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ChapterTwenty-Five
GEMMA
When I woke up the next morning, I was disappointed to find I was alone in bed. But my heart was full when I remembered that after today, I wouldn’t go home alone with it being broken. I’d go back to Drakesville with a heart full of love.
Last night had been perfect. From the lovely date at the inn to the way Felix tangled me up in the sheets to our heart-to-heart afterward. I thought nothing could ruin my day. I just had to find out where that man of mine had gotten off to.
I stretched my arms above my head, and when I looked at my phone, I had a mini-panic attack because it was already noon. I wanted to be on the road by noon so it wasn’t too late when I got back to town. It was odd that Felix didn’t wake me. He said he set an alarm for nine, so that didn’t make sense. I wasn’t that hard to wake up.
I got dressed and walked downstairs, but there was no sign of him. I went out onto the porch and noticed his car was missing. My heart beat loud in my head. Why didn’t he wake me up? And why was his car gone? I rushed up the steps, and that’s when I noticed all his things were missing.
What the fuck?
The drawers were open like he had been in a rush to leave. To leave me. Everything he said to me had been a lie. He told me last night he wanted to try. But then why had he left so suddenly? My heart felt heavy in my chest. I checked my phone, and there was nothing from him. No call, no text, nothing.
I pressed my phone to my ear and dialed his number. It went straight to voicemail. Panic set in as I worried about where he was.
“Fe, I’m really worried. Call me back as soon as you get this. I wanted to be on the road by now. Please, babe, call me back?” I begged into the phone.
I packed up my things and waited about ten minutes to see if he would call me back. I sent a text this time.
ME: Where are you?
I didn’t wait for a response and drove into town to the coffee shop. Harper was behind the counter again. The other night, she told us she and Keisha owned the shop. She waved at me and finished helping the customer in front of me.
Her face fell when she saw my distraught expression. “What’s wrong?”
“Was Felix by earlier?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No. What’s up?”
“I think he left without me.”
“Oh, hun. You really fell for him, huh?”
I nodded. “Last night he said he wanted to be with me, but he was gone when I woke up. He took everything and left. I don’t understand.”
“You call him?”
I nodded. “It’s going straight to voicemail. I’m worried, Harp.”
She cringed. “I’m sorry, Gemma. He seemed like a good guy.”
I bit my lip to keep the tears from falling. “He is. He was. I don’t know. I gotta get back home. It was great seeing you, though.”
She gave me a hug from over the counter. “It was great seeing you too! Gimme a call when you’re in town again.”
I walked out of the coffee shop with my head hanging low in defeat. I got back into my car and drove back to the cabin, just in case Felix came back. It was futile.
I ran inside to check I hadn’t left anything, but I ended up slumping down on the bed and crying. I was worried about Felix. What if something bad had happened to him? But on the flip side, my cynical heart knew he was a liar. He made me all those promises last night, but then he left without a word. This hurt more than if he told me we didn’t have a future together. Telling me what I wanted to hear and then leaving was worse. My heart felt like he had ripped it out of my chest, stomped on it, and thrown it into the lake.
I wiped the tears from my eyes, but I knew it would be a rough drive home. I should have never let my heart get big ideas when it came to Felix Jameson. This was the third time he had broken it, but ever the optimist, I thought this time would be different. I thought he loved me, too.
I locked up the cabin for the second time and got back into my car. Driving home to Drakesville with a gaping hole in my chest was the worst drive of my life. When I made a pit stop, the woman behind the counter at the rest stop handed me a pack of tissues. I probably looked like a complete wreck.
When I finally got back into town, I made every plan to go home and eat ice cream in my bed, but I turned down the street toward Avery and Nolan’s house.
I parked in their driveway and sat in my car for a minute. This was a bad idea. I couldn’t keep bothering my sister with my problems. Last year when I wasn’t there for her when she needed me, she said I ran to her for all my problems, but I never returned the favor. She was right. I shouldn’t be bothering her when she had a newborn and she and Nolan were still in the newlywed phase.
