“And now you’re terrified to open up to someone again.”
“Something like that,” I grumble, refusing to look in her direction. The things in my past are not something I want to talk about… now or ever. “Looks like we’re getting close to your sister’s place.”
She nods and launches into telling me about some other book she thinks might really help me but I keep my gaze focused on the road in front of me, fighting back painful memories. By the time we pull into her sister’s neighborhood, she has run out of things to talk about but her leg bounces like crazy and she squirms in her seat, the excitement almost too much to bear.
“When was the last time you saw your sister?” I ask as we pull up in front of a cute little coral colored cottage near the beach.
“Almost two years ago. It’ll be so nice to reconnect with her.”
I nod as I put the truck in park and open my door. The front door of the cottage swings open and a woman who looks identical to Cora steps outside and runs down the sidewalk as Cora jumps out of the truck. They crash together, wrapping each other up in a tight hug as I round the back of the truck and pull Cora’s bags out of the bed. As I set them on the sidewalk, Cora’s sister glances up at me with tears in her eyes and beams.
“You must be Moose. Thank you so much for taking such good care of my baby sister,” she says, releasing Cora to shake my hand and I nod.
“Just call me Sawyer, Ma’am, and it was my pleasure.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sawyer. I’m Lana and thank you again. I’ve been so worried about her with that psycho running around,” Lana says, wrapping her arm around Cora’s shoulders.
“Like I said, it was my pleasure.”
“Excuse me if this is rude but are you sure he didn’t follow you? Does he even know she’s gone yet?”
I nod. “We stopped for gas about an hour ago and I spoke to my president. Freddie knows she’s gone but y’all don’t need to worry about a thing. If he starts heading your way, we’ll know about it and beat him here.”
“Okay,” she whispers, uncertainty lighting up her eyes for a moment before she blows out a breath and shakes it off. She turns to the bags before gasping and spinning around to face me again. “You should stay for dinner.”
“Oh.” I shake my head. “Thank you but I really should get going.”
“I insist,” she urges, grabbing onto my arm and I glance at Cora, who shrugs. As nice as a home cooked meal sounds, I’m afraid if I get too comfortable, I’ll just pass out wherever I land. I gently pull my arm from her grasp and shake my head.
“No, that’s all right. I don’t want to intrude and I’m sure y’all have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Besides, I’m sure he’ll want to get some sleep. He’s been up since three this morning,” Cora adds and I nod, wondering if it would be possible for me to catch a nap in my truck before I have to go pick up Juliette. Lana frowns.
“Well, okay. If you’re sure…”
I nod. “I am but thank you for the offer. It was very kind.”
Lana nods before turning to grab the bags and I glance at Cora.
“Stay safe and remember, if you ever need anything, just give any of us a call. We’ll keep an eye on Freddie until we’re sure that he’s not a threat anymore.”
She nods, tears welling up in her eyes. “I know Lana already said this several times but truly, thank you. I was beginning to think I’d never feel safe again but you guys changed that for me.”
“Of course.” She launches herself at me and I give her a quick hug before I take a step back and hold up a hand to wave good-bye. They both inch closer to the front door of the cottage before turning back to wave.
“Drive safe!” Cora yells as I round the hood of the truck and I nod, waving to them again before climbing behind the wheel and starting the truck. When I’m on the next street over, I pull over to the side of the road and grab my phone. I’ll need to get a hotel room for the night but there’s no way I’ll be able to wake up in a couple hours if I get into a bed. Opening the internet, I search for a secluded beach and program it into the GPS before pulling away from the curb again. It’s not ideal but at least I’ll be able to grab a couple hours of sleep before I need to pick up Juliette. Hopefully, Blaze was right and she just needs a ride back to Baton Rouge but, as usual, I’ve got a bad feeling about the whole thing.
Chapter Eight
Juliette
My stomach churns and my throat feels tight as I wring my hands together and trek across the bedroom. The moonlight casts an eerie, blue hue over the room as it shines down on me through the wall of windows and I suck in a breath as I turn and walk back along the same path. I’ve been like this for an hour, at least, pacing through my room and struggling to breathe as I wait to make my move. I swear, if a pin dropped across the apartment, I’d be able to hear it and there’s a fairly good chance it would make me jump out of my skin. Grabbing my phone, I pull up the text Mercedes sent me a couple of hours after I got off the phone with her this morning.
Mercedes:
His name is Sawyer and
he’ll meet you at the diner down
the street from your place at midnight.
Sucking in a breath, I read the text two more times before checking the clock again. Eleven fifteen. Time to go. As I tuck the phone into my back pocket, I walk over to the little desk in the corner of the room and sink into the chair in front of it. A stack of letterhead with my company’s logo greets me as I open the first drawer and I pull out a piece before grabbing a pen. My pen hovers above the page for a second before I sigh. This whole situation… it’s just so fucked and me running out on Gavin in the middle of the night isn’t fair but neither is expecting me to hang around here when nothing feels right anymore. I know I need to go find my memories in my own way, in my own time but it doesn’t make it any easier.
After hanging up with Mercedes this morning, I spent hours going through the massive closet and packing everything I wanted to take with me before wasting the rest of the day thinking about all the things I want to do when I get back to Baton Rouge. It’s weird that even though I don’t remember being away, I somehow miss my city and the longer I spend in Miami, I’m wondering what it was that kept me here. Was it Dad? My company? None of it makes any sense which is all the more reason why I need to go even if I do feel guilty for what I’m about to do to a perfectly nice man. It also doesn’t help that he came from work this afternoon with flowers in hand and cooked me a delicious meal that I could barely eat due to my tumultuous stomach. I got away with telling him that I didn’t feel well, which wasn’t as much of a lie as I thought it would be, and disappearing into the bedroom right afterward. Sighing, I stare down at the paper and shake my head as I start writing.
Gavin,
I’m sorry.
Tossing the pen down, I sink back into the chair and cross my arms over my chest. Shit. I can’t just leave him that, can I? But I don’t know what else to say. I am sorry that this is what I need and I’m sorry that everything worked out this way. Mostly, I am sorry that this is going to hurt him. That’s not what I want to do but I don’t see any other option in front of me. My stomach aches as I lean forward and grab the pen again.