90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (4 page)

     Ags undoubtedly felt that devastation, too.  He wasn’t ready to turn back into Aggie, but he’d been forced to, because of nature.

     “I’m sorry, honey.” He entered the bathroom and eased down by her, wrapping an arm around her trembling shoulders.  “Did you forget to take your continuous birth control?”

     “Yes.” She wailed, burying her face behind her hands.  “Like an idiot.  Agnes was really strong that time…I mean,
I
was really stubborn, you know?  I felt so manly…I guess I forgot.”

     “Oh, Aggie.” He pulled her to his chest and kissed her forehead.  “It’s going to be okay.  It’ll be over in a few days and you can get back to being Agnes.  It’s not the end of the world, babe.”

     “But it feels like it.” Her voice cracked.  “It isn’t fair, Ben.  I just want to be who I want to be,
when
I want to be.  Why do stupid bodily functions have to ruin it?  If I’d been born a boy I would never have to worry about stupid Aunt Flo fucking up my month.”

     “Millions of girls would agree with you.” He snickered.  “But I get it.  If I’d been born a boy I wouldn’t have gone under the knife to get rid of my tits and I could pee standing up.  Sometimes life is a bitch, but we make the best of it, don’t we?”

    “We try.” Her voice was soft and low, quivering from God only knew what emotions she was feeling as she cuddled against him.  In moments like this, she seemed so small and fragile; Benji wanted to protect her from the world.  “I just wish everything could fall into place like it did for Lydia.  She’s so lucky.”

     “Yeah, she is.  But you know what?  Our time’s coming, Ags.  You just wait and see.  We’ll get a fresh start in Prairie Town.”

     “I do want to move there.  I really do…”

     “But?” He asked, lifting an eyebrow.

     “What if when we get there, I still end up alone?”

   
You and me both.
 

   
“That’s not going to happen.” He reassured her, lacing their fingers together and lifting her hand to his lips.  Smiling against her knuckles, he met her gaze and winked.  “You are far too awesome to end up alone.”

     “Thanks.” She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, breaking eye contact as her cheeks deepened with a blush.  “But…I can’t help having that fear, Ben.  I’m not sure that God made a person for me.”

     “Well, I’m not sure that God really works out those small details in life, Aggie, but somebody apparently does, and I don’t believe they created you without creating someone for you, too.  He’s just waiting for you to find him.  Or her,”—he added quickly—“you just need to be patient.”

     “I hope it’s a him.” She admitted sadly.  “And I hope he’s in Prairie Town.”

     “Then he is.  He’s definitely in Prairie Town.”

     “How can you be so sure?”

     “Because it’s what you want, and I want you to have everything you want.  You deserve it, Aggie.”

     “You deserve it, too.” She whispered, wiping at her eyes a final time.  “Let’s get out of here.  It’s depressing me.”

     “Sure.” He helped her up and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as tightly as he could.  “How about some chocolate and wine?”

    “Oh, Benji.  You speak to my heart, I tell you.  If you weren’t potentially taken, I’d kiss you right now.”

     “Potentially taken?”

     “Don’t play coy with me now.  I know what’s going to happen when we get to Prairie Town.”

     “You think so, huh?”

     “I
know
so.” Ags ran her fingers through her hair and smiled, her watery eyes sparkling.  “There’s something between you and Laney, isn’t there?”

     “Um…” With a bashful grin, Benji turned and exited the bathroom, making his way back into the kitchen with Aggie hot on his trail.

     “Don’t ‘um’ me!  I know you, Benjamin Palmer—you like her and she likes you.  Anybody can see that.”

     “Yeah, maybe.” He reached for the beer he left on the counter when he walked in the door and put them in the fridge.  It would just have to wait for another day; he was completely okay with drinking wine if it made Aggie happy.

     “Pfft.  Don’t maybe me, you adorable monkey.” She tousled his hair and smiled—something he enjoyed seeing.  “I remember the glances you exchanged at the Halloween party.”

     “Uh huh.”

     “And then again at the second Christmas dinner.”

     “Right.”

     “And we can’t forget the lingering gaze during New Years!  She kissed you on the cheek, didn’t she?”

    
And probably would have done more if we’d been alone.
  He thought, his chest tightening at the memory.  God, if he’d only been brave enough to turn his head a few centimeters that night…

     “Ah ha!” Aggie exclaimed, causing him to jump slightly.  “I knew it.  There’s the look.”

     “What look?”

     “The look you get when you’re thinking about her.  You’re like a love-struck little puppy; it’s adorable.”

     He rolled his eyes.  “God, Aggie.  Stop.”  With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he reached into the freezer and grabbed a container of chocolate ice cream, holding it out towards her as a peace offering.  “Okay, so I dig her.  It’s obvious.  Sue me.”

     “I don’t want to sue you,”—she snatched the container from him and batted her eyelashes—“I just want to make the perfect match.”

     “Oh, no you don’t.” He snatched a beer, a wise idea at the moment, and shut the door.  Leaning against it with one foot propped up, he popped open the can and guzzled it as if he had been deprived of something to drink for days.

     Swallowing the last mouthful, he crushed the aluminum between his fingers and tossed it towards the trashcan.

     Nothing but net.

     “While I appreciate your intentions, I don’t think this is something you can just ‘set up’, Aggie.  Laney is a real person with real feelings—as am I.  If it’s meant to be…it’ll happen.”

     “Oh, it’s going to happen.” She waggled her eyebrows.  “It’s inevitable.  I can see it now.” Whirling around and placing the ice cream on the counter, she hugged her arms around herself and turned to face him once more.  “You’re going to grab her up in your big strong arms and kiss the daylights out of her.  She’ll swoon from the mere sexiness of your presence!  Then we’ll have to have a double wedding because you’ll be ridiculously in love.”

     Dropping his head and releasing a snort of amusement, Benji opened the door to grab another beer.

     “You’ve lost your mind.” He commented.  “I doubt anything like that is going to happen.  Marriage and me?”

     “Why not?”

     “I don’t really think I’m the marrying type.  Sure, I can be a great boyfriend—but a husband?  Really?”

     “Don’t say that.” Her smile faded and her expression became somber.  “Please don’t say that, Benji.  If you say you can never be a husband, then that means I can never be a…well, whatever I may become to someone.  Lydia is about to become someone’s wife and if she can do it, well, damn it! We can, too.  We have just as much right, don’t we?”

     “Y-yeah, we do.” His eyebrows pinched together as he watched her shift her weight from one foot to the other nervously.  Back and forth.  Back and forth.  “Aggie, are you okay?”

     “I’m fine.” She blinked.  “I’m just tired.  I think I need to lie down.”

     The sudden change of mood gave him whiplash, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to confront her during such a delicate time.

    
I need Lydia’s help.
 

     Abandoning the container of ice cream, Aggie silently turned around and disappeared down the hallway.  Her bedroom door slammed and Benji winced.

     “Fuck.” He muttered, wiping his hand down the length of his face.

     What was happening to his best friend?

Chapter 3

Laney

    
“I really like the baby blue, but I also
really
like the lavender.  What do you think, Laney?”

     Glancing away from the TV, Laney stared at the two pieces of fabric her sister was holding up and sighed.  “I’m a purple lover, Lydia.  My opinion will be totally biased.”

     “That’s okay.” Lydia smiled, lowering both pieces of fabric to her lap.  “I’m a purple lover, too.  Are you okay?”

     “I’m fine. You really need to stop asking that.”  Sinking back on the couch, she tucked her legs beneath herself and focused her attention on the episode of
Supernatural
currently playing.

     “But I’m not going to stop asking.”

     The TV turned off and Laney muttered beneath her breath, giving her sister a side-eyed glare. 

     “Laney, you’ve been acting weird for the last little while and I want to know what’s going on.”

     “You’ve got a wedding to worry about—I’m fine, seriously.”

     Lydia sighed.  It was a long, dramatic sigh and Laney knew it meant she was growing impatient with her; she’d done the very same thing many times when they were younger.

     “How many times do I have to tell you that a silly wedding will never be as important to me as you are?”

     Ugh.  Why did Lydia have to make her feel so bad?  She knew that there was a bond between them that was stronger than anything else was in the world, but why couldn’t her sister just understand she didn’t want to worry her?  There wasn’t really anything to worry about anyway…right?

     “Laney, please.” Lydia slid onto the couch and wrapped an arm around her, stroking her hair in a comforting manner.  “I love you.  I just want you to be okay and you really don’t seem like you are right now.  And,”—she sucked in a quick breath—“Kelly told me about what happened at the store.  Has Devin been bothering you?”

     Her skin crawled at the mere mention of his name.  He was like a plague there would never be a cure for.  He was starting a fire in her head and she didn’t know how to put it out.

     That. Bastard.

     “He’s just stupid.”

     “Well, tell me something I don’t know.” Lydia laughed dryly.  “I’m not worried about him—I’m worried about
you
.  Is there really nothing I can do to help?”

     Turning her head to gaze at her, Laney’s expression softened.  “It would really help if you’d stop hounding me about it.  I’m
fine
, Lydia.  It’s not anything I haven’t dealt with before.”

     “What’s that supposed to mean?” Lydia’s perfectly shaped eyebrows furrowed.  “What do you have to deal with?”

     “Oh my god.” Laney groaned, pressing a cold palm to her forehead.  “Lydia, it’s…never mind.  Seriously, I’m okay.  I’m a big girl.”

     “Yes, I understand that.  But if you don’t tell me then I’ll just ask Jeb.” She stated in a sing-song voice.

     Oh, damn it.  She had her.  They both knew Jeb would blab about it without restraint.

     “Okay.  Fine.”

     Lydia seemed pleased with herself as she straightened her posture and rested her hands upon her lap, smiling gently.  “I’m all ears.”

     “I really don’t even know where to start,” she admitted. “I mean, it’s not something I’m proud of; it’s not something you just bring up in every day conversation, Lydia.”

     Lydia peered at her with sadness and worry in her eyes.  “Is it really that bad, Laney?”

     “To me it is.” She swallowed hard and dropped her gaze to the floor.  Somehow, the little stars on her socks suddenly became the most fascinating things in the world.  “I’ve put Mom and Dad through hell, Lydia.  Worse than you can ever imagine.”

     “What do you mean?” Lydia scooted closer. 

     “I mean that while you were gone… a lot of stuff happened here.  Stuff I’m not proud of.”

     “Well, we all do stuff in life we aren’t proud of, Laney.  It’s called making mistakes.  I’m sure it couldn’t have been that bad.  You’re still alive.”

     She laughed weakly and shook her head, finally meeting her sister’s gaze.  “Yeah, but back then I really didn’t want to be.  Alive, I mean.”

     “Laney.” Lydia whispered in disbelief.  “W-what?”

     “See? I told you.” Getting up from the couch, she paced back and forth nervously.  This was never a conversation she intended to have with her sister.  Lydia had been so fortunate not to witness the meltdown, and she was especially grateful her sister hadn’t been around for the suicide attempt. 

    
If only I could take it back…