Inn Love

Even if it hurts me in the process.

I lie down on my bed and try to stop the tears. This place has already started to feel like home. Maybe it’s because Elijah’s here. After all, there’s nothing special about this run-down little Inn. But even so, I know the history of this place. I know the lives that have passed through here. It feels like a place for lost souls, and I guess that’s why I feel at home here, too. Elijah took me in without asking a single question. He showed me the kindness that my life has been sorely missing. I don’t want to leave that behind.

It shouldn’t be so hard to uproot myself from here after only a single day. And yet, every fiber of my being is telling me to stay, and not just because I have nowhere else to go. It feels right when I’m here, and the rest of the world seems terrifying when you’re alone.

I don’t want to go back to the cities where the buildings close in around you, and there is no escape from strangers. I don’t want to go somewhere unknown where I have to start from scratch once again.

Here is the only place that feels right.

But I guess we don’t always get what we want. I guess sometimes fairytales aren’t meant to come true. There’s a sinking feeling inside me as the knowledge of what needs to happen sinks in. I have to leave before I find another reason to stay. I have to move on to somewhere where I’ll be alone, but the person I care about will be safe. It hurts, but seeing my stalker destroy Elijah’s life would hurt more. He’s got so much going for him, and I can’t be the person to stand in the way of that.

I know it’ll hurt Elijah when I leave. I know he may never find it in himself to forgive me, but maybe one day, he’ll understand. Maybe he’ll realize that I’m doing it out of love, not because I want to.

This will be the hardest decision of my life. But as I begin to gather my things, to pack my life away once again, I know it’s the right thing to do.

It feels like I’m ripping my heart out of my chest, but I must endure it to keep Elijah safe.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Elijah

As soon as the paparazzi leave, I rush back inside the house to try and talk to Olivia. I want to make sure she’s okay after what happened earlier. The last thing I wanted was for her to be upset with me. I know that I should have told her about my career sooner, but I hope she doesn’t feel like I’ve betrayed her trust. I’ll make it up to her in whatever way I possibly can. I just have to find her and talk this out.

As I head inside, my mother is waiting for me at the base of the stairs, her eyebrow raised. I can tell that she’s disappointed in me since I’ve been home. I don’t know what I’ve done to upset her so much except fall for a woman, but she shakes her head at me like I couldn’t possibly have done anything worse.

“What, Mom?” I grit out. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that you’re going to turn that young woman’s life upside down. You should have told her about your life.”

“I know that now…I made a mistake. And I know you don’t really approve, but Olivia makes me happier than I thought I could possibly be. Especially after everything this family has been through in recent years, I thought you’d find it in your heart to be happy for me.”

“Some matches aren’t meant to be, no matter how much we want them to be,” Mom insists. “I know you think she’s important now, but it’ll pass. And when it does, you’ll feel foolish for chasing her down in the first place.”

“Isn’t that my choice to make? I’ve waited forty years to feel like this. I’m not letting her go. Not now,” I growl.

I pass my mother and head upstairs, feeling my anger fizzling out. She doesn’t understand yet, but she will. So long as I can find a way to fix this with Olivia, I’ll prove to my mother that I’m not crazy for wanting to be with her.

But something is wrong when I enter Olivia’s bedroom. Her bag is on the bed, and she’s packing away the few items that she brought with her when she arrived. I frown.

“Olivia? What’s going on?” I growl. I can’t understand what I see here. “Are you leaving?”

Olivia looks up at me with sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Elijah…I just can’t do this.”

My heart plummets to my stomach. Surely this can’t be just because I didn’t tell her about my career? Does she really feel so betrayed that she’s willing to walk away from what we have? I move toward her and take her hands in mine, staring deep into her eyes.