I kept trying to convince myself that Christmas wasn’t all that far away, but it felt like fifty years instead of a matter of weeks. I didn’t want to leave her, not now. Not ever.
But I was going to. This chance might not ever come around again, and it would mean I could give Annabelle everything she deserved. I would be able to afford a nice house anywhere she wanted to live. I could shower her in all kinds of beautiful things that would make her eyes sparkle. Our kids wouldn’t ever have to want for anything.
It was also my dream. I would get to play my music for the world and, soon, I could share that with Annabelle.
That didn’t make it any easier. As I forced myself to get out of that bed, I felt like I was ripping my heart out of my chest and leaving it on the pillow beside her. She was so exhausted from our amazing night together that she didn’t even shift as I pulled on my clothes. Zipping up my jeans, I heard Devlin’s truck pulling up downstairs.
Fighting back tears, I leaned over and brushed my lips over her forehead. “I love you, Anna. Don’t you ever fucking forget that, baby.” She let out a small sigh and snuggled deeper under the covers, a smile lifting the corners of her kiss-swollen lips.
Two tears forced their way out of my eyes and with a pain-filled moan I turned away from the sight of the girl who owned every part of my soul, leaving her behind when all I wanted to do was hold her close. Picking up my shoes, I didn’t bother to put them on as I left the apartment.
Devlin was waiting behind the wheel of his truck, looking like he hadn’t slept at all the night before, but he was grinning like a damn Cheshire cat so I knew he’d had a good time. I walked barefooted to my truck and pulled out the registration and title to the vehicle from the glove compartment before putting the keys on top of the two pieces of paper in the driver’s seat. I was leaving it for Annabelle. She could drive it or sell it, I didn’t care which, but I couldn’t leave without her having that last part of me.
Not wanting Devlin to see how close to the surface my emotions were, I opened the passenger door of his truck and threw in my boots. Climbing in, I didn’t bother to speak to him as he backed out of the parking lot. Unable to stop myself, I took one last look up at the apartment and saw her standing in the doorway. Even from where I was, I could tell she was crying, but there still was a smile on her beautiful face.
Annabelle lifted her hand, waving goodbye. I had to swallow several times before I could breathe again. Fuck. Ah, motherfucking hell. My eyes stung, my heart hurt, and my head was already a tangled mess without her. Lifting my hand, I waved once before forcing my eyes away from the sight of the only chick who would always own my heart.
C HAPTER F OURTEEN
Annabelle
“That’s the last of the heavy stuff,” Noah said and groaned as he and Chelsea’s dad, Ben, put the old couch we’d had in the apartment back in West Bridge down in our new living room in Nashville.
I didn’t bother to glance up from where I was sorting through the boxes that were still stacked in the middle of the living room, trying to get all my stuff together so I could start unpacking in my new room. Noah and Chelsea had found this apartment on their last trip to Nashville the week before and we’d wasted no time in moving into it this weekend. I started my new school on Monday, but I couldn’t find any kind of enthusiasm for it.
I couldn’t find much enthusiasm for anything, really. It had been three weeks since Zander and the others had left, and I hadn’t heard a word from him. Every time I’d tried to call him, there had been no answer and I’d had to leave a message. There had been no return calls, no texts, no anything. I didn’t know whether to worry, be mad, or cry.
A million things had been filling my head. That he had lost his phone had been my first thought. Quickly followed by him regretting spending that last night with me, and wanting nothing to do with me now. And the worst… That he’d gone from my bed straight into someone else’s and wasn’t about to look back. That last one made me hurt to the point that I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know what to do because I had no clue why I hadn’t heard from him. If he’d lost his phone, then he probably didn’t even realize that I had called. But if he’d been ignoring my calls, I didn’t want to keep knocking on a door that he wanted to keep closed.
A firm hand touched my shoulder and I jerked, not expecting the touch. Noah’s hold on my shoulder tightened. “Easy, honey. It’s just me.” He smiled down at me, but I could see the concern deep in his blue eyes. “Ben asked three times if you wanted something to eat and you didn’t hear him.”
I forced a smile to my lips as I looked over at Chelsea’s dad. “Thanks, Ben, but I’m not hungry.”
Ben smiled back. “Well, I’m going to order a few pizzas, sweetheart. So you can eat later if you feel like it.”
I nodded, but knew I wouldn’t be eating. Food held no appeal for me, it hadn’t practically from the moment I’d waved goodbye to Zander from the front door of the apartment in West Bridge. I only ate when Noah made me, and only then forcing it down through a throat that had been tight with tears for the past three weeks.
It took over three hours before I had my room unpacked. When I was done I took a shower to wash away the dust of the move and grabbed the keys I’d left on my dresser. I didn’t know why Zander had left me his truck and then acted like I didn’t exist, but I was glad to have the trusty old piece of metal.
Noah, Chelsea and Ben were in the kitchen eating the pizza Ben had ordered earlier, so I called a quick bye to them before rushing out the door. Our apartment was on the second floor so I ran down the stairs before anyone could ask where I was going. Starting the truck, I put it in gear and headed out of the city.
I’d been arguing with myself for the past two weeks about whether or not I should go see Gram, but I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe if I didn’t. I didn’t know if it was because I wanted to know if she’d heard from her grandson or if I just needed one of her hugs, but I had to see her. All the way to West Bridge I had to fight my tears, sometimes losing the battle.
With my hands on the wheel, I couldn’t help but glance at the little gold ring Zander had put on my finger. A promise, he’d said. That ring was a promise that it looked like he’d already broken. Yet as upset as I was, I couldn’t find the strength to take it off. It hadn’t left my finger since he’d put it on there.
I had to drive past the garage to get to Gram’s house. It was closed today, but it would reopen on Monday. Chelsea and Noah were going to drive down every day to keep it running, but we’d been talking about just selling it and banking the money in case of an emergency. After talking to Wade, and finding out he was ready to retire anyway, we hadn’t felt as guilty about selling it and possibly leaving him without a job. Still, it was the last connection we had to our father, and I was just as reluctant as Noah to let it go.
Pulling into the driveway of Gram’s house, I could smell whatever she’d made for dinner still lingering in the air. For the first time in weeks my stomach growled and I jumped out of the truck. As I walked toward the back door, I couldn’t help but glance over at my mother’s house. The yard needed mowing and Jacob’s car wasn’t in the driveway, making me wonder if she’d kicked him out.
I had no way of knowing because neither Noah nor I had heard so much as a word from our mother. It seemed like she was completely happy to have us both out of her life. Oddly enough, the thought of my mother practically abandoning me didn’t hurt anywhere near as bad as Zander possibly having done the same.