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Chapter 27: Return
Bernard
“Hello?” I pushed the door open and set my bag down with a thud. “Rach? Ron? I’m home.”
Silence greeted my statement.
I frowned, stepped into the apartment, and kicked the door shut with the back of my leg. Then I glanced around the house, which looked pristine and untouched, like no one had been there in days. When I took another step forward, I heard a low rustling sound. With a frown, I looked down at my feet and saw the envelope. My heart thudded against my chest as I ripped it open, letting two keys fall out.
My stomach dipped as I bent down to pick them up.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flutter and noticed the note taped to the back of the door. Hastily, I snatched it up, but I could barely hear anything past the pounding in my ears. I re-read the letter a few times before I was able to understand anything.
Rachel was gone.
I couldn’t believe it.
I let my hand fall to my side and scoured the entire apartment, top to bottom. Once I was done, my breathing was heavy, and a thin sheen of sweat had broken out over my forehead. With a slight shake of my head, I set one key down and held the other in the palm of my hand. I wrenched the front door open and made a beeline for the other apartment.
It looked exactly the same way mine did.
Untouched and uninhabited.
Like Rachel and Ron had never been there to begin with.
“Rachel? Ron? Are you guys in here?” I left the front door wide open as I rifled through the rooms and paused at the drawers. Only a few of their clothes and toys were left behind, but other than I couldn’t find any clues as to where they went. In the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of my tight reflection in the mirror and frowned.
Had I lost them for good?
Rachel hadn’t said a word during our phone call in the morning.
My hand trembled as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and skimmed through the numbers. I stopped at Rachel’s, dialed, and pressed it to my ear. She picked up on the fourth ring, sounding breathless and nervous.
“Hey, I can get Ron for you. He’s just in the bathroom—”
“Don’t lie to me, Rachel. I know you two aren’t home.”
Rachel exhaled. “You’re back? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were leaving?”
“We’re on vacation.” Rachel’s voice sounded muffled before it became clearer. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a vacation.”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you. I need to get over you, Bernard, and the only way I’m going to do that is if I put as much distance between us as possible. At least for now.”
“What are you talking about? Are you saying I’m never going to see either of you again?”
“No, you can still see Ron. I’m going to be back in a few days,” Rachel responded in a quieter voice. “You’re still his father, and you deserve to be a part of his life.”
“Rachel, please. Tell me where you are, so I can come to you, and we can talk about this.”
“You’ve made it very clear that there’s no room for me in your life,” Rachel argued, pausing to talk to someone in the background. “I don’t want to sit around and wait for you to change your mind.”
“Rach, I—”
“It’s easier this way,” Rachel interrupted. “I don’t want to get in the way of you and Carla. I hope the two of you are very happy together.”
