“I know honey,” Alla said, taking her into her arms and holding her tight. “I know.”
* * *
“So you’ll be fine for the wedding, right?”
Piper nodded even though Audrey couldn’t see her. She had been making some beef and broccoli for dinner when Audrey called. With the phone cradled between her face and shoulder she started preparing the sauce. “Yes, I’ll be fine. I promise. I’m doing great.”
“Oh, well that’s good. I’ve been worried.”
“Nothing to worry about, I just ate something bad,” Piper said as she transferred some broccoli to a hot pot of water. “I’ll be okay.”
“Okay, so I’ll see you guys at two on Saturday?” Audrey asked, and Piper could hear the worry in her voice.
“Yup, I’m so excited!” Piper gushed, hoping to reassure Audrey with her enthusiasm. She didn’t want her worrying about her; the wedding was days away.
“Me, too,” Audrey squealed.
After saying goodbye to Audrey, Piper laid the phone on the counter. She could feel her tears wanting to fall but she couldn’t allow them. She had shed enough tears for Erik Titov and she refused to let any more fall. Pouring some rice into the pot, she leaned against the counter, playing on her phone as she waited for her food to cook. She was in the middle of checking her Facebook page when Elli’s picture came across her phone.
Piper bit her lip as she tried to figure out if she should answer it. By the third ring, she decided she would. “Hello?”
“Hey, is Erik there?”
Piper paused. “No, he isn’t.”
“Crap, okay, he isn’t answering his phone. I need him to go check on Phillip for me,” Elli said quickly, and Piper could tell that something was wrong.
“What’s wrong with Phillip?” Piper asked.
“His sister died. He says he’s fine but that was his sister, you know?”
Piper was shocked. She didn’t even know she had been sick. “Oh my goodness, that’s horrible. You can’t get ahold of Erik?”
“No, can you try? Do you know when he’ll be home?”
Piper bit her lip. Had he not told anyone that they weren’t together? Apparently only Alla and Cooper knew. Why hadn’t he told anyone? Confused and not knowing what to do, Piper said, “Um, I’m not sure. I’m pretty sure he is with Phillip, but I’ll call and make sure.”
“Great, let me know what happens; thank so much,” Elli said as a baby started to screech. “Owen is angry about something. Call me back when you hear anything.”
After they hung up, Piper knew she had to call Erik and tell him to check up on Phillip, but for some reason she dialed another number.
“Hello?”
Piper’s heart softened at the sound of his voice. “Phillip, it’s Piper. How are you?”
“Hey, I’m okay, you?” he asked.
“I’m good. I was calling to check up on you.”
“Elli called you?” he asked with suspicion in his voice.
She smiled. “Yeah.”
“I’m fine, I promise,” he said, but even Piper could tell he was lying. With a heavy heart, she tried to think of something else to say but she had never had anyone die that was close to her. She didn’t know what to say other than that she was sorry, but she was sure he had heard that plenty already. As the timer for her rice went off, an idea struck her.
“Will you be home in the next couple of hours?” she found herself asking.
“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere tonight.”
“Can I come over? I was going to bring you some dinner, maybe some cake, too, if I don’t eat it all.”
Phillip laughed, sounding a bit like his old self. “Sure, that would be great.”
“Great. I’ll be over in a bit.”
“Cool. Thanks, Piper.”
“No problem, but”—she took in a deep breath, then resumed—“is he there?”
Phillip was quiet for a moment. “Nope.”
“Cool. See you soon.”
Piper’s heart raced as she hung up the phone and looked around the room. She might have acted calm when she was on the phone but she wasn’t at all. Erik might not be there now but she knew there was a chance he would show up while she was there. She wasn’t surprised when Alla told her that he had gone back to live with Phillip. That was his best friend and where else would he have gone? He could have stayed with his parents or even gotten his own place like a regular grown man, but he hadn’t; instead he chose to go back to the life he had before Piper. It hurt and did nothing but make her think that he really didn’t want their life together. She could still see him grinning at her, holding her in his arms as his lips brushed over hers. She still believed that he cared, that he even loved her, but his choices made it so hard to keep believing.