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JAMES. I was wrong. So fucking wrong and painfully so. Going to her house and catching her by surprise wasn’t going to fix anything. It wouldn’t stop Elizabeth from being furious at me. There was no stopping anything if I didn’t see the girl herself. When I went to Elizabeth’s old place that morning and was welcomed with a deafening silence and an empty house that looked like no one’s been residing in it for ages, I was confused. If they weren’t there, then where could they be? That day, I went to school, hoping I would find her there. But again, I was disappointed. Elizabeth wasn’t at school. So where was she? Maybe they went to another place I didn’t know about—Those were the words I convinced myself with. There was no way she could hide away from me for long. A week passed. Two weeks. Three weeks. A fucking entire month, and there was no sign of Elizabeth. She didn’t respond to my texts or my calls. Elizabeth managed to just vanish into thin air. She managed to disappear o
JAMES. "Hey, son. You alright?" It’s Dad’s voice that brings me back to reality and I lock my phone before I turn to him. He’s standing a foot away with his brows raised and hands in his pockets. I notice Mom is no longer in the kitchen before I say. "Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?" Dad smiles. "Right. It’s just you had a look on your face" I glance at my phone before I hold his gaze again, my mouth twitching by the sides. My heart is still beating fast in my chest and the thought of letting him on crosses my mind. Not that he’d care about where his ex-wife is, but… "It’s Elizabeth." The words leave my parted lips before I can have further thoughts on it and one of his hands slips from his pocket as he closes the distance between us, curiosity lining his words. "What about her?" With a big smile on my face, I wave my phone in the air. "I found her. She’s in Los Angeles." I don’t expect much of a reaction, but I definitely didn’t think his face will fall from that news either. A frown for
ELIZABETH. Two months ago, I left San Francisco. Two months ago, I walked away from James and ended whatever we had going on between us—our unnamed relationship. Two months ago, I got my heart broken. And it wasn’t just me. My mom did too. Kind of silly that we both got hurt by the father and the son. Two months ago, we moved back to Los Angeles, and it’d be a lie if I say it was just easy; that coming back home was exactly what we needed to get over what happened. It wasn’t. Not immediately. At first, it was hard. Waking up each day knowing James wasn’t next door hurt. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was getting his texts and calls, yet having to ignore each one. Even when my fingers were itching badly to reply to his texts. My ears to hear his voice and my heart to feel his presence, even if it meant through my phone. But I walked away from him so I couldn’t go back. I just couldn’t fall back into his arms. So every time I see his calls or his texts, I remember th
ELIZABETH. "Hey! You forgot this!" I halt just before I push the glass door and turn to see Jared walking towards me with a key in the air. "Oh, thank you. Skipped my mind." I smile at him as I take the key from him and throw it inside my bag. When I lift my head, I notice him staring strangely and I lift a brow. "What’s that look for?" He slips his hands into his pockets and put on an innocent smile. "What look?" "You know what look." I chuckle as I cross my arms over my chest and he tilts his head. He’s gazing at me like he knows one of my secrets and before I can call him out on it, he opens his mouth. "So that guy. The one who was here earlier?" My heart skips a beat at his reference to James, and I drop my hands from my chest. "Yeah?" I hate that my tone is nervous and I can’t tell if Jared catches it. "Had a history together?" He questions and I swallow. "Why would you ask? Did it look like we do?" "You were in the restroom together for almost an hour." He points out and I
ELIZABETH. Jared doesn’t speak as he moves closer, and I watch as the smirk on his face gets bigger as his eyes lower down my face. When he doesn’t shift his gaze from wherever it’s landed, my eyes follow and I gasp, immediately dropping my hands over my chest when I realize he’s staring at how my breasts are almost spilling from my bra. "Eye up, Vance!" I snap, and he chuckles as he meets my eyes. "Can’t blame a guy for staring. Those are beautiful." His voice is loud so I can hear him from here and heat rises to my cheeks as I tighten my hands around my chest. "Shut up. What the hell are you doing here?" Jared has only been to my place once, and I didn’t think he’d remember the route or even come back here. He steps forward again, and he’s almost near my window. The house is a single detached with one leveled ground and three bedrooms, so it makes it easier to access the windows. Like I said earlier, nothing luxurious. "Will you go out later tonight with me?" He drops the questio
ELIZABETH. "Hi!" Jared smiles as I open the door and I stammer, not expecting him to be the one at the other end. "Oh–hey. Hi. You’re here. Again." He chuckles and I pull at the ends of the big shirt I have on before I press a hand to the doorframe. "What are you doing here?" I notice the bruises across his face and some dark spots, but before I can question on it, Jared speaks. "You weren’t at work yesterday, so I thought you might want to hear this. It isn’t exactly something I should say over the phone." He rambles and I lift a brow as I lean against the door with my arms crossed over my chest. "What’s it?" Jared sighs and removes his gaze from me for a few seconds. He hooks his fingers through his belt before he meets my eyes and says, "So this might get you mad, but that guy of yours was at work yesterday." I stare at him, confused for a second, before the words sink in and I drop my hands from my chest. "Oh, James?" He nods. "He wanted to see you." So he didn’t go back to San
JAMES. I sit still on the bed with my bottom lip pulled between my teeth to hold back the strangled sounds that threaten to fall as I keep my eyes fixated on the floor. I lift my head when I hear the sound of a door closing and Elizabeth is walking out of the bathroom. She doesn’t look my way as she strides to the small sofa right by the door to grab her bag. I watch her throw it over her head and cross it over her chest and my lips parts, hundreds of words wanting to leave my mouth. I have so much to tell her. So much to convince her of. I have so much to show her and let her know, but I can’t say the words. She’s made up her mind and I don’t think there’s changing it this time. She doesn’t want to be with me in any way anymore. Not as the one who has romantic feelings for me, nor as one who cares about me as a friend. She wants out of my life completely and the pain I feel from realizing that, from listening to her say those words—hurts more than anything I’ve ever known. "I… um.
JAMES. "James…" I take a step forward as I remove my hand from the switch. "Mom. What are you doing?" She holds a hand over her chest as if she’s trying to calm her heart as she turns her flash from my face. She turns it off and tucks the phone into the pocket of her Jean before she looks back at me. "Hey. I didn’t know you were around. Thought you went out." She smiles as she rolls the sleeves of her sweater and paces forward. I avert my gaze from her to the space behind, wondering what she could have been doing with the lights off. There’s nothing in this room. "Why are you in here? Were you searching for something?" "Yes. I mean no. What could I possibly be searching for?" Her laugh is awkward when it echoes around us and when I lift my brow in silent questioning, she continues, the words jumbled together and not sounding sure of them herself. "I was… um, I was making sure." She closes her eyes and sighs. One hand holds her hip as she rubs the other across her forehead. When sh