Better if he stays alway.., p.1
Better If He Stays (Always You Book 2), page 1
Better If He STAYS
Allie Everhart
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Also from Allie Everhart
Better If He Stays
By Allie Everhart
Copyright © 2021 Allie Everhart
All rights reserved.
Published by Waltham Publishing, LLC
Cover Design by by Qamber Designs
Model Photo by Lindee Robinson Photography
Models: David and Alyse
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, things, and events are fictitious, and any similarities to real persons (live or dead), things, or events are coincidental and not intended by the author. Brand names of products mentioned in this book are used for reference only and the author acknowledges that any trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.
The author holds exclusive rights to this work and unauthorized duplication is prohibited. No part of this book is to be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.
Chapter One
Riley
“Hey, Giada,” I say, answering her call as I take the sack from Carlos.
He smiles and gives me a wave. “See you tomorrow!”
“Riley, can you talk?” Giada asks. “It sounds like you’re at work.”
“I am, but I’m not working. I’m just picking up dinner.” I go out the door and walk to my truck. Luckily, I still have it. My mom’s ex didn’t get parole so his truck is mine for a few more months.
“Did you have the day off?”
“No. I worked the night shift at the gas station. Got off at six this morning. It was a ten-hour shift.” I turn the key to start the truck but nothing happens. “Great. Now the truck won’t start.” I try it again. It attempts to start but then dies.
“Is the battery dead?”
“I don’t know.” I try it again and it starts. “Okay, I think we’re good. So how’s everything there?”
“I have exams this week and a paper due. That’s why I haven’t called.”
Giada’s in grad school in Austin, studying psychology. She wants to have her own business someday doing couples counseling. Given my situation right now, she’s the perfect friend. I have my own personal couples counselor to help me with the situation with Brad.
“I’ve been busy too,” I say. “Double shifts at the gas station all week and my regular shifts at the restaurant.”
“Riley, you gotta cut back. You’re working way too many hours.”
“I need the money.”
“What you need is rest. Pregnant women need lots of rest, especially in the first trimester.”
I smile. “Have you been reading pregnancy websites again?”
“I have to, since you won’t.”
“I don’t have time. And I don’t have a computer. I’m not going to read all that stuff on my phone.”
“Don’t you want to know what’s happening? Or what’s going to happen next?”
“Not really. It kinda freaks me out knowing all that stuff. Besides, the doctor will tell me all that.”
“How did your appointment go?”
“Missed it. I had to work.”
“Riley, you can’t miss appointments.”
“Relax, I’m going tomorrow. And I’m only ten weeks along. The nurse said I can see the doctor anytime this month. There’s no rush.”
“Just don’t go skipping appointments, okay?”
“Okay, Dr. Russo.” I smile as I say it. I’m just teasing her. I love that she cares so much about the baby and me. My mom doesn’t. She told me to get rid of it, but I refused. I also refused to tell her who the father is, but she knows it’s Brad. She knows he’s the only guy I was with last summer.
“You can’t work all those hours, Riley. I’m serious. It’s too much.”
“I don’t have a choice. I’m the only one working right now. Plus, I’m trying to save up for the baby. Do you know how much baby stuff costs? I’ll try to find stuff second hand but still, it’s going to cost a lot.”
I’m at the trailer now but remain in the truck so I can talk without my mom listening in.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, Riley, but I think you should tell him. He’d help you with the costs. I know he would.”
“He doesn’t have money and neither do his parents. They’re broke. He said his mom is filing for bankruptcy next week.”
“Okay, but…” she pauses, “do you think you’ll tell him? Like maybe later, when the baby’s here?”
“I don’t know,” I say with a sigh. “Sometimes I think I should and then other times I think it’s best if he never knew.”
“I think he’d want to know.”
“And lose everything he’s worked for?”
“Telling him doesn’t mean he’ll lose everything.”
“Giada, there’s no way he’ll stay in med school if he finds out we’re having a baby. Being a doctor has been his dream since he was a kid. I can’t take that away from him.”
“He could take time off and go back later.”
“You know it never works out that way. People say they’ll go back, but they never do. And if he left, he’d lose his scholarship. Going back later means he’d have to pay for it himself, which means he’d have to go to a cheaper school. One that’s not as good. But I know he wouldn’t go. He’d end up getting a job to support the baby and me, and his dream of being a doctor would be over. This is his only chance, Giada. He’s at a top school, living in a city he’s always wanted to live in and…” I take a breath. “He’s happy. He’s really happy.”
That last part is why I can’t bring myself to tell him the truth. Brad’s happiness means everything to me, and right now he’s having the time of his life. He’s away from the mess of his parents and their financial problems and starting a new life in New York. The life he’s always dreamed of and didn’t think would happen when his parents told him they were broke. I still remember the look on his face when they told him he couldn’t go to med school. It nearly killed me to see him crushed like that. Everything he’d worked for—all those hours studying to make sure he’d get in a good school—was all for nothing. He was so close to making his dream happen and then, in an instant, it was taken away.
I’m not taking it away again. I can’t take his dream from him after he just got it back. It was a miracle he got that unexpected scholarship. A sign that this is what he’s meant to do. I don’t usually believe in that stuff, but in this case, I really believe Brad was meant to go to med school and live in New York.
“How do you know?” Giada asks.
“Know what?”
“How do you know he’s happy? Did he tell you that?”
“He doesn’t have to. I can hear it in his voice. Every time I talk to him, I picture him with this big smile. He loves it out there. He loves New York. He loves his school. His classes.”
“And he loves YOU. Did you forget that?”
“Of course not but—”
“Do you still love HIM?”
“Yes.” A tear slips down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away. “I love him more than anything.”
“Then you two should be together, which you will be if you tell him.”
“I don’t want him being with me because of the baby. That almost never works out. You know my friend, April? Her sister broke up with a guy, then told him she was having his baby so they got back together, got married, and divorced a year later. Now they fight all the time and the baby’s stuck in the middle.”
“That’s not going to happen with you and Brad.”
“You don’t know that, and neither do I. Brad and I only dated a few months. We have no idea if we could make it work long-term. Even if we could, what if he regretted it later? What if he regretted leaving med school and blamed me for it? Or blamed the baby?”
“He wouldn’t do that. He’s not that type of guy.”
“He’s also not the type of guy to be with a girl like me,” I say, looking at the broken-down trailer with weeds growing all around it.
“Riley, it doesn’t matter if you come from money. Brad doesn’t care. He’s told you that.”
“I’m not just talking about money. I’m talking about our backgrounds. How we grew up. What we have in common.”
“You have stuff in common,” she insists.
“Like what?”
“You um…” She pauses. “You both like the outdoors.”
“A lot of people like the outdoors.”
“I’m sure there’s other stuff. You guys just need to date longer to find out.”
“But it’s more than that, like how we grew up. Brad went to private school. Spent summers at the country club. Traveled the world with his family. I never even left the state until that day Brad drove me to Texas.”
“How he grew up doesn’t matter. It’s the past. You’re his future. And together you two will figure out how you want your life to be. I’m sure Brad wouldn’t mind if you want little Brad junior to go to public school,” she says with a smile in her voice.
“It’s a little soon to call him that. I don’t know if it’s a boy.”
“Are you going to find out?”
“I haven’t decided.” I notice the curtains move on the trailer window and see my mom looking out. She sees me in the truck and lets the curtains fall back into place.
She was checking to see if Jerry was here. He’s her latest boyfriend. He usually shows up around now, right after he gets off work. He works at the oil change place and doesn’t bother to shower before coming over so he always smells like a garage.
“I should probably go,” I say.
“You never answered my question.”
I sigh. “Because I don’t have an answer. Just this morning I was going to tell him, but then changed my mind when he texted me a picture of him smiling in front of the library along with a message that he got an A on his test. I don’t want him losing this opportunity. He’s doing really great in school and he loves it. How can I take that away from him?”
“Okay, how about this? How about you just go out there and see him? Check out the city and maybe see if you could live there?”
“I’ve already done the research online. There’s no way I could afford to live there, especially with a baby.”
“Just do it. Go out there and see him.”
“Why? What’s the point? Brad and I are over. I’m just not ready to tell him that yet.” Another tear slips down my cheek. “But I think he might already know.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Nothing. But it’s not like he can’t figure it out. We both know we can’t keep this going if we never see each other.”
“He’ll be home for Thanksgiving.”
“In Arizona, not here. He invited me there, but I can’t go. I’ll be showing by then.”
“He loves you. He’ll make sure he sees you. He’ll probably skip Arizona and show up there instead.”
“Which is why I need to make a decision. November isn’t that far away.”
“Riley, I really think you should go to New York, even if it’s just for closure. You need to see him again. See if you still feel the same way when you’re together. Maybe things will feel differently now that some time has passed and you’ll see that there really isn’t a future for you two. If so, you’ll feel better about your decision to end it.”
“It’s not a bad idea. I just need to come up with the money.”
“I could loan it to you.”
“No. I have some money saved from working all those extra shifts. I could use that.” A loud, rusty car pulls up behind me. “Jerry’s here. I gotta go hide in my room before he starts talking to me. Call you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, but after seven. I have class all day.”
“Okay, bye.” I get out of the truck and hurry to the trailer.
“What’s the rush?” Jerry calls out from behind me.
“Dinner’s getting cold,” I say, holding up the sack.
“You got us dinner?” he asks, catching up to me.
I swing open the trailer door. “If you have five bucks, then yeah. Otherwise, no.”
I’m done letting my mom’s boyfriends eat our food. I’ve even started hiding it in my room so they can’t get to it.
“Charlene, did you hear that?” Jerry says as he follows me inside. My mom’s on the couch watching TV, which is all she does now that she doesn’t have a job.
“Hear what?” she asks, sitting up and letting her robe fall aside so that it shows off her bare legs.
“Your girl’s making me pay for dinner.”
“You weren’t invited to dinner,” I tell him.
“You should be taking me out,” my mom says, getting up to give him a kiss. “C’mon, baby. Let’s go out. I’ve been cooped up in the house all day.”
He lets her go and walks over to the kitchen where I’m unpacking the food.
“Take her to dinner,” I say. “That’s what boyfriends are supposed to do.”
“Your daughter’s got quite a mouth on her,” he says, shoving me aside to open the cupboard. “What happened to the Jack?”
“What do you think?” my mom says, sitting back on the couch.
“Woman, what did I tell you about drinking my booze?”
She just shrugs.
He walks back over to her. “Hurry up and get ready. I need a drink, and if we ain’t getting one here, we gotta leave.”
My mom jumps up from the couch and kisses him. “I’ll go put on that dress you like.” She looks him up and down. “You gonna change?”
He shrugs. “I guess I could. Don’t want to ruin my uniform.”
“Maybe you could shower too.” She winks at him. “I could help.”
I almost throw up, thinking of the two of them in the shower, the same one I have to use.
“Where you taking me?” my mom asks Jerry as they go to her room.
“We’ll go to Don’s place. It’s rib night and he gives me free beer.”
Don is Jerry’s brother. He’s a waiter at a barbecue restaurant close to Nate’s house.
I haven’t seen Nate since the day he left town. That was late August, right before the pool closed for the season. He got a job in Dallas at an ad agency. He said they’re paying him a lot of money, or what’s considered a lot for a graphic designer. He didn’t tell me an amount so I thought maybe he was exaggerating, but he sent me pictures of his apartment and it’s really nice so maybe he really does make a lot. Or maybe he went over his budget to try to impress me.
Ever since Nate found out about Brad and me, he’s been trying to prove to me how much better I would’ve been with him instead of Brad. He sends me pictures of all the new stuff he’s bought, like his new couch and big screen TV, and the car he keeps telling me he’s going to buy. And he’s always sending me pictures of Dallas and telling me I should move there.
My phone goes off and I see Nate’s name pop up. We talk once or twice a week, but it’s always him calling, not me. I don’t like talking to him. He’s not the Nate I was friends with all those years. He’s changed. Now he’s all about money and status, and he’s jealous of anyone who has more than him. He’s still mad at Brad for dating me. He hasn’t even talked to him since Brad left town back in July.
“Hey, Nate,” I say, taking my food to the table and sitting down. “What’s up?”
“Just got off work. Had a meeting with my boss today.”
“Yeah. How’d it go?” I ask, shoving some fries in my mouth. After working the night shift, I slept all day and missed lunch, so now I’m starving. Giada would have a fit if she knew how I was eating. She keeps sending me articles about nutrition during pregnancy. But with two jobs I barely have time to eat, and when I do, I go for something fast, which usually isn’t healthy. I try to eat some fruit every day, but I don’t have time to cook, so I usually eat fast food or stuff from the restaurant where I work.
“The meeting went great,” Nate says. “I think I’m getting a raise.”
“You’ve only been there a month and you’re already getting a raise?”
“What can I say? I’m good at what I do. And I’ve been working 60-70 hours a week. Don said I’m the hardest worker there and that they reward hard work.”
“Don’s your boss?”
“He is for now, but at the rate I’m going, I could be his boss in a year or two.”
There he goes again, bragging about himself. I’m really getting tired of it. I’m happy he’s doing well, but I don’t need to hear about how great he is every time we talk.
“So what else is new?” I ask, ripping open a packet of Ranch dressing for my chicken fingers.
“I’m going to a concert this weekend. You should come down for it. I could get you a ticket.”
“Drive to Dallas?” I laugh. “With a truck that’s technically not mine and no money for gas?”
