Going home with him.
My eyes closed against the burn.
I hadn’t cried over a girl since middle school, when Mia Santos broke up with me so she could hold hands with some boy from her church.
After I finally drifted off, morning came, and the first thing I did was check my phone.
Nothing from Chloe.Just a bunch of reminders popping up, and a few notifications.I swiped each one away with an annoyed flick, then deactivated most of my alarms.
Now, as the sun begins to rise, I’m pacing back and forth on the back deck.Kat watches from a curled-up position on a chair while I try to push down the growing panic.
Chloe’s an early riser, so as soon as I’d had a coffee, I went over there, trying to figure out how the hell I was going to say goodbye.But she wasn’t home, and neither was her car.
Maybe she’d come home late and was already up and out again.But even for Chloe, that would be early.
What if something bad happened to her?
What if Lola talked her into going late-night skinny-dipping and she drowned?What if Lola’s boyfriend turned up with ’roid rage and accidentally clocked her in the head while swinging at someone else?What if Willow decided to light some incense to “clear out my negative energy” and started a fire?
Where the hell is Chloe?
You know where she is, a voice in my head replies as I turn to face the restless, rolling waves.
Just because I think Steve is an insufferable dick doesn’t mean she does.Maybe she likes the “Let’s have piña coladas by the sea” vibes he gives off.
Would she really spend the night with another guy before I’ve even left town?
The pacing starts again, echoing the back-and-forth in my mind.
There’s no way she would…
But why wouldn’t she?Steve’s clearly known Chloe a lot longer than I have.They have history.Why wouldn’t she want to rekindle things between them?I’m leaving town, and he only just got here.
My phone stares at me from the chair beside Kat, and my fingers itch at my side, wanting to text her again.Just to see if she’s okay.
But I stop myself.I’m overthinking...panicking...going in circles.Again.
Occam’s Razor: the simplest answer is usually the right one.
And the simplest answer is that Chloe went home with someone last night: Steve or one of her girlfriends, it doesn’t even matter.
What matters is that she didn’t come home to me.
Take the hint, Ethan.It’s over.
It was over the moment it started, and you knew it.
The smart thing would be to head out now, then give myself a day at home to rest and recoup before I have to be back at work Monday.
Mom and Dad would be thrilled.Maybe I’d even have time to see Gray before the work week starts.
Twenty-four hours ago, I’d have given anything to make the clock go slower, so I could spend every last minute here with Chloe.Now, time can’t move fast enough as I load the rest of the waste into my truck, fix the hinge on a loose cupboard door, and drill in a new towel rack because the old one was stupidly high.
I wipe my hands on a rag in the kitchen and stare out the new window, the ocean shimmering in the early-morning sun.
It’s a long drive back to Philly; the sooner I hit the road, the better.
Kat rubs against my leg, then swats at my shoelaces.I’d take her with me, but that would feel crueler than leaving her behind.She’s got way too much pep in her step to spend all day cooped up in my apartment by herself.
