The One

🔨 Chapter 13

🔨

The light filters through the curtains and I stretch, hitting my hand on the brick wall. Brick wall? I frown and open my eyes and it instantly comes back to me where I am. My smile replaces the frown. 

Prim is my girlfriend. It's like every Christmas I've ever had wrapped into one. My insides warm at the thought. I look down and see I'm in bed alone. Oh man, I wish I'd been awake when she got up. I would have enjoyed seeing her legs as she walked around in only my t-shirt. I remember her mewling in my arms last night and it makes me smile even bigger.

I jump up and head to the bathroom. Once I'm in there, I decide to take a shower and open a new toothbrush from the drawer. It's going to be very inconvenient for Prim to be here when there isn't water. I wonder if I can find a better place for her to stay. Somewhere quiet where she can do her art without construction noises going on around her.

I realize in my race to the bathroom, I haven't even said good morning to her yet. Drying my hair, I step out to the hallway. Everything is so quiet. "Prim?" I check the kitchen and living room, no Prim. I frown, there's really no other furniture in the house but I still make a cursory inspection of upstairs. Maybe she needed something from one of her boxes in the barn? I open the front door, sliding on my shoes and make it halfway there before I realize what's missing, her car. Her car full of boxes isn't here. I run my hand through my hair. "Shit, shit, shit."

I rush back into the house and grab my phone. Of course it's dead, I madly dig around on her desk and find a charging cord and hook it in. 

"Come on, come on. How long does it take to fuckin' start up a phone!" 

The light on my phone comes on. I flip through my messages, none are from Prim. 

"This can't be happening right now. There's a good explanation." 

I'm trying to convince myself not to freak out. But it's too late, I'm seriously losing my shit right now. I text her first.

Me: Morning. Woke to find you gone. Can't imagine what you are up to so early.

Me: Missing you.

Nothing.

I can't even move from this damn plug until my phone charges. I leave the phone and go run back out the front door and look around. No car anywhere. "Where is she?!" I run my hand through my hair then decide I need to call her. I run back into the house.

I hold the phone to my ear. "Come on, pick up, pick up. Primmy, where are you?" 

It barely rings and goes to voicemail. 

"DAMN IT!!" 

Either her phone is dead or she's turned it off. Or maybe she's blocked me. Does the phone let you go to voicemail if they block you?

I decide to call back and leave a message this time. I hear her voice in my ear, "You've reached Rose, please leave a message. Or better yet, text me!"

"Hey Prim. It's Sunday morning and I just woke up at your place." I'm trying to keep the panic out of my voice. "Just wondered where you got off to this morning. Call me when you get this."

Should I have said I love you? Maybe that would make her want to call back? "We were good, weren't we?" I think over last night. "We were in a good place, right? Shit."

I look at the stack of sketchbooks and remember she was teary. Our cuddling was so nice, I'm sure she thought so. But she did ask me to touch her to make her forget stuff. Maybe she remembered it all in the morning. I shake my head. No way she would do this to me again. No way. She knows how painful it would be for me, right?