Page 76 of Doing It for Love

But I come home to an empty apartment. No note or text or even Landon’s socks on the floor. The back of my eyes are starting to burn, and there’s an unnerving panic burrowing in my gut. I don’t even stay more than two minutes before I’m banging on the door down the hall.

“Whoa,” Theresa says when I slide past into her place.

“Have you seen Landon?”

“Um, I bumped into him outside.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. Couple of hours ago. Are you okay?”

I slump into her recliner, trying to calm my heart. “I haven’t heard from him all day.”

She sits cross-legged in front of me, setting her chin on my knee. “Did you get into another fight?”

“No.” Just the opposite. Things were going so well…or so I thought. We were nearly strawberries and whipped cream again, so it can’t be that.

But then what is it?

“I…think maybe he’s just…”I don’t know.Is he getting cold feet? Or is it even about me at all? I pull my phone out one more time and call him, and it rings and rings and rings, and when the beep sounds in my ear I go off. “Landon, please call me. I’m scared, and Theresa said she saw you earlier, and I just want to know if you’re okay, and if you love me you’ll answer your damn phone.”

“Okay, time to make brownies,” Theresa says, hopping to her feet.

“Enabler.”

“It’ll take your mind off it while you wait for him to—”

Buzz.

“Looks like he responds to threats,” she jokes while taking out a mixing bowl. I pull up the text.

I’m okay. With Jace, might stay for a bit to get this edit done. Sorry, the reception at his place is crap. Love you.

Seriously? I’m half tempted to make him wait an entire day for a reply. He was at work, wasn’t he? Ran into Theresa. He had all day to respond. I growl at my phone, and thank the heavens Theresa is making something chocolate.

Don’t do that to me again. Ass.

You still love me though, right?

*squeezes hand*

:)

My stomach finally feels normal, minus the fact that I haven’t really eaten today. So I get up and help crack eggs, and vent to my best friend about how men suck but we love them anyway.

—

It’s four in the morning, and Landon’s still not home. He must sense that his life is in danger, because I’m going to kill him when he gets here.

—

I get approximately two hours of sleep, and twenty minutes in Alec’s car on the way to work, because Landon still isn’t home and he won’t answer his cell again. I grasp Alec’s shirt and tell him that if he knows anything he better spill or I will karate-chop his voice box. He laughs at me, but snaps his lips shut when he sees I’m serious.

“All I know is that he spent the night at Jace’s,” he rushes out. “And that he asked if he could crash at my place tonight.”

I let go of his sleeve, heart sinking like a deadweight.

“Don’t be mad at him,” Alec says. “I think he’s trying to do something for you…” He says it, but his eyes say something very different.

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