Page 86 of Dreams
“Can you drop me at Josh’s?” she asked. There was a lot she wanted to say to him, and she needed to do it before she lost her nerve.
Her Dad considered it for a long moment before answering. “Honey, Josh left.”
“What?”
“He went home to Connecticut. The team gave him a week before he has to come back and have a meeting, but technically that could be done over the phone.”
Tears sprang to her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. She’d ruined everything. Her fault. It was all her fault. He left thinking there was nothing for him here. His calls and texts stopped today. She hadn’t answered any of them. The things she wanted to say needed to be said in person. She owed him that much. But, she’d lost her chance.
“Just take me to my dorm, then,” she sighed, leaning her head against the cold glass of the window.
The ride wasn’t long, and they didn’t speak much before he dropped her off. She begged off his offer of helping carry her bag to her room and stepped into the elevator alone.
The door to her room was open, and she closed her eyes just for a second as if she could will Abigail to leave. She didn’t have the energy to deal with her.
“Taylor,” Abigail said excitedly as her roommate appeared in the doorway. “I was so worried about you.”
“I’m fine,” Taylor lied as she threw her bag on the floor and flopped down on her bed.
“Okay,” she said slowly. “That’s a lie if I ever heard one.”
“Josh is gone.”
“Gone?”
“He went home, and my dad doesn’t know if he’s coming back.”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”
“Me too.”
Taylor stayed up late that night, just listening to Abigail’s light snoring across the room. Her brain wouldn’t slow down.
Around five in the morning, she kicked the covers off and went to sit at her desk, a new determination on her mind.
What was she doing giving up?
That was the old Taylor. The one who broke down at every little thing. The one that couldn’t imagine ever loving someone the way she loved Danny.
Only, now she did. And it made her stronger. She wasn’t going to lose the man she loved. Not again. Josh was alive. He was hurting. He was probably pissed off. But he was going to be okay, and so was she.
She’d done this search once before, only now it had a different purpose. She was able to find what town he lived in, but it wasn’t a small town. His address seemed to be a closely guarded secret or something. Nothing. That’s what she found. Hours of searching, and still no closer to finding him.
She found his dad’s medical practice, but she couldn’t just walk in and say ‘hey, I’m in love with your son. Tell me where he is.’
She could have just texted Josh. That would have been a smart move, but she was too afraid he’d tell her not to come. She didn’t know what he was thinking of her.
“What are you doing?” Abigail asked groggily.
The clock now read 8 AM, and they both had class at 9.
“Trying to find Josh,” Taylor answered, as her fingers flew across the keypad.
“Easy.” Abigail reached for her phone. Taylor turned to look at her as she dialed a number and held it to her ear.
“I woke him,” she whispered, holding her hand over the mouthpiece and giggling.
She listened to something and then spoke into the phone. “I’m sorry Grant, did I wake Sleeping Beauty?”
