Eternity

Joe’s POV

A text message rang through on my phone as I was talking to my cousins Veronica and Maddy.

“Oh, is that your future Mrs.?” Veronica teased in a dreamy voice.

“Yes,” I laughed. “Shut up.” They both giggled to each other and watched closely as I read the text to myself.

“Well, what’s it say?” Maddy asked.

“Says she’s not gonna be able to stop by later, but she wanted to let you know she said hi and she’s sorry she couldn’t see you.” I shrugged my shoulders and replied back without telling the girls what I wrote back. They were always pretty nosey.

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Maddy said. “We were hoping we could ask her about what color she wanted us to wear as bride’s maids. Veronica has this gorgeous dress picked out.”

“Oh my gosh, it is gorgeous, isn’t it?” Veronica looked over to Maddy and they started saying how amazing the dress looked and whether they should tan before the wedding and what they should do with their hair.

I rolled my eyes, wishing Alexa was there to make them stop. So I couldn’t help but stop they’re little brainstorming session.

“Okay, okay,” I interrupted and they both looked over to me. “I can see you’re excited and all that good stuff, but do you really have to talk about this stuff in front of me?”

“Sorry, Joe,” Veronica slumped in her chair a little.

“Yeah. Sorry,” Maddy added. “Well, we have to get going anyway. I have a dentist appointment and we both wanna get a bikini wax before we go down the shore this weekend.”

“Oh, wow,” I glanced off to the window and wished she hadn’t said that. “Um, I didn’t actually need to know that, but yeah…um, love you two and I’ll see you later.”

They giggled again, mostly at the fact that my face had turned slightly red. They each took turns to hug me and say goodbye, and I was glad I didn’t have to hear about any other body parts being waxed. I was also glad to know that they were releasing me from the hospital once they knew someone was here to pick me up. Fortunately, Nick had shown up only a half hour after I called him to come get me.

“You look pretty terrible,” he said as he entered my room and sat down in the seat that Veronica had been sitting in earlier.

“Thanks, man,” I replied sarcastically. “And, for real, thanks for coming to pick me up. Alexa didn’t know I was getting out today and I was gonna ask her to bring me home when she stopped by again, but she said something else came up.”

“Oh, yeah, she’s with Jenn. I called to see if she wanted to catch a movie or something, but she said she was with Alexa. And then you called me.”

Nick leaned back in the chair and sighed heavily, as if he had a rough day. I climbed off the bed and grabbed my bag to change in the bathroom.

“Something on your mind?” I asked as I started to get dressed and then lowered my voice. “Lady troubles?”

“It’s nothing, really. Just a little tired. Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Why? Miss me?”

“You were the last thing I missed,” he joked and I came back out of the bathroom, fully dressed.

“Before you go on any more about how much you missed me, let’s get outta here. I’m tired of this place,” I said and grabbed my bag with my good arm, limping slightly out of the room ahead of Nick.

As soon as I checked myself out, Nick ran out ahead of me to get the car and a hospital worker wheeled me out to the curb.

“Thanks, man,” I said to the worker and he nodded his head. I took my time getting into the car and Nick drove off towards home.

“How was Alexa?” Nick asked as soon as we left the parking lot.

“She’s alright. Or, at least, she seemed okay. She didn’t seem too shaken up about the accident.”

“Well, I’m just asking because—,” he began, but was soon interrupted by my cell phone ringing.

I pulled it out of my back pack and looked at who it was. I didn’t have to be a genius to know it was Alexa and I quickly answered.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Joe,” she answered, with a bit of strain in her tone.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, fine. Just wanna make sure you were able to get a ride back home. Sorry I couldn’t come back to get you.”

“That’s okay. Nick picked me up,” I assured her. “But, are you sure you’re okay? You sound a little out of it.”

“I’m fine. Honestly, Joe,” she said with a little attitude this time. I didn’t say anything and she was silent as well. “I have to go.”

“Okay, I’ll call you later than. I love you.”

“Bye,” she hung up the phone quickly.

I looked at my phone for a second and pushed the “call end” button before shoving it back in the back pack.

“What’s up?” Nick asked, a little worried now.

“Huh? Oh, uh, nothing. Alexa just seemed a bit out of it, that’s all.”

Nick didn’t say anything further, and neither did I. It worried me that I didn’t know what was going on with her. She hadn’t been acting like that earlier. Maybe going over to her place would make her feel better from whatever was going on at the moment. It bothered me, and continued to bother me for the rest of the ride home.