Page 3 of #Resort Love
With timid steps, I followed him, walking straight to my room. Softly closing the door behind me, I flinched at the loud thud of my parents’ bedroom door slamming shut, the force making the wall shake. Sliding down against the door, I sat on the floor, pulling my knees close to my chest while I listened to the angry murmurs echoing through the quiet house. Why did I ever think this was something we could get away with? Exploring the woods, following the deer trails along the streams, it all seemed so easy to do—until it wasn’t. Softly, my head thumped against the door, the tears I held back finally falling free.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I wiped my swollen eyes and changed into my pajamas. Sliding into my soft bed, I wrapped my thick blanket around me, forming a tight cocoon. I breathed in deeply a few times and finallydrifted off into a fitful sleep filled with sounds of terrible growls.
As the sun rose the next day, I opened my tired eyes. They felt puffy and full of sand as thoughts from the previous night barreled through my mind. The hungry growls still haunted me, and the fear and anger that seemed to possess me made my chest feel tight. That anger had warmed my veins; I had felt powerful, like I could do anything and everything and the world was there, ready for the taking.
Yet, I felt sick at the same time. It was so easy for that power to morph into something else, something darker, almost deadly. A shiver shot down my spine at the memory of how I had lost all control of my body as I stalked closer to Micah, wanting nothing but revenge, or how my mind seemed to whisper three words repeatedly.
Make him pay.
A sniffling sound caught my attention, pulling my thoughts back to the present. Sitting up, I strained my ears to find where the sound was coming from. Another sniffle came from outside my door, and I recognized the sound. My mother.
I quickly pulled the covers off me, and my heart dropped. Silently, I cracked open my door enough to make out the shape of my mother hunched over the kitchen table, her ashy brown hair falling around her face. The sight broke me in two as those soft and delicate hands covered her face while she wept alone.
Afraid to move, to make any sudden noise, I rested my body against the door frame while I watched my mother’s listless form, my heart tearing into pieces.
A strange silence echoed through the house as I pieced it all together. The disgust that resonated from my father, my mother crying alone, the silence that seemed to ring throughout the house.
My father had left, abandoning us, and it was all my fault.
Chapter 2
Sybil
PRESENT DAY
Iwas so fucking tired. I sighed heavily, leaning forward until my forehead rested against the steering wheel. Like always, the weekend had vanished too quickly, turning the already dreaded Monday into a new beast of its own.
Twisting the keys, the car’s quiet rumble died, along with the cold air blasting through the vents. The humidity of summer and the tall glass buildings of downtown Charlotte made the city almost unbearable, even at eight in the morning. Within seconds, the air inside quickly warmed under the heat and sun, and goosebumps prickled down my arms at the sudden temperature change. Honestly, it was a good motivator that not-so-gently helped me muster the energy to drag myself out of the car to walk the grueling five minutes to mylovelyjob at The Metropolitan Times.
Mondays had never bothered me before. They were just another day of the week to me. At least until my company began forcing their employees back into the office five days a week when Covid suddenly became non-existent. Though weincreased our client rate by over thirty percent during the last year while doing the work of three people. The CEO decided we weren’t going “above and beyond” and stuffed everyone in an office withverylimited space. I still remembered the irritation that burned down my spine when I read his email delivering the “good” news.
So now, every morning I sat here, forcing the heat and humidity to push me out of the car toward a job that celebrated the overworked and underpaid—not that I was bitter or anything.
I leaned back, sweat gathering along my brow. I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply, holding it as I slowly counted to ten. Just as my lungs started to burn, I quickly released my breath, letting the resentment flow out of me. Reaching over, I grabbed my bag from the passenger side seat and stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut with my hip.
Apprehension weighed me down as I leaned against my car, eyeing the empty sidewalk leading to The Metro. Excuses to skip work ran through my mind, though each one sounded worse than the last. I could always go with the tried-and-true head cold, but rescheduling my meetings far outweighed any benefit of calling out, especially with my meeting later today with my boss, Evan.
Today was our weekly check-in. Normally, our meeting was for client updates, but today I was using it to discuss my potential promotion, and I had never been more stressed.
Six months earlier, I started taking on extra work to learn the ropes for the Senior Sales Specialist role. For months, every task I was given had been specifically for the senior role. Tired of being taken advantage of, I’d decided that enough was enough. I spent countless nights practicing my speech with my partner, Liam, to prepare for this meeting. I was ready for thisand today would be the day that I finally got promoted. Hopefully. Though, I wasn’t sure what would happen if my plan didn’t work.
Swallowing, I pushed down the doubt that was quickly rising. I couldn’t think about that now.
Pushing off my car, I started down the longest walk of my life. Fumbling with my keys, I locked the car, the sound reminding me of the past weekend. My lips curved into a small smile at the memory of Liam’s silent grumblings after giving me his keys so he could carry a heavy box. I clicked the lock button repeatedly, each beep earning me an icy glare, while I conveniently looked away, unable to hide my growing smile. It thoroughly annoyed him, and to my delight, I decided to make it into a habit. I chuckled as the memory warmed my heart and put my mind at ease. I clicked the button a few more times while I left the parking lot.
Crossing the intersection, I was digging my office badge from my bag when I slammed into what felt like a stone wall. I grunted, my badge dropping to the ground and I looked up, rubbing my nose to see what the hell I bumped into. The crosswalk and streets had been empty seconds ago and no cars were close by, yet standing in front of me was the tallest man I had ever seen. He must have been over six feet.
My eyes widened and I gaped at him. His skin was sun-kissed, and his long, straight silver hair was partly tied up in a braid. Shock colored his eyes, making them so vibrant and full of mystery; one a dark cobalt and the other a deep emerald green. A faded scar just below his right eye ran along his high cheekbone, though it didn’t take away from his attractiveness. If anything, the scar added to it. It was all I could do to push down my desire to reach out and run my finger over it. Shaking my head, my cheeks heated, and I moved to take a step back.
“Shit, I’m so—” I gasped, my words cutting off when he wrapped his arm around my back, pulling me into his chest as a car sped past us. Horn blaring, the driver cursed out the window, yelling for us to move out of the way.
Stunned, I blinked at him while he watched the car continue down the road, his lips dipping into a frown. Keeping his arm tight around me, my hands twitched against the soft fabric of his shirt, and I could feel the hard lines of muscle along his stomach. The heat in my cheeks grew swiftly, moving down my neck. “I’m so sorry,” I breathed, bristling under his hold. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going! Are you okay?”
His eyes cut back to me, confusion filling his expression as his gaze ran across my face. His face paled before slipping into a mask of cool indifference. “Yes,” he said softly, meeting my eyes again. He quickly removed his hand and stepped back, putting space between us. He swallowed, the muscle along his jaw feathering when he nodded his goodbye and walked away. Disoriented, I turned, watching him walk along the sidewalk and disappear around a corner.
Another car honked, quickly snapping me back to reality. I silently cursed as a line of vehicles waited for me to move from the middle of the road. Picking up my badge, I jogged to the other side of the street, giving the drivers an apologetic wave. Once I was out of the way, I turned back to take another glance at the empty sidewalk behind me, an unsettling feeling gathering in the pit of my stomach.
My badge still in hand, the rest of my walk remained uneventful as I swiped in to get into the elevator. I scrolled through my phone while waiting to reach the ninth floor, pushing away any thought of the man along with the unnerving feeling that had followed our interaction. Walking to my desk, Igreeted my team while unpacking my bags and turned on my computer.
