Page 10 of Ember
“It’s a chance that I’m willing to take,” she said, tossing a pair of cut-offs into her bag. “Do you mind if I leave the rest of my stuff here? All I need is this suitcase. I shouldn’t be gone for too long.”
“How long are we talking?” Jack asked. He didn’t want her to go at all but holding her against her will wasn’t an option.
She shrugged, “Not sure,” she admitted. “I need to make sure that Jean is all right, and then, I will figure the rest out from there.” Well, shit, that sounded suspiciously as though she wasn’t planning on coming back to New York at all.
“You are coming back, Ember, right?” he asked. She refused to look at him as she closed her suitcase, and he knew that wasn’t a good sign. “How about you let me do some research, and I can find out how Jean’s doing for you. That way, you won’t have to go to Florida and possibly get mixed up with your stalker again.” He wanted to remind her about everything she told him about Marco, but that wouldn’t get him anywhere. He was sure that Ember could remember how many times he had threatened her or beaten her just to have his way. She told him everything—the good, the bad, and the ugly, so why was she forgetting all of that now?
“No, this is something that I have to do in person. I owe Jean that much. She was the one who warned me about Marco—her own son. She saw him for who he was before I even did, and she put herself out on a limb to warn me about him. Marco’s father isn’t a good man. I’ve heard he has mob ties. If that’s the case, Jean might be in danger.”
“You’re in danger,” he shouted at her, causing Ember to jump. Jack instantly regretted his tone, even taking a step back from her to let her know that he was backing down. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re right. I am in danger, and I know the score. If I go back to Florida, I could be walking right into dangerous situation, but that’s my choice to make. I need to do this, Jack,” she insisted. The flash of anger on her face told him that she wasn’t going to concede. She was going to go to Florida, and there was nothing that he could do about it. Well, almost nothing.
“Let me come with you,” he said. He wasn’t really asking her permission, and Ember wasn’t the kind of woman who liked to be told to do anything.
“No,” she breathed. “I need to do this alone.”
“Why?” he asked. He was going to push her, even if that meant stepping out of his comfort zone.
“Because it’s just something that I need to do on my own. I hope that you can accept that and let me go.” Was that really what she was asking for? She wanted him to let her go.
“I won’t beg you to let me tag along, and we both know that I can’t keep you here,” he started. He was planning on choosing his words carefully, but the verbal diarrhea that flowed from his mouth proved that to be impossible.
“But,” she prompted.
“But I think that you’re making a huge fucking mistake, and I won’t just sit by and watch you do it. You’re being stubborn, and that’s going to be your downfall.”
“My downfall,” she repeated, “now, you’re just being dramatic. Going to visit a friend won’t be my downfall, Jack.”
“Going to visit a friend who also happens to be your stalker’s mother is,” he countered. “You’re not thinking clearly, Ember.”
“No, I’m not, and I blame you for that. I jumped from a bad relationship into whatever this is with you, and I’m not okaywith it. I need time to think, and going to Florida to visit Jean will give me that time.”
“Are you comparing what we have to your relationship with Marco?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, “and no. I just need time, Jack. Can you give me that?” she asked. He wanted to tell her that he couldn’t give her what she was asking for. How could he just let her go?
“If you go, I’m not going to be sitting around waiting for you to come back,” he threatened.
“What the hell does that mean?” she asked.
“It means that I might just move on,” he said. There was no way that he’d move on from her—he was falling in love with her but telling her that he had feelings for her wasn’t going to keep her in town.
“So, that’s what it’s come to then? I tell you that I need time to think and that I’m going to check on a friend, and you threatened to move on from me. Well, you know what, Jack—go for it. When we got together, I asked you for one night, and you had to go and bring feelings into everything. I just wanted to have some fun with you, and you couldn’t do that, could you? Fun isn’t a word in your vocabulary. Maybe you should move on with someone new. Maybe she’ll be able to teach you how to let loose a bit, and you’ll learn that not everything in life has to be serious.”
“Your problem is that nothing is serious. You have a stalker and want to have fun. You have no home, who cares—let’s have fun. You have no clothes, well, let’s party. Nothing in life is serious, and sooner or later, that’s going to catch up with you, honey.” Ember gasped, and he wanted to take back everything he had just said.
“You are mean when you don’t get your way, Jack. Just like Marco. I wonder how long it will take before you beat me, too.I tell you I don’t like something, and you’ll just haul off and backhand me.”
“That would never happen,” he assured. “I’ve never done anything like that, and I never will. If that’s what you think of me, then maybe it would be best for both of us to move on, Ember.”
“Sounds good to me,” she spat. She walked down to the kitchen and grabbed her jacket and purse. “I’ll pick up the rest of my things when I get back in town.” She tugged her suitcase down the front steps and didn’t bother to look back. Why would she? She wasn’t leaving him behind; she was leaving him for good, and the sooner Jack understood that, the better off he’d be.
Ember
Ember walked into the hospital and asked the nurse at the desk which room Jean was in. Since getting off the bus in Sarasota, she had been running nonstop and mostly on fumes. She was tired and hungry, but first, she needed to visit Jean. Then, she’d figure out how to lay low and stay under Marco’s radar. She just hoped like hell that he wasn’t visiting his mother right now. Her only saving grace was that the two weren’t close, and hopefully, she’d be able to slip in and out without much notice.
“Room 512,” the nurse said, not looking up from her computer screen.
