Page 22 of Need You To Choose Me

Steadily.

“I don’t know what to do, Becky,” I say softly, once I’ve regained some of my composure.

“We’ll figure it out. Where did you see him?”

“School.” I run my shaky fingers through my hair. “He dropped off his kid for school, and, well…”

My phone starts buzzing with an incoming call. I pull it away and check the screen.

Mr. Miles.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I have to take this. I’ll call you later.”

“Sav, you can’t leave?—”

“I’m sorry, but I really have to answer this. There was water in my bathroom once again this morning. I’ll call you later, bye!”

I don’t give her a chance to protest before I disconnect the call and answer my phone. “Hi, Mr. Miles, did you get a chance to stop by my place and take a look at that leak?”

“Hey, Savannah,” Mr. Miles says, his gruff voice making the hair on my nape rise. “Can you come to the cottage?”

“I— What happened?” I ask, my fingers gripping the phone tighter.

“You were right about the pipe. It must have burst completely since you left because the whole cottage is flooded.”

The whole cottage…

“Flooded?” I shake my head. “No. That’s impossible. There was only a small puddle when I left.”

My home.

“I’m so sorry, Savannah. We’ll get it fixed, but the damage…” He lets out a long sigh. “Can you leave work early? Grab your stuff.”

Grab my stuff. Because my home is flooded.

Maybe he’s exaggerating? Maybe it isn’t that bad, and it can be fixed. It’s only been a few hours since I left.

“I… Y-yeah. I’ll be there.”

Hanging up the phone, I quickly grab my stuff and go to the admin office to tell them I need to leave early. Thankfully, they’re really understanding and manage to find a substitute teacher quickly, so I leave before lunch is done.

My fingers are gripping the steering wheel, my knuckles completely drained of color. I try to keep to the speed limit as I drive back home. My mind is reeling with all the possible scenarios, each one worse than the last, making the knot in my throat grow tighter.

The moment I take a turn onto my street, my gaze snaps to my house. There are a few cars parked in front of it, so I pull up to the curb, quickly unbuckle my seat belt, and get out just as Mr. Miles steps out on the porch with another man.

I hurry toward them. Mr. Miles looks up when I climb the steps and offers me a sad smile.

“I got here as soon as I could,” I say in a way of greeting.

“I’m so sorry this happened, Savannah. We’ll help you gather your things.”

My throat bobs as I try to swallow the lump down. “It can’t be that bad?”

“I’m afraid so. George went to look at the bathroom and determined the pipes were old and rusted. The whole thing needs to be replaced, along with the floors, since they were damaged from the water. While that happens, you can’t be here.”

He wants me to leave?

“How long will that take?” I run my shaky fingers through my hair, feeling completely lost. “Where should I go in the meantime?”

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