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“Yeah.”
“I don’t care about the mess and I want you to know I’m grateful for giving me a place to stay, even if it’s for the night. I’ll take the couch.”
He turns, and he is facing me. “Never. I can’t have you sleep on the couch. I’ll take the couch. You take the bed.”
My head reaches the middle of his chest and when I look up, his dark brown eyes framed with dark lashes soften and something passes between us. A weird feeling but it’s more like friendship more than anything.
At least for me. For him, I’m not so sure. Lane is hard to read. He is quiet and a closed book. Exie says he is an introvert. He is always to himself and only keeps a close group of friends. She says he doesn’t get along with his parents and does his own thing. He doesn’t agree with their way of life or decision.
“Stay with me. I know you are a free spirit, and you think you are lost, but you’re not. I don’t want you to go, and if you want to leave, all you have to do is tell me, and I’ll understand.”
My forehead rests against his chest over his long gray sleeve T-shirt. I’m torn and feel like my heart has been stabbed into a million pieces. I have nothing and nowhere to go. He is the only option I have, and I don’t know him all that well, but he hasn’t given me any indication he could harm me. He smells like his fresh ocean cologne mixed with gasoline and burned rubber. What choice do I have? If I ask the only friend which is his sister.
She would tell me to stay here with him. What ever happened with Kalum is over and as much as he tried to be nice and make me smile, he also hurt me. I don’t think he meant to in the end but his family and friends would never accept me and he would always choose them over me. I can’t blame him.
I’m no one important and in the beginning he wanted me gone. Kalum could never love me, and I could never be enough for someone like him. My letter to him was a goodbye and to wish him and his family well. They didn’t have to offer me anything and even if what I wanted was Kalum. He wasn’t mine to take. It was all I could say and all it will ever be. A memory.
I look up and capture Lane’s gaze. The man that has appeared out of nowhere like my last hope. This is crazy I say in my head, but I agree. Wherever he goes, I will follow and along the way, I’ll find myself.
“I’ll stay, and if you go, I’ll go with you.”
Chapter twenty-two
Kalum
I make it home and it feels empty. It’s late, and I don’t want to bother Aura in her sleep. After Henry walked away, I added to my plans for Aura's birthday. I have a big day tomorrow planned for her. It’s her birthday and I want it to be her day and all about her.
Camila is making her a cake and breakfast when she wakes so everyone could celebrate before I take her to a cabin I rented in the mountains. Just the two of us. It’s the first time I have ever done something like this for a girl, but Aura is different.
I awake at first light and smile to myself excited. After taking a shower, I knock on Aura’s door, but I don’t hear her moving around the other side of the door. I knock again and after a minute, I turn the door and it opens. My eyes scan the room and my stomach fills with dread. All the bears I gifted her are neatly placed on the edge of the bed, facing each other. I frown when I notice a piece of paper and an envelope.
Looking around the room, I notice all her things are missing. I open the closet door forcefully to find that her bag and all of her things are gone. What?
I grab the envelope and paper folded on the bed so forcefully that I almost crush it in my hand and open it and it reads.
Kalum,
I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye. Your parents informed me that they wouldn’t need me to work as part of the staff after I turned eighteen. I’m not sure if you knew when that day was, but if you are reading this, then that day is the date on this letter. Your parents have been generous and kind to offer me a place to stay when I had no place to go. They offered me a generous amount of money to start my life, but I couldn’t take it. It didn’t feel right, and I didn’t earn it. They heard the rumors of me being your housekeeper from school and other residents in the community that your parents took advantage of me in my situation. So, they thought it best for me to start my life on my own terms. In my heart, I always knew that this was not a place I was meant to be. All the signs were there, and I can count on one hand the times I smiled while staying here, and surprisingly, they were with you. I’ll never forget the small moments we had and the small words of wisdom you shared with me that night when I was in my darkest moment. My father once told me that when you meet that special someone, don’t let them go for even a moment, because you never know if you’ll ever get another chance. I hope you find that someone Kalum. I wish you the best, and I truly hope you find love one day.
Love,
Aura Rayne
I drop the letter on the floor as a blinding rage courses through me. I blame myself and I blame my parents. I open the envelope and see the check for one hundred thousand she didn’t take. Under the papers, there is a thick black, white, and gray bracelet she made, and it has my name woven with red letters with a little charm that readsMade by Aura.
My fingers run over the letters wishing her name was with mine. There is an emptiness that takes over inside me, an emptiness that will always be there if she is not with me. I know deep down I lost her, and I am scared I’ll never get her back.
A knock can be heard from the bedroom door. When I look up to see Camila standing there with a tray, I realize I have tears in my eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
Her hands shake when she looks around, see notices that all Aura things are gone and I have the bracelet and letter in my hand. She places the tray on the nightstand and kneels in front of me where tears begin to fall forming a puddle on the floor and she takes my hands in hers and looks up with a sadness so deep you can see on her face as fresh tears slide down her cheeks.
“Oh, Kalum. What have they done?”
She means my parents and their meddling. They knew. They knew I fell in love with her and what I had planned for her today proved it. When I first laid eyes on her, I didn’t recognize it at first but I think I fell in love with her that first day. I tried to fight it and I lost. Then I tried to hide it. My mother must have never thought I would consider a girl like Aura, but they were wrong. They never thought I could fall in love with her. They lied to her. They told her it was because of a rumor that was spreading around that they took advantage of her situation. All lies.
My parents didn’t want their son to be seen with a girl that came from no privilege or a wealthy family. It is all about the St. Claire name and how they stand in the community. Deep down, I knew if I gave into my feelings for her that she would be attacked somehow but I never thought my parents would be the ones to do it.
