“Exeter,” Louis’ voice calls out from the back of the house.
Finishing with the last kitchen box, I turn to where he’s calling and make my way down the short hall. He’s standing at the doorway to Emily’s room. I close my eyes, inhaling a deep breath, then let it out.
“What do you want me to do in here, darlin’?” he asks, his voice a touch gentler than I’ve ever heard.
He knows. He knows it’s her room.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I guess I could pack it up, then take it to her.”
He hums, turning his head to look down at me. He’s massive, he takes up almost the entire small hall, but he doesn’t intimidate or frighten me, in fact, I feel nothing but comfortable around him. “You want to do that this week? I have time, if you’re off,” he offers.
I blink at his offer. Biting the corner of my lip, I think about it, then decide against it. I know that Wyatt is friends with him, but something like that, a road trip alone with him, that seems—wrong.
I shake my head. “Thanks, but MawMaw will want to go over to see her again soon anyway. I’ll take her and take Emily’s personal things as well. The furniture is mine though, so we can just load that up with the rest of my stuff.”
Louis lifts his chin, then moves around to begin disassembling the twin sized bed that is against the window. I watch for a moment, not seeing anything really, just thinking. I miss her. I miss the girl she was before she was caught up in all of the Jacob abuse, manipulation, and drama.
Turning away, I walk into the living room to gather some more boxes. Instead of going back into Emily’s room, I decide to go into mine and pack up the rest of my personal belongings. Luckily, I don’t have much. When I left my father’s home, it was with nothing.
When I lived with MawMaw, the only things I owned were clothes. I’ve only been on my own for a few years, so I haven’t had time or money, enough to collect much other than necessities, which makes this move much easier than it could have been.
After only a few hours, and two truckloads, the trailer is empty save for Emily’s personal affects. Once I unpack some things from the boxes that I have loaded up, I’ll bring them back and pack up the rest of her stuff, then let my landlord know that I’m officially out.
I can’t believe that within a few weeks of meeting him, that I’m going to be living with Wyatt. It feels like a gigantic step, but also the next natural one as well. He’s it for me, my very own superhero. He’s everything I never thought I could have, but always dreamed about.
Wyatt is my future.
WYATT
The road ahead of us is long, especially since we’re driving straight into the storm, instead of away from it. Stretching my neck from side-to-side, I glance at the clock and groan. I’m tired and only two hours into a minimum twenty-five-hour drive.
We’ll stop after twelve hours today. Then finish up the rest of the trip in two more days. Unfortunately, we can only drive forty-five miles an hour in our trucks, so what would normally be seventeen hours in a car is almost double that in the bucket trucks.
I can’t help but think about Exeter. I wonder if Louis and Ford have her all set up at the new house. I gave Ford a list of shit to check, to make sure everything was in working order. He’s taking care of the utilities that I had turned on in my name, meeting with the servicemen for initial turn on.
There’s something in the pit of my stomach that is still bothering me though. I write it off as just being unsure, uneasy, and us being new. I wish I would have had at least a week longer to get her and us all situated in the new house.
Guilt. That’s what I’m feeling. Worry and guilt. I should be there with her. I should be moving her stuff, taking care of everything, and making sure she’s comfortable. Nature is a fickle bitch though, and when she comes storming through, I have no choice but to follow in her path of destruction. Even when I really don’t want to.
A few hours on the road and we finally stop for fuel and snacks. Once we get situated, I check on Rylan who just shakes his head and assures me that he’s fine. He doesn’t look fine. He looks worried sick. He turns from me, lifting his phone to his ear as he calls Channing. I do the same, taking my own cell out of my pocket and place a call to Exeter.
“Hey,” she greets cheerfully.
“You okay? You in the house?” I ask.
“I am. Ford and Louis helped, they unloaded everything and I’m just unpacking what I have,” she explains.
I grunt, hating how goddamn jealous I am of my friends. Not that I think anything would happen, but because I want to be there and I can’t. “Take care of yourself, don’t run yourself ragged, okay?”
“I will, Wyatt. You take care of yourself and be safe, please,” she begs.
Closing my eyes, I inhale a deep breath, then release it before I speak. “I will, sugar. May not be able to call tonight, we’ll probably travel until it’s late. I’ll call you in the morning before we take off again, okay?”
“Okay, baby.” Her voice is barely above a whisper, then the line goes dead.
Letting out a breath, I will my cock to soften. The way she said baby, it went straight to my dick. Fuck, everything about her goes straight to my cock. The sound of her voice, the way I close my eyes and see her—everything.
I’m goddamn hopelessly in love with her.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
EXETER
Using the last of the tape, I close Emily’s final box of items. It’s surreal, standing in this empty trailer, a place that I called home and a safe haven for years. Unfortunately, my father shattered the safety aspect of this place, but Wyatt was there in the background, my hero. He saved me from spiraling back down a road that I would probably never be able to dig myself out of, a second time. The first was hard enough.
Bending down, I pick the box up and turn toward the door. I’m going to leave this trailer park and never look back. Not because I hate it here, or am ashamed. I’m not, not really. What I am, is ready to move on. I’m ready to leave my past in the past. I have so much more in life to look forward to, this part of my life is now over, and I have no desire to ever remember any of it again.
Once I lock the door, I walk over to the trunk and set down Emily’s final box. It’s sad that her final personal items are so few. Though, it’s not as if I’m much different. Maybe it’s because of our background, our pasts, that we don’t hold much dear to us.
Maybe it’s because we are still waiting to find those pieces of value to hold onto. Maybe it’s not even really worth deciphering.
Walking back to the porch, I slip my key beneath the welcome mat, then tug my phone out of my pocket and send the landlord a text. He already knows that I’m moving out and instructed me to just leave the key somewhere.
Climbing into the front seat of my car, I start my car and lift my gaze up to my trailer one last time. This is it. Once I shift my car into reverse, there is no going back. Not that I have thought about it really. My life has shifted, it’s changed, and there’s no way around it, I’ve changed. Wyatt has changed me, for the better.