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Easier said than done.
I’ve now made my way to all the places I’d normally find Dylan, only he’s not at any of them. I don’t know if I should be angry or worried. I checked in with a few of the guys he normally works with, but none of them seem to know where he is. It now feels like he’s an expert at avoidance. He’s avoiding me, the guys at work, his job, and who the hell knows what else.
Again, I’m telling myself to settle down as I walk back over to the jobsite, which of course has its own set of drama.
“We failed the plumbing inspection,” my general contractor says, and I try not to lose my shit. I’m on edge already and this is something that happens from time to time. I know this; I was just hoping it wouldn’t happen on this job. We are on a time crunch here and any setbacks make it way more difficult.
“What happened?” I ask, letting out a hard sigh, trying not to let the whole Dylan situation cloud my judgment.
“One pipe was installed incorrectly. Not really sure what happened or why, but it’s already fixed. The trouble is…”
“Let me guess, we have to reschedule for a new inspection and that’s backed up.”
Jim taps his nose and as annoying as the whole thing is, this little motion from this burly, dusty old guy makes me laugh.
“Glad I can get a laugh out of you,” he says. “So, I have the guys finishing up the back deck and then moving onto getting the railing up for the stairs. You want me to schedule the plumbing inspection or you got it?”
“I’ll do it. Thanks,” I tell him, pulling my phone out in the hopes that I have something from Dylan, but there’s still nothing.
I wander to the back of the house to check the progress on the deck and while I do, I dial Dylan again. This time it goes to voicemail almost immediately and my heart rate spikes. I swear to god he better not have just sent me to voicemail.
I stuff my phone into my back pocket, determined to not let Dylan and his disappearance ruin my day. I will not continue to focus on him, but like always, my mind immediately goes back to it and all I can think about is our past.
We had sex. Was that really all he wanted out of this? That feels incredibly immature of him if that’s the case. He held out for weeks only to decide to ghost me? If that’s the case, then this is definitely over. And as annoyed as I am right now, I’m also still worried. What if something has happened to him? Maybe he’s been in an accident, but I’m pretty sure I would know if he was hurt at work. There’s no way Jack or Lauren or even Penny or Tommy wouldn’t have come to find me.
“Did you get the inspection scheduled?” I hear Jim’s voice ask as he joins me out back.
Oh yeah, that’s what I was supposed to be doing instead of obsessing over Dylan’s absence.
Damn it!
“I didn’t, but I’ll do it right now,” I reply, closing my eyes and willing myself to focus.
“You seem distracted,” Jim now says and I’m sure it’s obvious that I’m not fully present. “We’ll keep the job on time. You don’t need to worry about the failed inspection. There’s plenty that we can keep working on. Just work your magic on the scheduling department and get them out here fast.”
He’s trying to make me feel better, thinking I’m stressed about the job, when in truth it’s something way less intense.
Losing my job would be awful. Losing Dylan would suck too, but I need to stay on task, and I need to get back to work. Getting Lauren and Jack’s house finished should always be my top priority. I let this thing, this fling or whatever the hell it is with Dylan get in the way.
By the time my night ends, I’ve scheduled the new inspection for tomorrow, a win in my book and I’ve gotten tile and wood floor samples ready for my meeting with Jack and Lauren. I’ve also scheduled several other inspections so we can start getting this house closed up. The faster the walls go up, the sooner we can get to work on finishing the inside.
I’m exhausted, my mind still going a mile a minute over where the hell Dylan could possibly be. I text him once again, attempting to be the grownup in this situation since last time I took the shitty road and ghosted him.
Me: Super shitty of you to stand me up for lunch and now I’m leaving for the night and I still haven’t seen you. If you can’t tell, yes, I’m mad.
I leave it at that and walk over to pick up the dinner I ordered from Somerville’s. The hostess hands me the bag, smiling, she tells me that Penny threw a bottle of wine in there and I tell her to thank her for me. I’m going to drink the whole damn bottle tonight.
“That dick,” I mutter to myself as I climb in the car, but like the glutton for punishment that I am, I check my phone again.
Nothing. Not a damn thing.
It’s about time to go home and suck down this bottle of wine and pass out on my couch. That’s probably the only way I’m going to get to sleep tonight. At least I have crappy TV and good food to keep me company, because it looks like I’m going to be spending tonight alone.
This is not how I thought my night would end.
And I don’t want to continue to give any more energy to wondering why Dylan stood me up or where he is or if he’s okay. I’ve done enough of that already. He took up so much of my time before and I’m not going to be that girl again.
Fuck him…maybe?
