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Laney pulls away, her eyes bloodshot and her face red. “Why bother? If you ain’t comin’ back, there’s no point stayin’ in contact.”
“Baby...” I reach out, but she takes a step back.
“No. Tearin’ me apart once is enough, don’t you think? I don’t need a reminder when you finally end up somewhere and fall in love with someone else.”
“You know that’d never happen. I’ll wait for you,” I promise, closing the gap between us and wrapping an arm around her waist so she can’t escape. “When you’re ready to leave, I’ll be waitin’.”
“Ayden, please.” The dark edge in her tone tells me waiting would be a waste of my time. “You know I can’t leave my mom and the store. She needs me. This is my life. It was supposed to beourlives.”
I don’t repeat the same words from before because I’ve told her so many times. She knows I won’t stay and why, and now we’re at a stalemate. Neither willing to change our plans even though we love each other.
Snaking my other arm around her, I pull her in for a final hug. I squeeze, inhaling the scent of her shampoo and imprinting it into my memory.
Laney’s shoulders tense as she leans into me but allows me this final goodbye.
“No matter what happens, remember what I said. You’re the love of my life, and that’ll never change. If I need to wait a decade for you, I will.”
She continues to weep, soaking my shirt in the process, but I don’t care. I hold her, enveloping her with my warmth as the sun sets in the distance.
“Just go.” She pulls back, quickly wiping her eyes. “I have to go home and help with dinner.”
We’ve been in my driveway for nearly an hour, and if I don’t leave soon, I’ll run into my father. I got rid of my luxury SUV this morning and bought a used Ford pickup truck. The type of vehicle I actually wanted, not the flashy, expensive one my father bought for appearances. I wouldn’t put it past him to report my vehicle missing or have a GPS tracker on it, so the sooner I got rid of it, the better. Now he’ll have no way to hunt me down.
“I’ll text so you know I’m okay,” I reassure her and kiss the top of her head once more. “Please be safe.”
“I should be sayin’ that to you,” she murmurs, rubbing her eyes.
“If my dad contacts you, tell him you don’t know anything, then demand he leaves you alone,” I tell her, then open the driver’s side door. Bryant Carson is a monster behind closed doors, but to the public, he’s a saint. Still, I wouldn’t put it past him to corner Laney to get information on my whereabouts.
“Not like I’ll haveanyinformation.”
I’ve purposely been vague so she’d have nothing to tell him. Though I don’t have anything set in stone, I’ve been doing my research, so I have a general idea of where I’m headed first.
I settle into my seat.
“I love you,” I mouth once more.
The image of Laney with tearstained cheeks and sad eyes will forever be ingrained into my mind. She’s never looked so hopeless.
It breaks my fucking heart.
I can barely breathe when she walks to her car across the round driveway. My throat constricts and my hands sweat as I fight the urge to chase after her. Laney’s run-down beater chokes for a few seconds before roaring to life. She turned down my offer to buy her something more reliable since she couldn’t pay it back. Not that I expected her to, but she’s got her mother’s pride. Ms. Bennett has been a single mom and the sole provider for Laney since she was only two.
“Get your battery checked,” I shout.
She rolls down her window. “What?”
“Go to Adams and tell him to check your battery. Might be the starter, though.”
He’ll barely charge her for it.
It’s what he called thefamily and friendsdiscount.
“Fine.” She shrugs as if she’s lost the ability to care about anything.
Howie Adams has been my best friend since kindergarten and is the only other person who knows about my plans to ditch this place. I said my goodbyes to him this morning when he hooked me up with a seller for my SUV. His dad owns a garage in town, and Howie’s been working with him since he was thirteen.
She rolls up her window, but before she can drive away, I honk my horn three times.
