Page 74 of Shattered Mind

“Thank you. Have you found somewhere else to stay?” I ask him.

“You know me. I always land on my feet. Besides, I thought I’d stick around and help you when it’s time for you to come home and pack up.”

I massage my temples. “Oh, fucking hell. I didn’t even think about that.”

Carter chuckles. “Yep. I look forward to seeing that beautiful face of yours.”

I barely manage a half smile at his compliment. Something about hearing it from a man that isn’t Grayson feels like a betrayal, which is wild because we aren’t even in a relationship.

“I’ll speak to you soon, Carter,” I say before hanging up.

I give myself a moment to pull myself together before standing and going inside. My mood has gone from bad to worse within a matter of minutes and the moment I cross the threshold of my house, the dam breaks as ten years of grief comes crashing down around me.

CHAPTER 41

GRAYSON

There’s something wrong with Olivia. I just have no fucking idea what.

Her texts have been few and far between and when she does respond, they’re always one-word answers, which is highly unusual for her.

I’ve been to her house twice in the last four days, but both times, Bella has opened the door and told me she’s sick.

I call bullshit.

My mind has already run wild with possible reasons for her sudden disappearance, and I came to the same conclusion every time.

She’s done with me.

I’ve run the last week through my head on repeat, trying to pinpoint the exact moment something changed. If there was a shift in her behaviour. But there was nothing.

I even went as far as asking Hunter if Savannah had noticed anything different about her, but he wasjust as clueless as I am.

I always knew there would come a time where one of us would pull back, I just didn’t realise it would bother me this much.

I keep questioning myself. Wondering if it’s something I did. Or if I’m just overthinking the entire thing and she really is just sick.

She hasn’t been at work either. I’ve been by the café everyday this week and all I’m greeting by is pitying looks from Bella, which only prove just how low I’ve stooped.

I’ve gotten used to having Liv around the past few months. Found myself looking forward to seeing the sly smile on her face whenever we ended up in the same room as each other. On more than one occasion, I’ve caught myself smiling at my phone like a fool when her name appeared on my screen.

I don’t know what the fuck changed between us and frankly, her silence is pissing me off.

Needing a distraction, I decided to visit Reuben’s parents. It’s been a while since I’ve had lunch with them, and I feel a little guilty that I’ve been so distracted that they’ve sort of fallen to the wayside.

I pull into their driveway and put my truck in park before climbing out and trudging my way towards their front door.

It swings open before I get the chance to knock and Mary stands before me, her hands on her hips. “Well, look at who decided to show his face.”

Her tone is teasing, but I feel guilt all the same. “I’m sorry, Mary. I’ve been busy.”

She raises a brow at me. “Yes, you have.”

Seems she’s not immune to the gossip of the town either.

She steps back, holding the door open for me to enter and I take my hat off as I step over the threshold.

“I’ve made lunch,” Mary says as she follows behind me and I head straight for the kitchen.

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