••• 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝑒𝓃 •••

Aria

{{Friends In Low Places ~ Garth Brooks}}

The second I pulled into the driveway of my townhouse, I rested my forehead against the steering wheel and tried my hardest not to freak out over what had just happened. I had just talked to Lucas for the first time in over five years, and it went a lot better than I could have ever imagined. In my mind, I had always pictured myself slapping the shit out of him and telling him off, but I held it together and was a lot more mature than I had expected.

A honk sounded behind me, and I lifted my head off the steering wheel to see Corinna pulling into my driveway and parking right behind me. I cursed under my breath, completely forgetting that I had made plans with her for lunch today. Reluctantly, I climbed out of my car. I wanted nothing more than to go inside, change into my pajamas, and climb into bed so I could hide from the world under my blanket, but I couldn't just blow Corinna off.

She smiled widely at me as she closed her car door and made her way toward me, but the closer she got, the more her smile faded, replaced by a worried expression. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. I shook my head as I wrapped my arms around myself.

"I, um, ran into Luke at the hospital just now." Her eyes widened in shock, and I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear as I stared down at the ground. "I didn't kill him, so that's a good sign! I think," I said sarcastically. Corinna placed her hand on my arm, making me look up at her.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She said gently. I gave her a grateful smile, reached into my pocket to pull out my keys, then gestured toward my house.

"All I wanna do is get drunk, eat McDonald's, and watch Grey's Anatomy for a couple of hours." I admitted, and we both giggled as she nodded.

"We can for sure do that, girl. I'm already opening my DoorDash app." I laughed as I gave her a quick hug, thankful to have such an understanding best friend. Then we made our way inside.

A bottle of wine, two cheeseburgers, and six glasses of wine later, I was officially buzzed and felt ready to talk about what had happened earlier. "I'm meeting with Luke for lunch tomorrow to talk about everything we went through," I informed her. Corinna let out a small gasp as she set her wine glass down on my coffee table.

"Wow! Are you ready for that?" She asked gently.

"Absolutely not," I chuckled humorlessly and shook my head. "Whether I'm ready or not, this has to happen because a small part of me is still holding onto him, and I can't give my heart completely to Calvin if I'm still in love with Lucas." I sighed, and Corinna nodded in agreement.

"I agree with you, Ari. Even though a small part of me hopes that you and Luke could work things out and get back together, I do think you should tell Calvin about this." I sighed. I knew I had to tell Calvin about our meeting tomorrow, but I didn't want to cause any unnecessary drama between us. Calvin hated Lucas probably more than I did since he abandoned us, and I knew he would be livid if he found out about us talking.

"I just don't want to hurt him. I feel like if I tell Calvin about tomorrow, he'll freak out and think I'm going to break up with him and get back together with Luke," I admitted.

Corinna placed her hand on top of mine and shook her head. "There's no reason for Calvin to react that way, Aria. If he's as mature as he says he is, he should support you one hundred percent of the way. And honestly, if he feels threatened by you two talking, he should have a little more faith in y'all's relationship." She teased gently, and I chuckled as I squeezed her hand.

"You're right. I'll call him later and tell him everything. If he freaks out, then that's on him." I shrugged.

Corinna giggled as she picked up our wine glasses and handed one to me. "Cheers to that, babe! No more stressing over guys for right now—let's just relax and watch McDreamy save lives." I laughed, rolling my eyes at her before resting my head on her shoulder.

I had no clue where I would be today without Corinna, but I would be forever grateful for her friendship and unconditional love. She was the one person I could always count on. No matter what happens tomorrow between Luke and me, I knew Corinna would be there to help me through it.