AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But more so, maybe she was just expecting that he would be there. Because in her brain, if he left then that would have been an end to things. That would mean that he did not want to make the situation work anymore and that cut her apart.
But when she opened the door to her apartment, she was met with her worst nightmares.
Nick had left.
And this time, there was no note.
The entire room reeked of loneliness and abandonment as she stepped afoot into their bedroom. She did not know what to make of this or what to make of herself now that the worst had happened. Now and she had to deal with it.
Still, he was not entirely gone. He was still present in the stuff that he left behind. He was still present in the rock on her finger that he gave her, though Hannah was not sure anymore what significance that held now. But mostly, he was there in her memory as her brain traced out his name into every cell of her being.
That first night alone as particularly bad one for Hannah as she crouched over in the fetal in her now empty bed – but she had one comfort as she held on to his shirt that was now soaked with her tears with the force she would conjure.
Because as the scent of the fabric hit her nostrils, she would believe for a second that even if it was a lie and even if he had gone, for a second there, he was right there in her arms.
--
Nick found himself parked outside the building he thought he would ever come to under these circumstances but right now, he felt as though this is what he needed.
Slowly and with shaking breaths, he walked over to the front door. He did not know what he was going to say or even why he was here but inside of him, there was this tremendous urge to just come here.
Nick had moved out of their shared apartment as soon as he landed back in town. He had packed up a bag and it had nearly broken his heart – as just a few days ago he what been packing but for entirely different reasons.
He was meant to be going away on a honeymoon with the love of his life but that had turned into one of his worst memories. Honestly, right now it did not even feel as though his wedding had been just a few days ago because that time seemed to look so far in the distant past.
His friend Trevor had kindly offered him a place to stay at his house until Nick sorted out his living situation and he was more than grateful to him.
But right now, the person whose house he stood outside was not Trevor. Indeed, it was someone else entirely.
Finally, he found the courage to push the doorbell. Instantly, he was greeted by a familiar face at the door.
“Nick? What are you doing here! Aren’t you supposed to be at your honeymoon?” It was Samantha and she looked more than a little confused.
Nick shook his head, “Honeymoon got cancelled. Can I come in?” But he had already made his way inside her house before she would even answer.
Samantha looked at him from afar, “Are you okay?” she asked, eyeing him intensely as he made himself home and plopped down on her couch.
“No,” he replied bluntly, “I am the worst I have ever been,” he remarked as though it was as innocuous as the daily weather forecast.
Samantha was starting to grow a little worried now, “Okay Nick. Tell me what is wrong?” she asked him.
“Can you pour me some scotch?” he asked her, “I cannot for the life of me do this sober.”
A few moments and one glass in Nick’s hand later, he was ready to spew out his entire situation to her.
“I think me and Hannah have broken up,” he announced with a hint of melancholy in his voice. His eyes instinctively went to the empty space on his finger where his wedding band used to be and he sighed.
“What do you mean? That is absolutely terrible,” Samantha said, noticeably shocked by the news.
“Yeah – she is having some other man’s baby and I do – not know what to do,” he blurted and Samantha stared at him back in shock of the bomb she had just dropped on him.
“You cannot be serious?” she asked him.
Nick smiled to himself – a cynical smile. “Maybe I am not. Who knows? My whole life feels like a joke either way,” he said.
“Stop that!” Samantha scolded him, “You cannot say things like that about yourself. I am sorry it had to happen that way with Hannah,” she said.
It occurred to Nick that Samantha had made her peace almost too rapidly with their breakup as she did not even bother asking the details of the split. Honestly, Nick did not even know if they had actually split up or not because even though he refused to see her now, he still could not deny the fact that he still really loved her and he was afraid that perhaps that was a fact that was never going to change, regardless of what she does to him.
