Page 12 of Love Story
He took the 101 freeway two exits south and reached his townhome in ten minutes. Not until he had Riley on his leash and the pavement beneath his feet did Cody think again about the possibility. Another chance with Andi? The idea that she might even talk to him again? All of it was impossible. And now that he could hear himself think, he could easily understand why.
She had made the answer painfully clear when she broke off their second engagement. Cody didn’t love her the way she wanted to be loved. That’s what she believed. Cody was distracted and distant and whatever was causing his inability to connect with her, she couldn’t live with the loneliness.
Not for one more day.
Those were pretty much her words that day, the day they broke up for the last time. Since then Cody had run from the pain. Like he was running now. Whenever he thought about Andi, he replayed their last memory. It was over. She had ended things. Period.
So why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
Cody stopped near a stream and waited while Riley ran through the tall grass and sniffed at the trunk of a withered oak. The occasional break was for Riley’s sake. Dogs went crazy if they didn’t smell things, didn’t get a chance to explore. Cody uttered the slightest chuckle. Maybe that was his problem. He needed to leave here, explore more.
Get Andi out of his head.
Cody was still breathing hard from the half mile run from his townhome to this spot at the base of the mountain. His T-shirt was damp. But not as damp as it would be once he and Riley reached the top of the hilly path. Today Cody might just keep running.
Riley returned to him, his tongue hanging out, eyes happy.
“Good boy, Riley. Good boy.” Cody patted the top of his furry head. “You ready?”
They took off again, and this time every step seemed to draw him back. Which was just how Cody had hoped the late afternoon would go. He remembered breaking off their first engagement, and he remembered regretting his decision to do so. The fall and winter that followed had been crazy painful. He felt terrible, the way he felt now. Cody could remember thinking daily about Andi, where she was and why he had been so foolish to let her go. A few times after that first breakup he’d tried to call her but she never picked up.
Cody had made it through the holidays and into January without seeing Andi or her family. But then one Saturday morning in February, Cody had stopped at his favorite coffee shop and there she was. Andi Ellison. Sitting at a table by herself, her laptop open, headphones on. Long blond hair spilling down her back.
For the longest time, Cody had simply watched her, as the conversations and smell of fresh brewed coffee surrounded him. She looked more beautiful than ever. Still, something in her eyes was different.
Like the loneliness had hardened her heart a little.
After a minute, Cody walked up and took the chair beside her. She did a double take, and a quick gasp slipped through her lips. She pushed back from the table, removed her headphones, and stared at him. Her heart was beating so hard, he could see it in her throat. “Cody...”
“Andi.” He looked at her, quiet for a few seconds. Waiting until she seemed less caught off guard. “I saw you and... I had to... say something.”
Cody held on to the way he had felt that morning, and for a while he paused the memory right there. Riley was still padding along beside him, still loving the run. Cody, too. They reached the top, where the sun was sinking into the Pacific. Cody stopped just long enough for Riley to get his drink.
His memories were fueling him, so today Cody did what he wanted to do. He kept going. The trail ran along the top of the mountain range, so if Cody wanted a longer route, this was the way to get it. His heart returned to the memory. Andi and him that Saturday over coffee.
It seemed to take Andi a full five minutes before the color returned to her face. But even then her eyes looked closed off. As if she had nothing but walls where he was concerned. Her hands had trembled and her voice hadn’t sounded like her own. That’s how shocked she seemed to be at the sight of him.
Cody did most of the talking.
“Andi... I’m sorry. I was wrong.” Cody hadn’t been sure where he was going with the admission. But if he never talked to her again, he wanted the moment between them to count. He leaned closer. “I never should have broken up with you. I think about you, Andi. Every day. And I pray for you.”
Cody hadn’t been sure what part of his statement resonated with her. But as soon as he mentioned praying for her, the walls slowly began to drop. She looked at him more intently. The hurt in her beautiful eyes was obvious. Enough to suck the oxygen from the room. “You... pray for me?”
His eyes filled with tears. Did she think he was completely heartless? “Every day.”
Neither of them said anything for a while. Andi folded her hands on the table and stared at her fingers. As if she was seeing the place where her wedding ring would be. Cody had known the conversation wouldn’t last long. Andi was too hurt to talk. That much had been clear. Cody struggled to find something to say. “I’ve called you.”
She nodded, but didn’t look up.
“So... you don’t want to talk? Not ever again?”
Only then did Andi lift her eyes to his. Tears pooled for her, too. “I can’t, Cody. Don’t you get it?” Anger flickered in her tone. “We were supposed to be married by now. I was going to be yourwife.”
The defeat he felt in that moment was something he’d never forget. “I know that. It’s all I want, Andi. All I think about.”
She searched his face, as if she didn’t believe him. Couldn’t believe him. She gathered her purse and her laptop. “I have to go.”
“Andi, please.” Cody kept his voice quiet so they wouldn’t make a scene. He stood and walked with her to the parking lot. “Just hear me out. I said I’m sorry.”
