Page 55 of Meet Me in the Vines
Thankfully, Oakwood Valley has a T-Mobile store and I don’t have to go further out of town to take care of my business. I pull into a parking spot as my phone vibrates in my purse.
Donovan
Hey baby. I need you to stop somewhere before you come back to Noah’s house tonight.
Audrey
Sure, what do you need?
Donovan
Stop by Lavender Lane Boutique after you get your new phone. It’s right by T-Mobile. Go to the front desk and ask for Isabel. She’ll have something waiting for you.
Audrey
Another surprise? You’re killing me. But okay, I’ll deal with it for you.
Donovan
It’s worth it, I promise. I love you.
I’m able to get all of my contacts transferred to my new phone, plus a brand new number. But if all my contacts were transferred that means…
Kellan’s number is still here.
I type his name in the contact search, holding the wrist that holds my phone with my free hand to keep it from trembling.
My breathing tattered, I hover my thumb over the Delete Contact button. I wish I could press this button and it would delete the last nine years. From the moment he asked me to get coffee with that glint in his eye or when he asked me to move in with him. Or when he told me he loved me for the first time. I blink away the lone tear that slips from the corner of my eye and tap my thumb to the screen.
Delete.
I let out the breath that was lodged in my chest, releasing years of anger and anguish from my body. My fingers fist the roots of my hair as I stare blankly at the screen where Kellan’s name used to live. Gone from my phone, gone from my heart, and gone from my life. Is this grief? This doesn’t feel like when I lost Gran, or the grief of years missed with my mother. This…this is different. Kellan made promises to me he couldn’t keep. He kept an open palm, a strong grip, and a closed fist instead of those promises. The promise to love me. To protect me.
No. This is anger.
I shove out the unwanted feeling of grief. He doesn’t deserve my grief. He doesn’t deserveme.
“Ma’am, everything okay?” The store employee’s voice cuts through my thoughts as I snap my eyes to him. He gives me a soft smile, and I give him one in return. “Yeah, sorry. New phone is weird to get used to. Thanks,” I stutter, waving my phone as I thin my lips.
I glance out the store window mindlessly and do a double-take when something catches my eye. I squint to focus, kitting my brows together.
Why is that guy staring at me?
No, that’s not right. I’m in my head. I avert my gaze, staring at the blank screen of my phone, my eyes peeking up beneath my lashes to see a man dressed in a black jacket and jeans peering through the window. Sunglasses cover his eyes, and his face is hard to make out from the slight tint of the window. If he’s a customer, he would’ve just walked in.Why is he looking at me?Panic quickly rises in my chest, but I push it back down with a huff of my breath. I flick my eyes back toward him, aggravated, and give him a hard stare.
Yeah, I see you.
My heart is racing and I feel my fingers tingle as he walks out of view. I take a second, but I move my feet and swing open thedoor to look in the direction he is walking. I see him turn a sharp corner and debate whether I should go after him.
Yup. I’m going after him.
Adrenaline surges through my veins as I quicken my pace to close the distance between us. Who does this guy think he is? I turn the corner that leads down an alley between the flower shop and the boutique. I see him get into a black SUV and drive off the back roads around Main.
“Fuck,” I mutter. What the fuck? Am I paranoid? I put my hand over my chest and feel the heavy thump of my heart. This dark, sinking feeling sits in my stomach and I suddenly feel sick. I run into the alley to get out of view from bystanders and retch, but nothing comes out. A tear escapes my eye and suddenly I’m back in Kellan’s emotional hold. This is what he’s done to me. His parting gift.
He haunts my thoughts. I try to picture Donovan. All I see is my body lifeless and Kellan’s hands around my neck. I shut my eyes and shake my head, begging for my brain to stop this spiral.
Take a deep breath, count backward from five.
