Under Chateau Lights | Complete

34 | You Can't Run Away

The sleep did not last.

My dry eyes sting as I pry them open, even though the room is only illuminated by the faint light of the moon streaming through my window. My throat is still sore from crying and my phone lays discarded in the corner of the room. Wrapping myself in a housecoat for warmth and comfort, I find my way across the room, picking up the pieces of my shattered phone case.

Somehow, though the case is shattered, the offending item managed to remain intact. There is a mere small scratch on the surface of the screen.

"Are you mocking me?" I ask out loud, staring down the number of messages on my screen. None of them from the people I really want to hear from.

The confusion swirls around inside me, mixing with the anxiety and spinning my head in circles. I was so scared to pick between them they ended up picking for me. And I lost them both.

Bits and pieces of the night before flood my memory. Ronan's quick evacuation, Christian's pained expression, and... Oh no. I yelled at my mother.

Burying my head in my hands seems like the only effective option, but it does little to stem the pain growing behind my eyes.

I've lost everyone I've ever loved.

A small voice inside of me struggles to be heard over the waves of anguish. She says I haven't lost it all, and that my family will support me in the end, but it sure doesn't seem like it from where I'm sitting.

A gentle knock on my door pulls me back. No one has the key to this room except-

My breath comes quick and I can't believe Christian would come back after everything I-

The door opens to reveal a quiet Elodie.

"Sorry to bother you," she whispers, holding the key up. "I still had the key and we were worried about you."

"We?"

"Yeah, we. Maybe not Gerard. He's still hung up on, well, you know."

"He's never going to let me live the 'two boyfriends' thing down is he?"

"He will. He's just a little hung up on how it doesn't seem like something you would do."

I can't bear to face them. I can't even stand to look at myself in the mirror, not to mention Elodie's concerned frown.

"Jules, are you okay?"

I stare intently at the orange stripe on my sock as I answer her. "I don't know. I'm sure I will be. I've spent my whole life being alone. Has to be possible to just go back to that, right?" I don't even get the whole word out before my body betrays me, listless sob escaping my lips.

"Oh, Jules. It'll be okay. We'll figure it out. Here, have something to drink. Just sit tight, okay. I have to go check on Amelia and then I'll be right back. An hour, tops. Unless you want to come with me?"

I shake my head. "I'll stay here."

"Okay. I'll be back before you know it."

I must be nodding because she smiles and smoothes my hair down, kissing my cheek before she leaves.

Embarrassment is a vast understatement for what I'm feeling. I don't even know what to call it but the idea of looking at anyone else and admitting what I've done is too much to handle. So I throw everything I can find into my bag, grab my purse, and let the door close behind me.

It is only when I get to the lobby that I realize the major flaw in my plan to flee. Well, two major flaws. First, my mother frequents the lobby of this hotel because it allows her to demand things she wants done or pay people to feed her.