The Choice

Chapter 2

"Grab your backpacks!" I call to Chloe and Leon, as I finish putting on my heels. 

They meet me at the door, and I load them in my car. 

"I'm picking you up from school today, and then you're going to your dad's," I remind them.

"Yay!" Leon says, clapping his hands. 

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"You two have a great day. I love you both!" I say.

"Love you too!" they say together, stepping out of my car. 

I watch them run into their school, and then I pull of, heading to work. 

Once I arrive, I head upstairs to my office. I greet Jen, the receptionist, as I pass her. I work as one of the editors for our local newspaper, but I also do my own free writing on my own time.  

I set my purse down, and I begin checking my emails. My phone rings, and I see Paige's face pop up. 

"Hi! Please tell me we're still on for tonight," I say.

"Of course! I was just letting you know that I may get there a little early," she says.

"Awesome! I can't wait to see you!" I say.

We end our conversation, and I sit back with a smile. 

Paige works at a real estate office, but it's over two hours away. We visit each other as much as possible, but she's been very busy lately. Luke works in the next town over as health teacher at one of the high schools. He hates teaching, but he only does it so that he can coach the football team, which he loves doing. Since he's so close, I see him way more often. Chase has a business degree, and he works for a big corporation a few hours away. He's looking to start his own business soon though. 

It's very rare for all four of us to get together, but we try at least once a month. Tonight, everyone is coming to my house. 

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"How was school?" I ask Leon and Chloe as they buckle themselves in. 

"Good. We got to watch The Magic School Bus today," Chloe smiles.

"That's awesome! How was school for you Leon?" I ask. 

"Fine," he smiles. 

I pull up in Ricky's driveway, and the kids scramble out of the car.

"Dad!" I hear Chloe yell, as Ricky opens his door. 

I grab their backpacks, and i watch Ricky engulf both of them in a hug. 

"Hi," I smile, as he opens his door and I step inside. 

"How was school today?" he asks the kids.

"Good," they say in unison, making their way to their room. 

The twins also share a room at Ricky's, but they don't mind.

"I haven't asked, but I'm sure the twins have homework," I say. 

"I'll help them get it done tonight," Ricky says.

"Any weekend plans?" I ask. 

"Clay may be coming over," Ricky says.

"How's he doing?" I ask.

I haven't seen Clay in awhile. He still hasn't told Paige he's her father, and I hate knowing that secret. Ricky's still trying to convince him to tell her. 

"He's good. He's still teaching," Ricky chuckles.

"How's your teaching job?" I ask. 

"It's alright. Nothing exciting really happens these days. What have you got planned for the weekend?" Ricky asks. 

"Paige, Chase, and Luke will be here tonight. I was actually going to ask if we could stop by either later tonight or tomorrow? The twins have been dying to see everyone," I say.

"That's fine."

I say goodbye to the twins and Ricky, and I head out to my car. 

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"Paige!" I grin, opening the door and pulling her in for a huge hug.

"How are you?" she asks.

"I'm great. How's work?" I ask.

"Busy," she says, rolling her eyes. 

We shut the door and head to the kitchen.

"Luke and Chase should be here in a couple of hours. Chase is picking up Luke," Paige says. 

"Awesome. Do you wanna run to the grocery store with me? I'm making tacos, but we're out of shredded cheese," I sigh. 

"Let's go," Paige smiles. 

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Paige and I head to the freezers, picking up shredded cheese on the way. 

"Anything else we need?" I ask Paige. 

"Ice cream?" Paige says.

"Let's go," I laugh, steering the buggy down the ice cream aisle. 

I pick out chocolate chip cookie dough, Paige grabs cookies and cream, and we grab chocolate for the boys. 

"I need to grab some eggs," I say. 

Paige follows me to the next aisle. I pick up some eggs, inspecting them for cracks. I turn to put the eggs in my buggy when I see him. His brown hair, pointy ears, and brown eyes. 

I drop the eggs in my hand, turning around and running as fast as I can, hoping he doesn't see me.

I hide in the adjacent aisle, and I watch as Ezra approaches Paige. What is Ezra doing here? I look beside him to see a girl standing next to him. She has shiny red hair, and dark blue eyes. She's beautiful. 

Ezra and Paige talk for a minute. A worker comes by to clean up the mess, and Ezra hugs Paige goodbye. Paige turns the buggy around, and once Ezra is out of the clear, I approach her. 

"I can not believe that was him! Do you know if he saw me?" I ask, my hands shaking a little. 

"I don't think he did. You made me look like a klutz," Paige laughs.  

"Thanks for covering for me," I say. 

"Ezra's back in town for good," Paige says.

"Oh my goodness," I say, cupping my head in my hands. 

"Are you ever gonna tell me what happened with you two?" Paige asks. 

"I guess it's time," I sigh. 

We check out, and Paige helps me load the car.  The drive home is silent, and when we pull up in my driveway, I see Chase and Luke getting out of Chase's car. 

I get out of the truck, and they greet both of us with hugs. 

"You'll never believe who we just ran into," Paige says.

"More like you ran into. He didn't see me," I smile. 

"Who?" Chase asks. 

"Ezra," I sigh. 

"Are you alright?" Luke asks, rubbing my shoulder. 

"He was with another girl. It still hurts, but I think it's finally time to talk about what happened," I sigh. 

The boys help Paige and I unload the groceries. I make dinner, and we sit down on the couch. 

"Here we go," I sigh, not wanting to relive what happened.