Free It's a Waverly Life by Maria Murnane Page A

softly.
    “Thanks.” Then he sort of laughed. “But then again, do you even know where I am right now?”
    I winced. “Phoenix?”
    “Nice try. Try Cleveland.”
    “I mean Cleveland?”
    “That’s better.” He laughed…sort of.
    “I’m so sorry, Jake. Really, I’m so sorry.”
    “Thanks, I appreciate it. So you said you wanted to talk to me about something?”
    Oh no.
    I wanted to tell him, but this was hardly the time. I couldn’t do that to him.
    “Um, it’s nothing important compared to what you’re going through right now. We can talk about it another time.”
    “You sure?”
    “Definitely.” I looked up at the ceiling. “And I…I was wondering if maybe…if maybe I could come see you sometime soon?”
    “You want to come see me?”
    Please, please say yes .
    “I mean, I mean, if you want me to.”
    He didn’t say anything for a moment, so I spoke again.
    “I’d…I’d really like to see you.” I’d thought those words a billion times, but I couldn’t believe how hard it was for me to say them out loud.
    “Waverly, you know I want to see you too,” he finally said.
    I exhaled, and I could feel myself smile.
    “Okay, I—”
    He interrupted me. “But…I need to focus on my family right now.”
    I felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach.
    “Oh, of course…of course you do. Of course you do.”
    “I have nonstop travel with the team for the next couple weeks, and then I’m taking a leave and flying up to Boston at the end of the month. My mom’s headed up there now, to help with the girls when Tim’s at work, and I’m going up for a few weeks to help…to give my mom a break. Natalie’s still really weak, and she’s pretty torn up emotionally, too.”
    I nodded into the phone. “I can only imagine how hard this is for all of you. That’s…that’s really nice of you to go and help out.”
    “It’s the least I can do.”
    I kept nodding into the phone but didn’t say anything.
    “Listen, I’ve got to try to get some sleep, okay? I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow,” he said.
    “Sure, of course, of course.”
    “I’ll call you, okay?”
    “Sure.” I wiped a tear from my cheek.
    “Okay, then, I’ll talk to you later. Thanks for calling.”
    “Jake?”
    “Yes?”
    “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
    “Me too.”
    I think we both knew we weren’t talking about his sister anymore.

 
    After a restless night, I woke to the sound of my phone ringing. I grabbed it, hoping it was Jake.
    It was Andie.
    “Hey,” I said groggily. “Are you back? And why are you up?” It was barely nine o’clock. Andie never got up early on the weekends.
    “I got back last night. Wanna grab brunch? I woke up early craving blueberry pancakes.”
    I yawned. “Okay, sounds good. Curbside Café at ten? I need to take a shower.”
    “Done. See you then.”
    I hung up the phone and lay back on my pillow, closing my eyes and reliving the previous night’s conversation with Jake. After a few minutes I threw the covers off, then sat up and swung my legs onto the area rug laid over the hardwood floor. My legs felt heavy and weak, just like my heart. I stretched my arms over my head and yawned again. Maybe a shower would help.

     
    “I have news,” Andie said just seconds after I sat down across from her.
    I looked up from the menu and raised my eyebrows. “News? Do tell.”
    As soon as she caught my eye, she could tell something was wrong. “Hey, are you okay? You don’t look very good.”
    I sighed. “That’s because I’m not very good.”
    “What’s up?” She reached across the table and put her hand on my arm. Andie wasn’t touchy feely like McKenna, so I knew I must look like crap.
    I tried to smile. “I’ll tell you my news after you tell me yours, okay?”
    “You sure?”
    “Definitely. Your stories always cheer me up.”
    “Okay, deal. So are you ready?”
    “Let’s hear it.”
    She grinned. “I met a guy.”
    “Really? Where?”
    “At the conference. It was