Chapter 2

"I'm sorry you came all this way."

"The wedding is canceled. Please enjoy the food if you'd like. I'll have someone contact you about anything left here."

A woman in the second row stands.

"Audrey, honey—"

I can't bear sympathy yet.

I put the microphone down.

Adrian walks beside me through the service door.

The moment it closes, I can't get enough air.

I pull at the neckline of the dress.

"Slow down," he says.

"I'm trying."

My fingers tingle.

The corridor tilts.

Adrian catches me before I hit the wall.

The hotel calls for medical help.

Later, in a curtained examination bay, a nurse asks whether there is anyone she should contact.

I look at my phone.

Nine years of photographs.

My mother's number pinned near the top.

A family group chat with Serena's picture as the icon.

"No."

Adrian stands near the curtain.

"You can put mine down."

The nurse looks at me.

I nod.

He gives her his number, then turns away while she checks on me.

Nobody calls him my fiancé.

Nobody assumes he belongs beside the bed.

He waits until I ask him to sit.

The clinician explains that I was breathing too quickly, but they want to make sure I'm steady before I leave.

I lie back.

My face still stings where the rose hit me.

Adrian notices me touching it.

"Do you want some ice?"

"No. Thank you."

He sets a cup of water within reach.

For several minutes, he says nothing.

I look at his loosened tie.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Pulling you up there."

"You asked."

"You didn't have to answer."

"I didn't mind."

I look away.

"My family will probably tell you I do things like that."

"What things?"

"Make scenes. Overreact."

"I was there, Audrey."

It's the first time all day someone has said my name without sounding disappointed.

When I'm cleared to leave, Adrian goes to bring the car around.

I stop at the restroom.

On the way back, I hear my mother's voice through an open room door.

"One more bite."

I stop.

Serena is propped against the pillows.

My mother holds a container of soup.

Luke is unfolding a blanket over Serena's feet.

Grant sits closest to her.

His jacket is off. His shirt sleeves are rolled up.

He presses his palm against her stomach.

"Did she move again?"

Serena smiles.

"Just now."

I grip the papers in my hand.

Nine months ago, he sat beside my hospital bed and told me we would try again.

I had lost our pregnancy.

I remember waking in the night and reaching for him.

Sometimes he was there.

Sometimes the chair was empty.

He told me he went home to shower.

A nurse steps into Serena's room with discharge instructions.

Grant stands to listen.

Serena has been kept for observation after the crash. There are bruises, but they're sending her home.

They discuss the baby coming in the next few weeks.

My mother interrupts twice to ask whether Serena should rest.

Grant asks what number to call if anything changes.

He writes it down.

I remember him losing my follow-up instructions.

I remember telling him it was fine.

Everything was always fine if I said it quickly enough.

Serena sees me over his shoulder.

"Audrey?"

Grant turns.

His gaze drops to the papers in my hand.

"What are you doing here?"

I almost tell him.

I almost say I couldn't breathe after he left me in front of everyone.

Then Serena shifts in bed, and his attention returns to her.

I keep walking.

In the restroom, I lock myself in a stall.

When I come out, Serena is at the sink.

She looks at the papers I'm holding.

"Are you sick?"

"The wedding is canceled."

Her fingers stop beneath the water.

"I heard."

"You can stop pretending you don't know why."

She turns off the tap.

"I didn't ask them to do that."

"You called him."

"I was scared."

"You knew where he was."

She reaches for a paper towel.

For the first time, she doesn't look ashamed.

She looks tired of having to act ashamed.

Her eyes travel over the dress.

"It fits you better than I expected."

I don't speak.

"They had to let it out for me."

She dries her hands carefully.

"Grant said you wouldn't notice."