The Seaside Retreat

Chapter 40

Remmy's POV

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and carefree. I was a little surprised at myself because I hadn't woken up feeling this good in a while. In fact, since I had figured out Mason had come to the Seaside Retreat because of Violet, I had slept badly. I wondered why I didn't feel worried or threatened anymore. It suddenly came to me. Today Mason and I were leaving.

I was so happy by this thought that I felt the grin spreading onto my face. If Mason left, it meant that he would no longer be distracted by Violet. If he wasn't distracted, I could win him back, I was sure of it. 

Feeling confident with myself, I got out bed and prepared for the day. After I was ready, I began to head down to the breakfast area. Although I would never admit it to anyone, I actually like this hotel's bed and breakfast. As I walked down the stairs, I wondered if Mason would be eating right now. I hoped so.

But when I got to the eating area, I saw that he wasn't present. Confused, I got my food anyway, and ate. The whole time I ate, he didn't show up. This was weird. I had come down right as breakfast hours were beginning, and I had stayed longer than usual, waiting for him to show up. 

Frustrated, I decided to back up to my room. Whatever. I had to check out anyway. My friends would be waiting up for me at the nearest town and I didn't want to keep them waiting. As I passed the front desk, I spotted Violet. She didn't see me pass because her eyes were glued to her book.

She suddenly looked up. "Oh, hi Remmy!" Although her face was happy, I noticed her eyes looked sad. I wondered briefly what was bothering her, but the thought quickly passed my mind. I mean, it wasn't my problem. But there was something I wanted to know that she would have the answer to.

"Hi Violet!" I said, pretending to be cheerful as I walked over to the counter. Violet looked confused by my friendliness but covered it up quickly, giving me a small smile in return.

"Yes?" She asked me. "I was wondering, do you know where Mason is? Has he come down to breakfast yet? I haven't seen him all morning." When I mentioned Mason, her expression immediatedly changed. She became guarded, her face blank, but her eyes betrayed her even expression. There was hurt in them, and betrayel. She took a shaky breath before answering me.

"No, um, he didn't come down because he already left. Last night." She wouldn't make eye contact with me the whole time she was talking. Instead, she was pretending to straighten papers on the counter. Although Violet's reaction confused me,  what surprised me even more was her response. Mason had left? How could he just leave? He told everyone he was leaving today! 

I suddenly felt angry at him, but tried to keep my composure while I was in front of Violet. How could he just leave me? No one leaves Remmy without an explanation. "Really?" I asked, keeping my voice level, with great effort, resisting the urge to grind my teeth together. She nodded, and finally made eye contact with me. 

"Yeah, he checked out last night unexpectedly." I noticed, with curiosity, that she seemed to also be keeping her voice and composure even with effort. "Well, thanks for telling me." I said, feeling the sudden need to get away. She simply nodded her head, and I headed toward the stairs.

Once I was in my room, I started to pack. It took longer than I would have liked because of all the things I had brought with me. I cursed myself for bringing so many items of clothing. Packing was only wasting time, and I really wanted to find Mason. I had an idea where he would be going, but I wasn't for sure. I needed to call him, though I was pretty certain he wouldn't answer. 

After I had finally stuffed the last shirt into one of my bags, I dialed his number on my phone. His caller I.D. picture popped up, and I couldn't help myself from staring at it for a moment. It was a picture of him I had taken of him when we'd still been going out. Mason was smiling, and holding up a stuffed animal I had gotten him for Valentine's Day. I sighed, thinking how perfect everything had been back then. 

I put the phone up to my ear, waiting while the phone continued to dial. After a couple of rings, Mason's phone went to voicemail. I tried to keep my voice light, and not expose any of the anger I felt towards him for leaving early without telling me.

"Hey Mason, it's me, Remmy. Look, I was just calling to ask, where are you? Violet said you left last night? Why did you leave, Mason? Okay, well, could you just call me when you get this message? Thanks. Bye." I hung up the phone feeling frustrated even more. I knew he had his phone on him. Whenever we used to go out, he would answer his calls by the third ring.

I grabbed my bags, heading down to the lobby. Violet was still manning the desk, but I saw that her parents were now also there. She was talking to them, laughing, and I almost forgot about how sad she had looked earlier when I'd asked about Mason. 

Pulling out my key, I walked up to the desk and checked out. As I walked out of the bed and breakfast, I felt myself almost missing it. I was surprised I felt this way because I'd only stayed here for a few days and I didn't usually get connected to places. I looked back at the building, stuyding its light blue siding, white shutters, and many clear windows. It was the perfect coastal house, I realized with a start. When peple came out to the eastern coast, this was what they came looking for. A beautiful view of the ocean, laid back setting, and a cozy resort where they could enjoy it all from. And even though the bed and breakfast wasn't right by the ocean, it was close enough that you could walk to it if you wanted to. In fact, I'd even seen a path located at the back of the house that I knew led out to the ocean. I had decided to walk on it two nights ago, and the beach it had led to had been wonderful. I hadn't known what kind of beach the trail would lead to, but what I saw had exceeded my expectations. The beach had been perfect, private and completely invisible from the highway. The sand was fine and the water warm. I had spent hours there, and had had trouble leaving.

The memory faded, and I walked toward my car, slipping into the front seat. I turned on the engine, and began to back out of the lot. Before I left, I had a sudden urge. I stopped the car, and after rolling down the window, pulled out my phone. Quickly, before anyone could notice, I took a picture. I wanted to remember what this place looked like.

After the click sounded, I tucked the phone back into my pocket, but decided to keep the window down. It was a nice day, with light winds and sunshine. I pulled out of the parking lot and didn't look back.

Mason's POV

I heard my phone go off in the seat next to me. It was situated close enough to me that I could see that the picture that had popped up on the screen. I quickly looked over and saw that Remmy's picture had appeared. I instantly frowned and turned my attention back to the road. I didn't want to talk to Remmy right now. In fact, thinking back, I hardly ever wanted to talk to Remmy. She just annoyed me. And as hard as she tried, I knew she could never have the same effect on me as Violet did. 

I felt my heart begin to beat faster, just thinking about Violet. What was wrong with me? I wasn't supposed to be thinking about her. I knew it would never work for so many reasons. She was already going out with Seth, for one. Plus, she thought of me as a player, and she probably thought I was just teasing her all the time. 

I ran a hand through my hair, wishing that everything could solve itself. I wished that Remmy would give up; we were never going to get back together. I wished that I had never gone behind Seth's back. Maybe then Seth and I could be how we used to be. Maybe we'd be able to trust each other again, and the tension between us would disappear. But most of all, I wished that I had met Violet before Seth did. Because then, maybe she would have given me a chance.

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I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. I hope you still liked it though. :)