Lucky Number Four (43 page)

“Okay, stop nagging at me. I have a trust
fund. I swore to myself that I’d support myself with a job and
never dip into it. My parents agreed that it’d do me good to have
to work for things, but things have changed. This is what I want to
spend my money on,” he says. “I want to help you, Dora.”

“How will I ever pay you back?” I moan,
putting my face in my hands. My life is such a mess.

“We’re family. You mean the world to me, and
I can’t wait to be Uncle Jeff to your little bump.” He pulls my
hands from my face and pulls me in for a hug. He gives the absolute
best hugs, and yes, my eyes fill up with tears at his words. “Now,
no crying. Grab your coat and let’s go. I won’t take
no
for
an answer.” He pushes me away and I go to my room to retrieve my
coat.

Papa’s is busy, but it’s no surprise with it
being Friday night. Jeff is leading me through the crowded place
and every table is full. I wonder if we’re going to sit at the
special kitchen table. We make our way to the back, and when I move
to the side to avoid a customer getting up from his seat, I see two
people I truly want to avoid. They’re waving to us, and Jeff pulls
me with him to their table. Later, we’ll have a heated discussion,
but I put on a smile and both Liam and Colin take turns hugging me
and telling me they’re happy to see me.

I know Drew won’t be joining us, as the
Internet says he’s in Australia on a job. Yes, I may have been
stalking him recently. Jeff avoids my eyes and I think of ways I
can get him back for his deception, making me believe this was a
spur-of-the-moment decision.

“We’ve missed you two.” Liam’s eyes sweep
both of us, but linger longer on Jeff.

“The loft isn’t the same without you, Dora.
When are you coming back? Jeff says you’re temporarily with him
because of the bad weather and he worries about you driving to
school in it,” Colin says, and I restrain from eye-rolling at such
a lame explanation.

“I know it’s more convenient, and now that
Jeff has a two-bedroom, it’s handy. You guys have been traveling a
lot, so I would’ve been alone anyway.” There’s a huge elephant in
the room. Nobody is talking about Drew and me, and maybe they don’t
know? But surely he would have told them. They’ve been best friends
forever.

“Oh, it’sa my favorite people in the wholea
wide world. How did you sneaka in here?” Papa’s loud voice makes me
jump a little.

Tears well up in my eyes as he leans down and
kisses my cheek and hugs me. Then it’s Mama’s turn, and our table
erupts in laughter as they tell us about the crazy customers
they’ve had in lately. We order, and when the food arrives it
smells delicious as always.

My mouth waters, but as soon as I take a bite
of perfectly made lasagna, my stomach rolls and I reach for the
bottle of antacids in my bag. I bend down like I’ve lost my napkin
and throw two in my mouth. I chew them quickly and then sit up to
find three sets of eyes fixed on me.

“Napkin fell,” I say, and they continue
eating.

It’s hard to pretend to eat. I finally give
up and ask for a doggie bag, which makes Papa’s eyebrows rise. I’ve
never needed a to-go bag in all the years I’ve been coming here. He
looks at me suspiciously, but says nothing.

“So, how’s Drew?” Trust Jeff to drop the
bomb. Nobody has mentioned him, and we might have gone all evening
without saying his name. Now I have two bones to pick with him, and
it won’t be pleasant. Just the mention of his name makes me tear up
a little.

“He’s been working hard, and he’s really
unhappy. We haven’t ever seen him this unhappy.” Liam states
without looking in my direction.

“Yeah, he’s really down, and he won’t let us
in. He’s flying in from Milan tonight.” Colin does look at me. In
fact, his eyes are glued to mine.

“Sorry to hear that. Did he mention why?”

Jeff, I swear—shut your mouth. But secretly
I’m waiting for the answer, my nerves strung tightly.

“We all know the reason. All he said was he
has no idea what he did wrong. Everything was going well, and poof,
you were gone.” I wish Colin would look at someone else.

“Well, we should probably head out. Jeff and
I have an early class tomorrow.”

I get up quickly, and whoa, dizzy much? Jeff
grabs my arm and steadies me so I don’t fall over. I say my quick
goodbyes, and then push my way out of the restaurant, not waiting
to see if Jeff is following. I’ll walk back to the apartment if I
have to, but Jeff catches up with me at the front door and holds it
open. We say nothing to each other as we make our way to the car.
The silence between us continues until we’re in his living room.
Jeff pushes me gently onto the couch and then plops down beside
me.

“Sounds like Drew isn’t very happy.” Jeff
puts his arm around me so I can’t flee.

“Maybe Angela dumped him,” I quip, and my
heart skips a beat thinking it might be true.

“Or maybe, like Liam and Colin suggested,
it’s you he’s missing.” Jeff’s arm tightens around me. He’s good.
He knows that if he wasn’t holding me, I’d flee to my room. “You’re
going to sit here, and we’re going to discuss this. No excuses, not
even if you throw up everywhere. It won’t deter me. Drew is
miserable, and it’s because of you. Liam says he’s been like a
zombie, and they’re worried about him. You need to talk to him and
explain why you left like you did. You need to call him. He comes
back tonight. You don’t have to tell him about the baby, but I
think you need to talk, and tell him the truth. Think about it.
Think hard. I think you’re wrong about him—hell, I know you are.
He’s suffered for more than four months, and it’s time to tell him
you love him and you want to be with him.”

Jeff releases me, gets up and without another
word, he goes into his room and shuts the door. That’s it. He tells
me I love Drew and that’s it.

Do I love Drew? That would explain why my
heart felt shattered when I left him. Not to mention all the
buckets of tears I’ve shed. Am I too late? Drew comes home tonight.
Do I have the courage to call him? What if he doesn’t love me? What
about our baby?

Oh hell, it’s
our
baby. Not mine, but
ours. Could we make it work? He’s famous and jets all over the
world, and I’m a nobody with a psychic mother and a crazy family. I
wonder if he’s home yet. I just have to call him to find out. But
what do I say?

Well, here goes nothing.

I pluck my phone out of my back pocket and
hit one on my phone. Yeah, I have him on speed dial under number
one. Liam is number four. Yeah, I know I’m buying into his
superstition.

My stomach clenches. I feel sick. What if he
sees an unknown number calling and doesn’t answer? It’s still
ringing, and then I hear him say, “Hello.”

“Hi, it’s me Dora. Drew, I need to talk to
you…if you want to, that is.”

He’s silent and I almost hang up. I fear
he’ll say no and my heart will never, ever mend.

“Yes, I think we do.” I feel relief. His deep
husky voice makes me shiver.

“When are you free? Maybe we could do lunch
on Saturday?” I hope he says sooner. It’s only Tuesday, and I don’t
think I can wait that long.

“I’m coming over now,” he says firmly, and I
want to do a happy dance, but I know my legs won’t support me.
They’re like watery Jell-O. “Dora, are you there? Is that all
right?”

“Yes. Do you need directions?”

“No, I’ve known where you’ve been since …
well, we’ll discuss that once I get there.”

“Be careful. See you soon.” I don’t know what
else to say.

“I will.”

And then click, he’s gone. I stare at my
phone. I can’t believe that just happened. He wants to see me. I’ve
got to go do my hair and freshen up and change clothes. I scramble,
as fast as my pregnant self will allow, to my room to get
ready.

It’s been an hour, and I’ve worn a path in
the carpet. It should have only taken Drew fifteen minutes to get
here. I keep looking outside. A light snow is falling. It’s
April…it’s not supposed to snow in April.

I let the curtain fall and take a seat on the
couch for the millionth time—okay, not that many, but quite a few.
My nerves are frayed. My mom says that all the time, but now I know
what she means by it.

I feel like this night will be the turning
point in my life, and I hope it goes the way I want it to go. I
want Drew—any way I can have him. Where in the hell did that that
come from? I do want him? Oh, who am I fooling? Yeah, he might tire
of me after a few months, but I’ll still have a part of him
forever. I touch my stomach and feel the little bump that’s
starting to show.

“Where is your father?” I say to him or
her.

I hear a cell ringing and I glance at mine,
but the ringing comes from another room, so it’s Jeff’s phone. I
hear his muffled voice and then nothing. A feeling of dread like
I’ve never felt before comes over me. I know a call this late at
night isn’t good.

His door opens. The first thing I notice is
that he’s fully dressed and pulling on his jacket. His face is grim
as he looks down at me. I know something really bad has happened,
and I know it affects me.

“Dora, I’m going to get your coat. That was
Liam. We have to go to the hospital. Drew’s been in an
accident.”

My stomach rolls, and I don’t make it to the
bathroom. Jeff rubs my forehead and holds back my hair as I dry
heave into the kitchen sink. When I feel that I’m in control, he
lets me go. I turn around as he brings me my coat. I’m numb. Jeff
kisses me on the forehead, helps me with my coat, takes my arm, and
leads me out of the apartment.

The car is toasty, but I’m still shivering
with a deep cold inside me. I’m praying that Drew is okay and he’ll
smile at me when he sees me and we will live happily ever after, or
until he gets sick of me.