Page 81 of When You're Home
“Something’s going on at home. I have to go. I’m packing up tonight, taking my final in the morning, then heading back to Hampton as soon as it's over.”
“What do you mean something’s going on at home?” she scowled. “Is someone hurt? Are your parents okay?”
Rhett turned to fully face her but made no move to sit down. Instead, he stood in the kitchen with his arms folded across his chest. “I got a call this afternoon. I’m needed at home.”
“What the hell, Rhett? EastonFest is this weekend. Will you be back for Saturday?”
He shook his head slowly.
Chandler’s body tensed up defensively. He saw the color of her eyes darken as realization hit.
“It’s her, isn’t it?” she hissed, rising to her feet and stalking toward him. She pointed a perfectly-polished nail at his chest. “You’re running home to Tori.”
Rhett said nothing. He didn’t need to. He knew his lack of denial would be confirmation enough.
“When will you be back?” she demanded, crossing her arms across her own chest to match his stance. Rhett exhaled. He didn’t have enough energy to have a full-out fight with Chandler right now.Tie up the loose ends, get home to Tori,he reminded himself of his priorities. He needed to end this as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“It’s probably best if you don’t expect me back at any certain time.”
Chandler’s eyes grew wider at his admission.
“What do you think you’re doing right now? This isn’t right. It’s not going to end like this.” She scoffed. She took two steps toward him, her hands now planted on her hips. She wanted to fight for them. He wanted her to disappear.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Chandler. This is exactly how it’s going to end.”
“No. I refuse to accept this. I’ve let you do this plenty of times before. Run away from me. Run to her. It’s been three years, Rhett. You don’t think I know your patterns by now? I don’t care about any of that. I’ve stuck around through worse. We’re not done here.”
“Chandler,” Rhett cautioned, softer this time. He had spent so much effort trying to shield her from the truth. He had not expected her to push back like this when it was so blatantly obvious his priority was Tori. “Hey, listen to me. I’m sorry to end things like this, but that’s exactly what I’m doing. We’re over. I’ll always think fondly on the time we spent together. But you deserve someone who’s going to pick you first, every time.”
“And that’s not you?”
“No.” Rhett shook his head. “I’m sorry, but that’s not me. It never was me, and it never will be me.”
He watched her deflate before his eyes as his words sank in. She looked so defeated.
“But we’re so close to you moving to Virginia,” she whispered so softly he almost didn’t hear it. “I’ve held out for so long…”
Her expression transitioned from frustration to hurt to rage as they faced off in silence. She blinked first, then said nothing else as she turned on her heel to storm into the bedroom.
“I’m leaving. Text me when you’re gone tomorrow so I know I can come back and get my things,” she hissed over her shoulder. She disappeared for a few minutes, then reemerged into the main living area with a tote bag slung over her shoulder.
“And screw you, Everhett. You don’t know what you’re giving up. I never asked you for anything. I never tried to change you. I was willing to put up with all your non-committal bullshit and just wait it out while you got her out of your system. Who else is going to do that for you? You don’t even know how good you had it.”
Chandler slammed the door behind her. He let out a long sigh of relief. It was over. Her words were true, but they didn’t hurt. Rhett knew he didn’t need to find anyone else to wait around for him: Tori would never be out of his system.
He spent the rest of the night trying to distract himself. He packed up what he needed for home. He texted Maddie to bring her up to speed with what was going on and what he was planning to do once he got home to Hampton. He tried to read over his review guide for his final. Eventually he ordered food and ran out to pick it up, gassing up the Prelude while he was out. He felt as ready as he was going to be for whatever the next day would bring.
By the time he showered and lay down for bed that night, he decided to face what he had avoided doing all day. He ran his hand through his hair over and over again, pulling on the ends as he worked up the nerve to make the call.
Tori had asked for him repeatedly. He knew she wanted him there, but he still felt so unsettled. All their interactions that day had been orchestrated. He had talked to Jake about her. He had talked through Fielding’s phone to her. He had yet to just talk to Tori without someone else in the mix.
He felt no hesitation about breaking up with Chandler or about driving home to Hampton the next day. So why was he so worried about reconnecting with her?
Ev: Hey Beautiful, are you awake?
He wanted to put the ball in her court, to let her decide if she wanted to hear from him tonight or if she wasn’t ready for that yet.
V: Yes. Call me?
