Confessions from the Heart (Confessions Series Book 0) by T.B. Markinson

Author:T.B. Markinson [Markinson, T.B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: T.B. Markinson
Published: 2018-06-30T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

The car ride to her apartment was deathly quiet, fitting because it did feel like something had died. A lifelong friendship.

After Annie closed the door to her apartment building, I sat in the car, unsure where to go. Home seemed too lonely. Mom wasn’t the touchy-feely type. Dad was a great listener, but talking about Annie, including the sex bit, didn’t appeal.

Kat?

I laughed. I’d already unburdened before about Annie. It didn’t seem right to go back to share the final Annie chapter in the saga. Not to the woman Annie hated, although Annie hadn’t met Kat. I wondered if she did, would she see why I was…?

I drove to Barb’s.

When I appeared in the kitchen, she said, “I thought dinner was at your mom’s this week.”

I didn’t speak.

“What happened?”

“Annie.” I stopped to control my lip tremors. “She’s in love with me.”

Barb’s smile wasn’t sarcastic, and given the situation, I was relieved she didn’t laugh in my face. Mom would have.

Barb opened her arms. “Come here.”

I had to bend to put my head on her shoulder.

“I think this conversation calls for tea. I’ll put the kettle on. Go outside on the deck. Some sunshine is just what you need.”

I complied.

Inside the kitchen, Roger’s muffled voice drifted through the open patio door, but I sensed Barb banished him from coming outside to say hello, knowing I’d want privacy. More than likely, he had a tennis date. Soon enough, Barb was outside with tea mugs, and I heard Roger fire up his Bentley in the garage.

“Your uncle,” she said, rolling her eyes while taking a seat in the wicker chair across from me.

I sipped the tea with fresh mint leaves floating at the top.

Barb eyed me over the rim of her cup. “I take it the conversation with Annie wasn’t easy.”

I played with the back of my flip-flop dangling from my foot. “It was awful. Why didn’t you warn me?”

She waved my accusation away. “Sometimes you need to learn the hard way. Both of you.”

I squirmed on the cushion. “She didn’t deserve that… this.” I waved a pathetic hand in the air.

Barb licked her lips, pursed them, and then said, “A broken heart is never fun. But, when you play with fire…” Her voice trailed off, and I wondered if her thoughts had turned to her marriage difficulties. After a few seconds, she leaned forward. “I know you’re still in school and adolescence seems to stretch out much longer these days, but don’t you think it’s time you grow up some?”

Taken aback by her bluntness, I started to speak but closed my trap before I complained like a child.

“Don’t make the mistake so many others do,” she said.

I was certain she was referring to Roger, who wasn’t known for his fidelity. He adored Barb, but being faithful? No.

“No matter what type of arrangement you thought you had with Annie, there was no guarantee no one would develop feelings. Humans are anything but rational, and when you mix in sex and the heart, someone is bound to get burned.

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