Page 102 of Man Seeking Woman

Chapter Twenty-six

August

––––––––

Ihid the flowers behindmy back, touching my pocket and making sure everything was right where it should be.

“Ella,” I called out, my heart already racing inside my chest, slamming against my ribs as if it wanted to break free. “Ella, you home?” Walking through the kitchen, I kept moving through the apartment, expecting to find her around the next turn.

Where the hell is she?

The place was quiet, so silent that it was eerie. Before Ella, this silence was normal, it was how my place typically sounded. It had been my peace. For nine months that quiet had been filled with everythingher;her laugh, her playful teasing, her voice and thoughts and scent.

Stopping at the bedroom, I could see in the closet on the far wall. It was empty. My eyes swept over the room, looking from left to right. There were drawers wide open with clothing spilling out over the edges on the dresser, and hangers spread across the bed.

What the hell is going on?

Dropping the flowers to the ground, I stalked into the bathroom, throwing open the door on the closet and yanking open the cabinets on the vanity.

Empty

Empty

Empty

She's gone. . .

Pacing in a circle, I raked my fingers over my head, pulling my hair tight against my scalp. I couldn't understand what was happening. Why had she just left without warning?

I thought things were good between us. What changed?

Dragging my hands down my face, I stepped to the bed and sat down. The room was starting to spin and it was getting really hard to breathe. Ella was gone. The thought tore out my heart, splitting it in two.

Hanging my head, I fell backwards and heard crunching underneath the blanket. Pulling back the covers, there was a crumpled up newspaper sitting on my pillow. Smoothing out the surface, today's date was up in the top right corner.

Oh shit. . .

---