Page 122 of Bleeding Hearts Duet

Chapter Ten

Brighton

It had been a week since I’d last seen him. The hole in my heart was growing bigger every day, along with our baby.

I didn’t know if this pain was ever going to end, but I wished it would. I wished that I could forget him. That I could just stop loving him. A part of me wondered if he and Brayden were still trying to tear each other apart, but I wouldn’t let myself think about it. I couldn’t. It wasn’t safe, and it wasn’t healthy.

So when my phone rang, and it registered Brayden’s number, I didn’t pick up. Since I’d been released from the hospital, the only person I wanted to talk to was Nicole.

The phone went to voicemail, only to start ringing again. And again. And by the fourth time, I couldn’t ignore the tightness in my chest as I answered.

“Hello?”

“Brighton,” Brayden breathed a sigh of relief. “Please don’t hang up.”

“I’m not,” I said quietly. “Not yet, anyway.”

“I know things have been crazy. And I know you don’t want to hear this, but you need to.”

I sighed and rubbed my tired eyes. “What is it?”

“Norma-Jean has been missing for over a month now,” he said. “I think… I think Ryland might have…”

“Just stop,” I grated. “Don’t finish that sentence.”

Brayden did as I requested though I could tell by his breathing he was irritated.

“How do you know she’s missing?” I asked calmly. Too calmly. I was getting far too used to calls of this nature.

“Because I haven’t heard from her,” he groused. “Her phone’s disconnected, and nobody else has seen her either.”

“She said she was staying with a cousin in Springfield.” My voice was light though the feeling in my gut wasn’t as positive.

“Yeah, I’ve talked to her,” Brayden replied. “She said she was there for a week and then she split. Hasn’t heard from her since.”

I wrung my hands together as I paced back and forth in the tiny apartment I shared with Nicole. After paying the rent for the next six months in advance, I’d been living off fumes. I didn’t have enough money to get to Illinois. I would have borrowed the money from Nicole if I could, but she didn’t have it either. We were both in the same boat, and it was sinking fast.

But there was one option, even though I didn’t want to use it.

I pulled out the credit card with both Ryland’s name and mine printed on it and glared at it for a long pause.

“Are you still there?” Brayden asked.

“Yes,” I answered. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I hung up the phone and started to look at flights. As I typed the credit card number into the payment box, I told myself that even if I had to start scrubbing toilets for a living, I would find a way to pay it back.

***

When I walked down to the curb an hour later, I was shocked as hell to see Ted standing there as if he were waiting for me.

“What are you doing here?” I glanced around suspiciously.

“Mr. Bennett isn’t here,” he said quickly, and obviously under instruction. “But he sent me to see that you are escorted to see your mother safely.”

“Excuse me?” I winced. “But how…”

The credit card.

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