Free Vivid by Jessica Wilde

Not like Merrick had.
    Spending each day with him helped me understand him a little more. His frustrations were warranted, but the feeling that he wanted to give up so easily, put me on edge. Getting through to him had looked less and less likely, until that day in the bathroom.
    Once he started to trust me, being with him each day was like walking out into the sun. It was warm and bright, and I looked forward to the hours I spent watching him adapt to his limitations. I looked forward to watching him conquer his demons.
    And the days I wasn't with him, like today, I spent my time doing laundry, reading a new book, and wishing I was with him.
    No. At work. Wishing I was at work ... with him ... God, I couldn't even fake it with myself.
    I shook my head and slammed the dryer door shut.
    "Hey, now. Be nice to my appliances," Mom called from the kitchen. "They need to last or I won't be able to talk your father into getting me new ones later on."
    "Sorry, Mom." I tossed the laundry basket into my bedroom and found her sitting in the kitchen drinking her afternoon cup of coffee. "Shouldn't you be at the library?"
    She shook her head mid sip and raised her eyebrows. "I came home for lunch. Wanted to make sure you weren't too bored."
    I grinned, weakly. Staying busy was easy with Merrick, but she was right. I was bored out of my mind and that wasn't good for anyone.
    "I'm fine, Mom." I opened the fridge and stood in front of it, just staring at the contents. This definitely was a hard habit to break. I wasn't even hungry.
    "It's Saturday, Grace. Shouldn't you be out of the house? I know that Keara is waiting for you to call her. She misses you."
    I sighed and leaned against the counter, looking down at my feet. I wished I hadn't been such a horrible friend over the last year. Once I lost the baby, my desire to talk to anyone just disappeared. I couldn't handle the condolences being sent my way and I didn't want to drag my friends down with me.
    That was no excuse to cut off my friendship with Keara. We had been like sisters since junior high when she was the only girl in my biology class that spoke to me. She was also the only other girl in there that actually knew what was going on. We were both good students and neither one of us cared about being popular. Plus, Keara was the only girl I knew that kept her crush on Merrick a secret, same as me.
    We used to spend a lot of nights 'studying' in my room when we were really just waiting for Merrick to get home from a party or from a practice. The poor guy had no idea there were a couple of peeping toms next door.
    "How would I even talk to her, Mom? It's been almost a year and I ignored her so many times," I stated, regretfully. I was disappointed in the way I handled things and I lost a best friend because of it. I knew she only wanted to be there for me, but I just couldn't ...
    It was too much.
    "You just do it, Grace," Mom answered, gently. "You go see her and you tell her how sorry you are for not being around and how hard it was for you to deal with what happened. You tell her that you love her. Keara will forgive you, sweetie. She's just waiting for you to make the first move."
    Mom was right. I needed to suck it up and take responsibility.
    "She works at your father's office. Just started there a few months ago. She couldn't stand working at the hospital anymore and she's good with the administrative stuff so your father hired her on immediately."
    "Thanks, Mom."
    Mom leaned forward and cupped my cheek. "You've been through a lot, sweetie, but that doesn't mean your life is over."
    I nodded and smiled down at her. "That's the same thing I said to Merrick yesterday."
    "Well," she smiled proudly, "it's very good advice." She took another sip of her coffee and blinked a few times, indicating that she was about to ask a question I may not like. "Are you okay over there? Is he being nice?"
    I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Yes, he has a bark, but no bite. He's just upset and no one