Page 56 of Love You Still
When do you leave?
Selina
This afternoon. They need me back in New York tomorrow.
Vance
Okay. Good luck! I’d say break a leg, but that doesn’t sound right. I know you’ll do amazing. I love you.
I know it would be easy for me to profess my undying love for Vance and promise to be with him forever, but I can’t. Not now. If he loves me as much as he says he does, waiting a few more months for me to finish what I started and then come home won’t be a deal-breaker for him. At least I hope it isn’t.
Chapter 20
Vance
“Is it going to get easier?” I mumble into my empty room as the sun filters in through my bedroom window.
I attempt to sit up but immediately fall back into bed as I wait for the room to stop spinning. When I opened my eyes yesterday morning, I felt as if I could take on the world. I had finally laid my heart on the line and told the girl of my dreams that I wanted to spend my life with her. But that all came crashing down the moment Selina responded to my text.
I tried to pretend nothing happened, that my world wasn’t slowly crumbling around me, but I’m sure everyone noticed. I tried to go through the motions. We presented the proposal to our client in Magnolia and won the contract. Instead of heading to Magnolia in a few days, as we planned, I told Connor I could head that way tomorrow, wanting to put as much space between me and Tyson’s Creek as possible.
I didn’t want to face the sympathetic looks from our friends a second time. I need to find something to take my mind off Selina being gone, something to stop me from spending the entire day checking my phone, waiting to hear from her. I reach over and grab my cell phone from the end table and pull up her number,trying for the millionth time to find the words to explain how I’m feeling, but I come up empty.
I thought I was prepared for her to leave again, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. I wanted to have more time to get to know her better, allowing our love for one another to bloom again, but it seemed the universe had other options. But things are different this time, even if only slightly. Selina didn’t leave without telling me. She let me know she was going for an audition and gave me a chance to tell her how I felt one last time.
I meant it when I wished her luck. I want Selina to have everything she ever wanted. The only thing I was asking for was to be included in her dreams, and once again, I’m left wondering if telling her how much I loved her was enough to convince her I was all in. That no matter if it was in New York or here in Tyson’s Creek, we could figure anything out together; she just had to choose to let me in.
My phone buzzes in my hand with an incoming call. I take a deep breath before looking at the screen, hoping it’s Selina, but it’s Connor. I sigh before swiping across the screen and answering.
“Hello.”
“Hey, man,” Connor says, his voice rough with sleep.
“Hey,” I croak as I roll back in the bed, laying my head on the pillow and throwing my arm over my eyes. “What’s up?”
“I’m hurting this morning. I called the client and let them know you wouldn’t be there until this afternoon.” Connor groans, and I hear the rustling of sheets through the phone. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
If anyone understands why I drank my weight in alcohol last night, it’s our new client, Finn Buckley. Finn seems to have stuck his foot in it with his girl, Marissa, as well, and now he is buying and renovating her dream house, hoping to convince her he’s worth her time. Man, does that sound familiar? I wouldn’t go asfar as to say I bought the farmhouse for Selina alone, but she had a lot to do with it. I’d be lying if I said I wanted her to love that house as much as me, using it to convey how much she means to me. But it seems to have backfired. I just hope Finn has better luck than I did.
I try moving again, but blinding pain shoots through my head, making stars dance before my eyes. “Yes, but remind me to never drink again.”
“Until next time life throws either of us a curveball, right? We’re too old to be drinking like this anymore,” Connor complains.
I hear Audrey’s voice in the background, and then I hear muffled voices through the phone for a few moments.
“Who says we’re old?” I retort, a few more voices filtering through the line before Connor responds.
“I’m putting you on speakerphone since everyone wants to hijack our conversation.”
“So, what’s this nonsense about being old?”
“It’s a proven fact, according to our fourteen-year-old daughters and the pounding headaches you two have complained about.” Audrey giggles softly. “Hi, Vance.”
“Hey, Audrey. You may have a point.” I groan before rolling to my side. “It sounds like you two have better things to do this morning than chat with me. Get some rest, Connor. I’ll call you when I’m on the road and headed to Magnolia.” We say our goodbyes before I hang up the phone and finally find the courage to move.
I slowly sit up and swing my legs over the side of the bed, pausing for a few moments. Once the pain subsides, I push myself to the standing position and slowly make my way to the bathroom in search of some pain medication. Anything to stop the pounding in my head. I don’t turn on the light as I rummage through the medicine cabinet, grabbing the bottle of ibuprofenand shaking two pills into my hand. I throw the pills into my mouth and wash them down with a small gulp of water, using the cup on the counter.
As I turn to head back to bed, I catch my reflection in the mirror. Gone is the easygoing man without a care in the world. He’s been replaced with someone who has nothing left to smile about.