Page 139 of Broken Trails
“A note.” The word tastes bitter. The anger runs hot under my skin, but it’s sitting on top of something heavier, something worse, because I let her in, I let her close, and she still left anyway. Imogen disappears inside and comes back a moment later with a folded piece of paper.
“What are we, old school now?” I say, laughing without humour. “Why couldn’t she just text me?”
“Just read it, Michael.” She pushes it toward me, her hand firm against mine until I take it.
I sink into the lounge chair, the paper rough between my fingers as I unfold it. Her handwriting is neat, almost too neat.
Michael,
By the time you read this, I’ll be gone. I’ve driven back to Sydney. Please don’t be angry. I need to do this. I need to face everything I left behind and the mess I’ve avoided. I don’t know what last night was for you. Maybe it was just sex. Maybe it was something more. But for me, it was everything.
I can’t explain this in a way that will make sense to you, so I won’t try. Please don’t follow me. Don’t come after me.
It’s better this way. For now.
– Love, Zoe
There’s a kiss mark pressed beside her name, faded a little at the edge, and right next to it… there are dark, uneven spots. Tear stains. She fuckingcriedwhile writing this.
I stare at the paper for a long moment, my chest tight, my jaw clenching so hard it aches. My thoughts are a fucking mess—anger that she left without a word, confusion at what any of this means, the hollow punch of knowing I wasn’t worth staying for, and the sick feeling that none of it sounds like her. It reads like some stripped-down version of Zoe—no bite, no fight, none of the warmth I’ve gotten used to. I keep coming back to the line about last night.
For me, it was everything.
It was everything for me, too.
Andfor now? What the hell is that supposed to mean? What mess is she even talking about? None of it makes sense.
“She didn’t want to go,” Imogen says gently, but I keep my eyes on the floor, the letter loose in my grip.
“Then why fucking leave in the first place?”
Imogen sighs, taking a seat beside me. “She’s not gone for good. She’s trying to protect herself.Andyou,” she pauses. “That’s all she’s ever done.”
Her words pull my gaze back up.
“What the fuck do you mean,and me?” I ask, swallowing down the lump that’s been forming in my throat since I walked in. “What do you know?”
40
Parallel Universe – Lauren Spencer Smith
Liam’s so-called lawyer’s firm is exactly what I expected.
Cheap armchairs lined against one wall, a potted plant half-dead in the corner, and a reception desk with a crooked nameplate.
Not impressive. Not intimidating. Just… sad.
I walk in with Jeff on one side of me and Dani on the other, the three of us fitting into this cramped little space like we don’t belong here—which we don’t. Liam is already sitting at the table, and my steps hitch when I see him.
The bruise under his left eye is just starting to fade, the mottled purple shifting to an ugly yellowish-brown. Michael’shit. The memory of it flashes across my mind, and I can’t help it. I smile. Just a little. But underneath the small flicker of satisfaction is the same question that’s been gnawing at me since I left Wattle Creek.
What am I doing?How have I found myself in Liam’s vice again?
He can go to hell. But even with Jeff here, even with Dani beside me, the truth sticks like glass in my throat.
I hate that I made the choice to listen to Liam.
I hate that I left.
