As much as I could understand her reason for leaving, I’m still pissed she did. Yes, we fought. Yes, I lost my shit. But Jesus, I just found out the woman I’m in love with is sick. Not just sick, but seriously fucking sick. And she didn’t fucking tell me about it.
When I saw her pills and realized what was going on, I couldn’t think straight. I should have left her in bed, gone to clear my head, and then talked to her when I was calm. But I didn’t do what I should have done. The same fear I felt when I was told she was dead came back tenfold, making it impossible for me to be calm.
Dropping enough clothes for two days into my bag, I pull off my shirt, taking it to the laundry hamper, and see the sheets from the bed when I shove it in. I ignore the clench in my gut as I grab a clean tee off the shelf and put it on, then leave the closet and walk across the room to the bathroom.
Spotting her nightie in the trash under the sink when I grab my overnight kit, my teeth grind. If she thinks me washing the sheets and her trashing her nightie will erase things for her or for me, she’s lost her damn mind. I waited too fucking long for my shot, and I’m not going to let her run off and build up walls. Not this time.
I’m done fucking around.
Heading back to the closet, I grab my duffle from the floor and leave, shutting off the lights as I go. My flight leaves in two hours, and I should have plenty of time to make it to the airport as long as there’s no traffic on the highway. I pull my cell out of my front pocket and stop in the kitchen to get Chris’s number from the eraser board on the fridge, and that’s when I spot a key laying on the counter. Leaving the key where it is, I punch Chris’s number into my cell and head for the door, calling him as I get in my car.
“Hello,” he answers on the second ring, and my fingers tighten around my cell. I don’t know if he’ll be willing to help me out. He’s so close to Kim. He’s been her shoulder to lean on and her protector for a long time, and if he knows how shit went down this morning, there’s a good chance he’ll tell me to fuck off.
“I need you to text me Kim’s parents’ address.”
“You’re going after her?” he questions, sounding relieved as I start up the engine and back out then switch to drive and take off.
“Yeah.”
“Thank fuck. I told the stupid woman not to leave, but when the hell does she ever fucking listen to me?” he mutters, and I shake my head then tighten my hand on the steering wheel when he continues. “She wanted to tell you. Sh—”
“She didn’t,” I cut him off. “She should have fucking told me, but she didn’t. I came across her goddamn pills this morning by chance. I had no idea what the hell they were for, so I looked them up online. That’s how I found out. Not by her telling me, but by fucking sitting in my bathroom at five in the morning, googling the shit on my phone.”
“I’m sorry, man,” he says quietly as I flip on my turn signal and pull onto the main road off my lane.
“Me, too.”
“But you’re still going after her, right?” he asks, sounding worried now.
“I told you I was. This isn’t going to end us, and if I have my way, nothing ever will,” I state, and the phone goes quiet for a long moment before he clears his throat.
“You love her.”
“I love her,” I confirm, thinking that doesn’t come close to how I feel about her.
“I swear I’m going to kick her ass when you get her back to town,” he growls, and for the first time since this morning, I smile.
“I’ll let you know when that is,” I say, pulling onto the highway. “Don’t tell her I’m on my way. I don’t want her to take off before I can make it to her parents’ house.”
“I won’t.”
“Text me the address. My flight leaves in a little under two hours.”
“I’ll text you. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Thanks.” I hang up. Leaning back, I shove my cell back in my pocket and drive, making it to the airport just in time to catch my flight.
Arriving in Miami at a little after 2:00 p.m., I make my way through the airport with my bag over my shoulder toward the rental car pickup, thinking I should have driven. Between the wait at the airport, flight time, extra time in the air because of a storm on the ground, and the two hours it will take me to get to Kim’s parents’ house, I could have been to her, or at least close, by now.