t sure there was anything he wouldn’t do now, even go beyond simply intending to injure her. Even still, I couldn’t let my worst fears take over. I needed to give Josie whatever reassurances she needed, so I repeated, “You’re going to be okay. I’m already on the way to you, honey.”
“Huck,” she cried. “Please hurry. I’m scared.”
“I know you are. I’m coming. Just keep driving to the police station,” I told her.
“We are, but we—ahhh!”
Josie’s and Lori’s screams came through the line, along with the distinct sounds of squealing tires and metal crashing.
“Josie!” I yelled.
There was no answer.
“Josie!!”
Nothing.
A moment later, the line went dead.
Immediately, I called back, but there was no response.
It was all I could do not to succumb to the overwhelming feeling of despair in the pit of my stomach. I had no choice but to keep going, to get there faster, because if something happened to her, there wasn’t a chance I’d survive it.