“No, Drea, we can’t,” he said simply. “You can’t just quit your family for me.”
The words hurt to say, especially after hearing her say the one thing he’d waited to hear for years. She loved him. But he loved her too much in return to let her do this. The hurt on her face was obvious, which made the words hurt even more. He hated the idea of hurting her, but he knew this was for the best. He couldn’t stay and he wouldn’t string her along by giving her the impression they could do long distance. No matter what her uncle seemed to think of him, he wasn’t that kind of guy. He was also not the kind of guy to let her give up on her dream, and her dream was the resort spa.
“I can do what I want. And what I want is to be with you, Kyle. I asked them to buy me out, and the lawyer will take care of the paperwork on Friday. I’m not saying it’s ideal, but we can make it work.”
“No. You can’t let them buy you out. This resort is your life. You said so while we were on the boat. You have dreamed of that spa for years. Don’t walk away from that.”
“And your dream is a charter company. You can’t tell me not to walk away from my dream while you’re doing the exact same thing!”
“Not all dreams come true, Drea. Mine isn’t going to happen, yours is. Florida is my only option. Besides, I haven’t heard from mom in a couple of days, and I need to get home to see her.”
It was a lame excuse. He knew it, and she knew it. He felt like shit for using it. But she wasn’t listening and he didn’t know how to make it any clearer to her.
“Drea, I get that you think you have the answer, but you don’t. This was great while it lasted, but it’s obviously not meant to be,” he said, wanting to puke as soon as the words left his mouth.
“You can’t be serious,” she said, the tears starting to fall again. “Kyle, I love you. You’re my forever.”
“Don’t say that, Drea.”
“Why not? It’s true. You are my forever. I know it like my mother knew it. And I’ve known it since that night on Playa Peña.”
“It doesn’t matter, Drea. It doesn’t matter.”
“How can you say it doesn’t matter?” She walked up to him until there was only a couple of inches in between them. “Are you telling me that you don’t love me? Because you just told my uncles you do.”
“How I feel doesn’t matter. Whether or not I love you isn’t going to change things. You need to go back to your uncles, tell them you overreacted and that you don’t want them to buy you out, you want to open a spa.” He pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. He could feel her heart pounding and he had to fight back the tears. He was dying inside. It was taking all he had not to shout back ‘I love you too!’, but he knew that it would only make things harder. He needed to focus, finishing packing, and get to the airport.
She shoved at him violently, screaming as she did so. “I can’t believe you. You’re just like them, telling me what I can and can't do! And yes, how you feel does matter, because I just gave you my fucking heart, Kyle. All of it!”
“Drea, listen—” he began, but she cut him off.
“No, you fucking listen. I love you. I love you. And back there in the kitchen, you told my uncles that you love me! So either you do love me, too, and we figure out a way to make this work, or you lied, and are exactly what Uncle Vaughn said you are. And I refuse to believe that.”
Kyle took a deep breath, closing his eyes, trying to avoid the painful expression he knew was written on her face. He didn't want to do it this way. He didn’t want her to believe that he didn’t love her with everything he had. But sometimes love just wasn’t enough, and this was one of those times.
He grabbed his duffle bag and zipped it closed. There were so many things he was probably forgetting, but he could get any immediate needs in Clearwater. He needed to get out of this room, away from this resort, to a place where he could be alone with his feelings. More importantly, he needed to give Drea the space she would need to move on from him.
“I have a flight to catch. I have enjoyed every moment with you, Drea, but all good things must come to an end. Have a good life.”
He kissed her softly on the cheek and headed out the door. Halfway down the hall, he heard her let out a sob that nearly had him running back to her. But he couldn’t go, he couldn’t let her believe in him anymore. He’d already hurt her too much.
The sand on Big House Beach was warm from the sun and felt nice against her legs, but wasn’t doing much to fix her mood. Usually the sun and surf were enough to lift her spirits when she was feeling down, but the events of the morning had dragged her down to a new level. She’d finally broken down and put on sunglasses after her eyes, swollen from crying so much, had started to burn when looking out over the waves.
Trying to keep her breathing steady, she breathed in and out with the waves. In, out, in out, over and over again. It wasn’t working. No matter how hard she tried, her pulse still raced and her breathing was still ragged. She felt like she could throw up at any moment. She didn’t think she had any tears left in her, but that didn’t stop a sob from escaping here and there. Worst of all was the empty feeling in her chest. While she could still feel it beating, her heart felt like it had been torn into pieces and scattered all over.
She had never realized that it could feel this awful. This must be what real heartbreak is. She’d thought she’d been heartbroken before, in high school when the kid she’d had a crush on didn’t return her affections. But that felt nothing like this. In fact, she’d give anything to feel that disappointment all over again instead of this now. If this is what Uncle Miller had felt when he lost Marta, Drea was starting to get an idea of why he had never dated again.
Her phone dinged again, indicating a new text. She’d gotten a text from pretty much everyone over the last couple of hours, not that she’d read any. Everyone but Kyle. Picking up her phone, she opened it to her messages to check the damage.
Simone: Drea, I know this morning was rough, but I’m here when you’re ready to talk. Love you.
Grayson: Kiddo, I’m sorry we lost our cool this morning. I hope you know how much we love you.
Vaughn: Drea, we both said some things this morning I think we didn’t really mean. Me more than anyone. I hope you will accept my apology. If you’re serious about the buy out, we can proceed, but your uncles and I really hope that you’re not. We, I, want you here. Love you.
Dalton: Heard what happened darlin. Heartbreak boozin is on me. Let me know the time and place.
Miller: Baby girl, I’m so so sorry. Please call me.
The latest one was from Leona. She’d been surprised when she wasn’t the first one to reach out and that her best friend hadn’t already found her on the beach. But maybe the gossip mill hadn’t moved quite as fast as she had assumed.
Leona: Ok, so since I’m apparently not gonna hear from you, this must be worse than I thought. I’m sorry girl, but seriously, fuck him. If he’s not willing to fight for you, he’s not worth your tears. You know where to find me.
Leona: PS> All three of your uncles are moping around here like someone died. So, there’s that…