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“I’ll tell them. But you should talk to them yourself. Oliver, especially, isn’t doing great.”
I pulled back as my heart constricted. I knew Oliver’s emotions were the closest to the surface. Guilt wracked me when I remembered him asking me to not leave again, except that was exactly what I did. We had a lot to talk about and I would have to apologize and make Oliver understand somehow.
“We’ll talk soon,”I promised.
Gideon nodded and watched as I walked into the building, with Frank escorting me. At the door, I looked back once, needing to see him. He stood, his sunglasses in his hand, allowing me to see the pain on his face. I smiled tightly, not allowing him to see how it hurt for me to walk away.
Inside the apartment, I found a note from Ash, letting me know she had a date and not to wait up. It was all for the best. I wasn’t going to be good company for the evening. My time with Gideon in the meadow had been perfect, but when reality set in, the physical needs didn’t outweigh the things weighing down everything between us.
I decided I needed to talk to someone that might understand my predicament. After changing into sweats, I sat on the couch and pulled up Ruth’s number.
“Brooklyn!”Ruth exclaimed as soon as she answered the call.
“Hi, Ruth,”I said, my voice hitching slightly.
“Oh no…what happened?”
Starting with Missy appearing in my office, I told Ruth about the entire day. She murmured here and there, but didn’t interrupt as I let out all of my feelings and thoughts about what had transpired. When I got to walking away from Gideon, I had to stop talking. It took everything in me to not have him take me straight back to The Knights’house. I missed Oliver and Jaxon terribly, too.
“Oh, Brooklyn, I’m so sorry. That does sound like a really tough day. Gideon came to the rescue though, didn’t he?”She asked.
“He always does. I wasn’t even surprised to see him. If I’m in danger, he’s just always there,”I said.
“I think these men love you.”
“They’ve never said as much,”I said.
“Have you told them you love them?’Ruth asked.
“I don’t really know if that’s what this is. I’m having a hard time understanding my own feelings,”I admitted.
“This pain you’re feeling. How difficult it is to be away from them. And the fact that you aren’t just walking away for good…Ithink those are signs of love. I’m no expert either, though,”she said.
“You seem to understand things in your home, with your men,”I replied.
“That’s because they’ve taught me. Two of them at least have the patience of angels. And the third, well, he does the best he can, and we just learn together.”
I sighed, wondering if I was robbing my men and I the chance to learn together by leaving when things got difficult. Their desire to control the decisions about my life wasn’t something I could learn to live with. But maybe once we could talk and they could really hear me, we could move forward, to build something new for us all.
Ruth and I spoke for a little while longer, changing the subject to the kids that I had brought to the ranch. By the time we hung up, I had a smile on my face, remembering the fun we’d had for the week. I promised Ruth that I would call her again soon and I meant it. I appreciated her friendship and her understanding of my relationships.
That night, I sent a good night text message to my group chat with Oliver, Jaxon and Gideon. I immediately got responses from each of them, making me smile. For the first time since I had left the house, I didn’t have a nightmare. The full night's sleep was wonderful, and I woke up with my alarm, feeling refreshed.
I was early to leave the apartment and left before Frank could meet me at the door. When I exited the building, he was climbing from the sedan. He had a disapproving look on his face immediately, and I had to smile at him. His expression changed when he saw actual peace on my face for a change.
Just as I started to walk toward him, a loud crack made me freeze and look around. For a moment I was confused, but when I looked back at Frank, disbelief was on his face. He looked downat his stomach, where he had a hand pressed. When his hand came away, it was covered in red. Confusion clouded my mind as Frank crumpled to the sidewalk.
Dropping my bags, I cried out and moved toward my friend, who laid unmoving on the ground. Just as I moved, someone stepped into my path, causing me to stop short. My eyes were glued to Frank, and I attempted to sidestep the intruder, but they moved with me. Realizing the person was in my way on purpose, I straightened up and glared, only to be caught off guard once more.
“You didn’t really think you’d seen the last of me, did you?”Missy said, as she crossed her arms across her chest.
“Missy? What are you doing here? I need to help Frank,”I said, uninterested with whatever reason the woman was stalking me.
“Frank will have to just help himself,”she said.
As I was trying to put the events together, I felt a sharp pinch in my neck. My hand flew up to touch the spot and I realized there was a syringe in my flesh. Too much was coming into focus, just as black spots started to cloud my vision. I tried to spin, but arms came around me and the voice of my nightmares spoke into my ear.
“It’s time to come home, Bee.”
