Perfect Love Story (Love 1)

“There are some things I need to tell you.” He starts off, looking at me and then down at our hands. “Things that happened after you left that you should know.”

I pull my hands away from him as I eye him, and he gets up and goes to my room as I watch him disappear and then come back out with a white envelope. “Now, I want you to hear me out before you say anything.” I look at him as he sets the envelope down in front of him, my eyes never leaving the bleak white envelope.

“Eric left you a letter,” he says, and I gasp, my heart racing like a million horses running in a field. My hands fly to my lap, shielding itself from touching that white envelope. “A month after you left, Samantha showed up looking for you.”

“What?” I whisper as my heart never does get back to a normal heartbeat.

“She went by your old house because that is the address Elliot gave her.” He looks at me to see if he should continue or not. “The new owners gave her my name. She showed up at the firehouse.”

“Why the fuck would she show up at my house?” I ask him, wondering what she was thinking.

“She isn’t the evil one you think she is,” he says as she looks down and something glitches in his eyes. “She had no idea anything was happening. Or that he was leading a double life.”

“I’m finally fucking happy, so why can’t he let me be fucking happy?” I say, pushing to get up from the table. “I don’t fucking want that letter. I don’t want to read it; I don’t want it in my house,” I say to the universe more than to Blake. “Better yet, I don’t fucking care.” I storm out the front door, slamming the door behind me. Angry I left my own house. Angry I let it get to me, but more so angry he has now tainted my table with his bullshit. I turn to walk to the back, down to the water, down to where I can find myself.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jensen

“Where are you?” Crystal asks me. I’m pulling up to the office when I answer my phone.

“Just got to the office,” I answer, suddenly confused as to why she is calling me. “What’s the matter?” My body goes tight, and my blood goes cold.

“I have no idea, but Blake just called me and asked me to give you a call. I don’t have the details,” she says as I start my car and make my way over to Hailey’s. “But she’s on the beach.” I toss my phone on the seat as I turn on her street and park in the driveway. Her brother’s sitting on the front porch swing.

“What happened?” I ask him as I stand in front of the house.

“She’s on the beach,” is all he says or all I hear because I’m running to the beach, running to her.

I see her sitting in the middle of the beach, all alone, the wind blowing her hair as the water looks like its crashing on her. I walk down the steps to her. Instead of sitting beside her, I sit behind her. Resting my legs on the outside of hers, I lean my body over her, almost protecting her from the wind that howls around us. My hands go to my knees. I expect her to have her shield up and be stiff, but instead, she leans into me. “Hey there,” I say into her neck as I lean down and kiss her. Her sniffling indicates she’s been crying.

“Why?” she whispers as she looks at the water, never turning to me. “Why can’t he let me be happy?”

My hands form fists as I think about how it might not go over well to beat the shit out of her brother. “Hailey.”

“No,” she shouts. “Trust me, these are not sad tears, these are angry tears. I finally fucking feeling like myself again.” She wipes her eyes and pushes her hair aside. “No, that is wrong. I feel better than I ever felt, and he somehow comes up with a way to kick me down,” she says as she wipes away another tear. “He was married, fucking married to someone else.” I wrap my hands around her, bringing her closer to me; her heart pounding so fast under my hand I think it’s going to come out of her chest.

“Hailey, breathe,” I tell her. “Just breathe.” I kiss her neck as she slowly starts to settle.

“He left a fucking letter,” she says finally after her breathing evens out, and her heart rate returns to normal. “A white envelope and get this,” she says. “His wife, his real wife, not the other wife he kept on the side, the real true wife brought it to me.”