His Stray Heart

Chapter Thirty

May:

"Where are we going?" I laughed as Billie kept his hands tight over my eyes so I couldn't see.

"It's a secret." I could hear the excitement in his voice. "Okay.. Open!" He yelled. My eyes were wide with confusion now. A Victorian style house stood in front of me, a large sign next to it that read 'The Inn at Sugar Hill.'

"What is this?" I blinked. He placed his arm around my waste "come with me." He whispered in my ear. We walked through a large but quaint dining room with five round tables surrounded by chairs. What looked like a bar in the corner with a man in a tuxedo standing behind the counter. A gorgeous crystal chandelier hanging above.

"Billie.." I said confused. He opened the back door exposing the outside. A dark blue lake sat behind an all white gazebo with pink ribbon covering it. Boats in the distance rustled beneath the wake of the water. "Wha-" I began. "SURPRISE!" I jumped back in shock. My mother, father, sister and brother stood before me. Mike and Brittany, Joey and Jakob and our neighbors Paul and Sarah. I cupped my hands over my mouth "oh my god!" I shrieked.

"Holy shit you're huge!" Mason screamed from the crowd, everybody laughed. My mother ran towards me placing her hands on my belly, she pulled me into an embrace. "Happy Birthday sweetheart." She said. "Birthday?" I asked. "You forgot your own birthday?" Billie looked at me amused. I shrugged "I guess so." Mason kissed my forehead."Happy birthday little sis, and baby shower.." He laughed. I looked past him distracted. Joey stood at the edge of the dock staring out over the water with a drink in his hand. He was alone. "Yeah thanks." I signaled towards Joey and Mason nodded in approval stepping aside. This would be my first time seeing him since Zoe's death.

I walked up behind him and placed my hand on his shoulder "Hi." I gave him a slight smile. He smiled back "Hey." There was an awkward silence. "I loved her you know?" He asked but I knew it wasn't a question. "So did I." I whispered. His gaze met mine. "You're cold" he looked at me as if it was his first time meeting me. "Here take my jacket." He placed his blazer around my shoulders and took a sip of his drink. I fiddled with my fingers. "Thank you." We both watched a seagull pick apart a french fry. "It's not your fault." I said focusing on the ground now. He pulled a folded up photograph from his pants pocket and handed it to me. "It was in her wallet." He said. I opened the picture it was of Zoe and I on the beach eating snow cones in front of a sand castle. "We were about six here." I laughed thinking of the happy memory. He was silent. A few minutes passed before I felt strong arms around me. I breathed in Joeys cologne. "You're the only part of her left." He sighed loudly. "I'm not going to fuck it up this time." I felt his grip on me tighten. If I hadn't known any better id say he was devastated maybe worse then I had been. "Joey.." I began but he cut me off. "Don't. Please." I could feel his tears. "Okay." I whispered back. This was a turning point. Not only would we get through this stronger but we would get through it together.