Inevitably Yours

Since I couldn’t run, there was not much reason for me to go to practice and watch everyone else do it. Instead, Stuart’s mom picked Christy and me up, and we headed to their house to decorate for his party the next day while he was at practice. Stuart’s mom, Penelope, was super friendly compared to her son. She adored Christy; that much was obvious. She was over the moon with all the party planning Christy had done and was so excited to find out if she was Stuart’s mate or not.

I also discovered that Stuart had a brother. While he was not as peppy as Christy and Penelope, he was not quite as mean as Stuart. He was quiet and pleasant. He wore a pair of headphones the entire time we set up but still helped if we asked.

We finished right before Stuart returned from practice, and Penelope took us both home. We locked the door to the room where the party was set up so it would be a surprise. I decided that if Stuart made her happy and she liked his mom so much, I wouldn’t be sad if my best friend was mated to him. Surely, we could learn to tolerate each other eventually.

I was abnormally tired when I got home. Moving around on the crutches was harder than I thought it would be. I struggled to get up the stairs when my mom came in the door with take-out boxes in her hands. She laughed when she caught sight of me on the stairs. “Just sit on your butt and go up that way,” she said.

I scowled. “Once I’m up, I’m not coming back down,” I told her.

“Okay,” she said. “That’s fine. I can bring your dinner up to you in a minute. Have you seen your brother?”

“No, I just got home,” I told her as I turned and lowered myself to sit on the stairs. I pushed myself up and backward using my good leg, climbing a step.

“Where did you go?” she asked.

“I texted you. Christy asked me to help her set up for Stuart’s birthday party. I wasn’t much help, but I think she just wanted the company,” I told her.

“Oh, okay,” my mom smiled. “That girl’s a little wild. I like her.”

“Don’t forget, I am supposed to go to that party tomorrow,” I told her., My mom nodded.

“Your dad can pick you up whenever. I have a late shift,” she said. “Get upstairs and put that leg up.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied and continued climbing up one stair at a time. When I got to the top, it was a little tricky standing back up. When I finally fell into bed, I had no interest in doing any of my homework. Instead, I opened my phone and texted Michael, just wanting a few minutes of him.

ME

| hey. are you alive?

MICHAEL