Page 23 of Aftersome
With my car running, directions up, and my seat belt on, I was finally ready. Physically, yes, but mentally, I wasn’t so sure yet.
“Please be careful,” Shelia begged from beside Greg. “And let us know as soon as you get there.”
“You know I will.”
On a choked-up cry, Shelia nodded and took a step back away from the car and began to wipe at her face again. I watched as she slowly retreated away from us before she disappeared back into the house, causing my stomach to twist painfully.
“She’ll be okay,” Greg reassured me and although I knew he was right, it still bothered me to see her like this.
Then mustering up as much courage as I had left, I set one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gearshift before smiling somberly up at Greg.
“Well, I guess I should get going.” My voice hiccuped on impact.
God, this sucked.
“Yeah, of course.” He nodded and released the hold he had on my door. Then lowering himself to where he was now at eye level with me, he had spoken one final time. “We appreciate everything you’re doing, Wren, I hope you know that. No matter what the outcome will be, just know that we’re beyond grateful for you.”
I didn’t want to cry any more, but just like before, I couldn’t help it. My emotions were all over the place and the sight of Greg with his eyes clouded in tears didn’t make things any better either.
7
WREN
The drive to Seattle wasn’t as horrible as I thought it was going to be. The weather was perfect, my audiobook was wonderfully distracting, and I only had to fill up my tank twice. In other words, everything was going smoothly.
With the sun now set, and my eyes growing heavy with exhaustion, I finally pulled into a fancy suburb of Seattle where Kate and James lived. Almost immediately I felt out of place. Range Rovers and big Escalades zoomed past me as I clutched onto my steering wheel tightly.
“Just stay in your lane, and everything will be okay,” I quietly mumbled to myself.
A few muttered curse words later and now severely sweaty palms, there was finally a large open gap behind me with no one else in sight. A sigh blew past my lips as my shoulder slouched back against the seat and my hands loosened on the wheel.
Gradually, I found myself approaching a busy intersection. Coming to a stop, I couldn’t help but admire my surroundings. Eyes searching and mouth slightly gaped open, I took in every bit of the scenery around me.
I definitely wasn’t in Montana anymore. Trees the size of buildings towered all around me, their vast numbers looming off into the distance as they appeared almost endless. Even in the dark of the night, it was effortless to see the golden, rusty shades of leaves that swayed in the windy autumn night. My stare was captured by some leaves that had blown away and as my eyes followed their movement, I landed on something that made my stomach catapult.
A giant billboard.
But it wasn’t just any billboard.
Hanging off the top it held four giant LED lights. It was a sign that was going to be noticed by everyone, especially when it was covered in the reason I was here.
City of the Seattle Orchids
But it wasn’t the words, or even the Orchids’ logo, that had my heart galloping. It was the tall, hockey player who was standing beside two other players with their arms crossed that had me contemplating everything.
I immediately knew it was him. Even dressed up in all his hockey gear, it was undoubtedly the man from my past. The two other Orchid players that filled the large space were almost nonexistent to me. They vanished into the background while Mal’s bulky frame and piercing green eyes loomed over the city like he was some sort of deity.
For a moment, I had found myself in a trance. Much like the others who were stopped at this intersection, I assumed, but while they stared in adoration and praise, I was filled with a mixture of emotions. As much as I could have prepared myself for this, I didn’t expect such an array of feelings to hit me when I finally saw him.
And I wasn’t even seeing him in person.
It was a picture of him on a billboard, and yet everything came flooding in all at once, a bombarding sensation of nervesand “what the hell am I doing?” struck me in the dead center of the chest.
I was no longer safe from the past. I was in his territory, his world where he crafted a new life for himself. He could be minutes or even seconds away from where I was currently stopped, and the thought made my stomach churn. Silently brooding in his home, on a date, whatever he was doing, it was something I never thought about until now.
I didn’t care.
And I still don’t.
