Getting It Right (BOOK THREE)

Chapter 44

The feeling of someone tugging on her hair makes Aubrey's eye flutter open and she finds herself face to face with Neveah who's busy chewing on her hair. She laughs and rubs the sleep out her eyes, not even remembering when she fell asleep.

She remembers watching 21 jump street with Jeremiah earlier but everything after that is just blank. Now the TV is off, Jeremiah is gone and it's dark outside. Her stomach grumbles and she's suddenly in the mood for Alfredo pasta and chicken.

Aubrey pulls her hair from Neveah's grasp and sits up. She rolls out the bed and scoops Neveah up to head downstairs. Her aunt is in the living room reading a magazine with the tv on for background noise.

"Hey auntie," She says.

"Hey, I feel like I haven't seen you all day." Her aunt replies.

"Jeremiah was here and we went from watching a movie to taking a nap apparently." Aubrey shrugs her shoulders. "Can you hold Nevy? I'm gonna go make some Alfredo for dinner."

Her aunt extends her arms for Nevy and Aubrey places her into them. "Its kinda late for dinner but Alfredo does sounds good, too bad we don't have any pasta."

Aubrey frowns and runs her fingers through her hair, "Ugh that's all I'm in the mood for." She glances at the clock that reads 8:15. "Maybe I can run into the grocery story before they close. What time do they close anyway?"

Her aunt doesn't respond, she's too busy staring at something. "What's that on your hand?"

"What?" Aubrey raises her left hand and inspects it but doesn't see anything wrong, other than an ashy spot between her thumb and pointer finger.

"No, your other hand."

Aubrey untangles her fingers from her hair and looks down at them. Her heart skips a beat when she notices the gleaming silver band on her ring finger. She remembers rejecting it the first time Jeremiah showed it to her and had forgotten all about it until now.

"Is that an engagement ring?" Her aunt squeaks.

"No!" She blurts out. "It's just a promise ring."

"From Jeremiah?"

"Yes..." She stares at in astonishment. Jeremiah must have slipped it on to her finger when she fell asleep earlier. The fact that she didn't even feel it on her finger until now amazes her because now it feels like a huge weight dragging her down to the ground.

Her aunt bounces Neveah in her lap while keeping her eyes trained on Aubrey. "You guys are getting pretty serious then huh, promise rings are a big step."

Aubrey can't think of anything to say, so she just grabs the keys from the coffee table, kisses Neveah on the cheek and heads for the door. "I'll be back soon." She escapes out the house and to the car. Opening the door and sliding into the seat, she takes a moment to let out soothing breaths. She thinks about calling Jeremiah but for some reason she thinks she's going to start crying over the phone and she doesn't have the mind set to try and explain to him why she's so emotional.

Instead, she drives the twenty minutes to the grocery store with the radio playing lowly. Her head is so far in the clouds that she almost passes by the Stop and Shop parking lot. Pulling into a space that's closest to the door, she finger combs her hair again wishing she had brought a hair tie to make her bedhead look somewhat presentable.

Walking into the store, Aubrey keeps her face blank to conceal any emotion that's threatening to pour out of her. She walks up and down the aisles, pushing a cart and grabbing necessary things from the shelves. When she reaches the pasta, she picks up two different brands and thinks about which one to buy. One box is cheaper but the other makes more, and in her house, Alfredo pasta is finished in a matter of three days.