Page 115 of Big Dill

“Where are you?” I ask, clamping my free hand over my ear even though the house around me is dead quiet.

“Out at Sam’s pub,” she says. “With some girls from work—and Caleb.”

I sit up a little straighter. “Who’s Caleb?”

The music fades slightly, like she’s moved toward the hallway or outside. “He’s my new guy,” she says, her voice softening, followed by a little laugh.

I smile. She sounds… happy. Really happy.

“When did that happen?” I ask.

“A couple weeks ago.”

“What’s he like?” The question slips out easily, as I try to hide the strange sense that I’m hearing about a life I’m no longer part of.

“Oh, he’s so nice,” she says. “He’s a nurse. Just moved here from Victoria. Works with us at the hospital.”

I’m happy for her. I really am. But my stomach twists anyway. Lauren has always known who she was. She decided she wanted to be a psychiatric nurse when we were kids and never wavered—not when it was hard, not when it was exhausting. Her parents supported her every step of the way. She didn’t drift. She didn’t flounder.

She built a life.

I hear another female voice in the background, followed by Lauren’s laughter. “Just a sec,” she says, then her words go muffled, clearly meant for someone else. Not me.

“Sorry about that,” she apologizes when she comes back.

“It’s okay,” I reply quickly. Too quickly. “You’re busy. Go have fun.”

There’s a pause. “Okay. We’ll talk later.”

“Yeah. Later.”

I end the call and toss my phone onto the coffee table, harder than necessary. The kettle shrieks from the kitchen, and I jump slightly, my nerves already frayed. I turn it off, drop a tea bag into a mug, and pour the steaming water over it. I stand there stirring, watching the water darken, the string winding lazily around the spoon.

My thoughts spiral just as slowly, just as relentlessly until footsteps sound behind me. I turn, and the second Brody sees my face, his expression shifts—eyes narrowing, concern cutting through whatever he’d been about to say.

“Everything okay?” he asks.

I nod and try for casual, even though it feels like my face might crack under the effort.

“Yeah. Did you get what you needed from your bedroom?”

He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he closes the distance between us, his eyes brimming with concern like he knows I’m hiding something.

“Jami.”

The second his arms come around me, everything I’ve been holding in slips loose. I press my face into his chest, breathing him in, as I work to steady myself in the strong beat of his heart.

“He’s going to be okay,” he murmurs.

“I know,” I whisper. I do know. Jaxon is going to heal. He’s going to walk out of this.

He pulls back just enough to look at me, his brow furrowing. “Then what is it?” His thumb brushes my cheek. “You look like you just lost your best friend.”

I snort out a humorless laugh. “Speaking of best friends… I just called Lauren.”

His arms tighten slightly, encouraging me to keep going. “She was out with friends. And her new boyfriend. She sounded really happy.” I swallow. “But we didn’t really get to talk.”

He nods slowly, like he understands exactly what I’m not saying. That hollow feeling. That sense of being left behind, forgotten while everyone else keeps moving forward. Building lives. Making plans. Knowing where they belong.