By the time I come back, it’s quiet again and I lie down on the super-comfortable couch, not even bothering to close my eyes.
I know damn well I’m not getting anymore sleep. Not with the memory of her yelling at me, begging me to stay.
And me running out the door like all the hounds of hell are after me.
CHAPTER 11
Marina
It’s been two days and there’s been no rain. The sheriff called and said that the road is almost clear. They have one more mudslide to clear and shore up and then I can be on my way. At least then I can get away from the tension that’s built up in this cabin like poison.
I close my eyes and drift off to sleep. I haven’t seen Jeremiah all day and my whole body aches with a need to see him, beg him to keep me.
But it’s not to be and honestly, I’m fucking tired of treading water in this wreck of a life.
I’m going to move to Seattle, far away from the mountain, and I’m going to find some pleasant, good man who can overlook the fact that I’m not in love with him so that we can have the perfect little life together.
And I’m going to try and forget that I ever loved the man that lives here.
The next morning, I wake up and I hear him puttering around downstairs and my heart squeezes painfully in my chest. Tears shiver on my lashes but i refuse to let them fall.
He’s been ignoring me, avoiding me for days and today is the day that I finally leave and he can forget all about me once again.
I know why he’s doing this. But he’s so damn stubborn that I’d be talking myself blue in the face if I tried to change his mind.
He’s got his mind made up. We’re done. We’re over.
We’re just another painful memory in a long line of painful memories for both of us.
I hear a car pull up outside and I quickly pull on my clothes and then jog down the steps. The bell rings and Jeremiah opens the door to a grinning man with wheat-blond hair and a huge smile on his face.
He sees me over Jeremiah’s shoulder and smirks. “Well, well, well. Aren’t you a cute little thing?”
Jeremiah lifts his brow and sneers at him. “I think you’re confused. I’m bigger than you.”
The other man rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “You are a mess. I’m talking about the woman behind you. The one that you’re trying to avoid looking at.”
“I’m not avoiding her,” he huffs.
The Sheriff grins. “You ready to get away from this asshole, sweetheart. I guarantee I’m a better time than him any day of the week.”
“Do you want me to gut you like a fish?”
The man just laughs. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you into town and civilization and away from this monster.”
I nod my head and hold up my bag with a lot of my essentials packed in it.
“Is it alright if I leave my other boxes here until I get some way to send them to me?”
He nods his head, his hazel eyes vacant and lost.
I don’t care right now though. I can’t find my own will to go on right now let alone his.
I just need to move on to my new life and forget this shit show ever happened.
Forget I loved a man. A difficult man. An impossible man.
I walk down the steps and right out the door, my shoulder brushing his chest and the impact of it hitting me right down to my bones.
