Page 69 of Come Back to Me

“She actually admitted that you had done nothing. Apparently, that douchebag Joel Reid told her you were wasted and that he’d heard you and Annie had broken up. He told her you were interested in her.” She looks at me to make sure I’m tracking her. “Hesenther over to you, Jack, and we have it on good authority that he texted Annie to come to the bar, making her think you needed her. She admitted that when you put your hands on her, it was to push her away, nothing else. We have it all recorded; we just need to tell Annie and maybe everything will be okay,” Shayna says, finally taking a breath.

“Wow, that’s… a lot.”

Shayna and Emily are both staring at me.

Fucking Joel Reid. He’s been trying to get with Anniesince she arrived in Elladine. I basically handed her to him with how I was acting.

“Listen, I really appreciate you two having my back. I’ve got a lot more than just what happened at the bar that night to explain to Annie, though. I’ve been treating her bad for weeks. I’m hoping she can forgive me,” I tell them.

“She has to, Jack,” Emily says. “What you two have is special. Anyone who has seen you together can tell how much you love each other. Annie’s smart. She isn’t going to want to let that go.”

“I really hope you’re right because I don’t know what I’m going to do if… if I’ve really lost her.”

CHAPTER 31

ANNIE

Parked in front of my house, Janie pulls my suitcase out of her car trunk while I secure Beanie’s leash. We walk to my front door and when Janie puts my luggage on the porch, I pull her into a tight hug.

“Thank you for everything, Janie. You knew just what I needed, and you made it happen. I couldn’t ask for a better best friend.”

“My pleasure, babe,” she says. She pulls back from the hug and squats down to scratch Beanie behind the ears. “And goodbye to you, my big brown beast.”

Beanie’s tail wags at her attention and I can’t help but smile.

I stand and watch as she drives away and then Bean and I head into our house. I decide to check my phone before unpacking. So, I walk to the couch and sit, and Beanie Boy lies across my lap.

When I turn my phone on, I have twenty-three text messages and six voicemails from Jack.

All but six of the text messages are from the first two daysafter… well, just after. Because that’s how I currently look at my life. Before Jack broke my heart and… after.

On the third dayafter, Jack left me a voicemail telling me he was sorry if he was overwhelming me with all the texts and calls and that he was going to force himself to limit his contact to one text a day, until I was ready to talk to him. He’s stuck to it, too.

For the last six days, there has been one text message each day and only one. I should just delete them without reading them, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

I read all his messages. Those from the first two days are filled with desperation, begging me to answer. I delete all of them. The last six are different. Less about him and more about me. I can’t bring myself to delete any of them, though I don’t respond either.

After going through the phone messages, I take my suitcase into my room and put away all my toiletries before gathering my dirty clothes in a laundry basket and carrying them to the basement of the house to throw them in the washing machine. Bean follows me everywhere.

Jack’s text messages keep popping into my head.

I try not to let myself go back and re-read them, but I can’t resist and when we get back up to the apartment, I lie on my bed and pull my phone out. Opening the texts, I read them again and try not to cry.

Tuesday —

I know I haven’t been acting like it lately but know that I love you so much and don’t want anyone else… ever.

Wednesday—

You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, both inside and out.

Thursday —

I miss you with everything in me. The light you brought into my life is so obvious now that you aren’t here.

Friday—

I dream of you at night, and it makes me want to stay asleep, where I can be with you, where I haven’t hurt you…

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