I was upset with myself that I even agreed to go to coffee with Addison. It felt completely wrong since it wasn't Dawson. I didn't want to put what we had on the line, but it seems like she already had. All I wanted her happy, and if that was away from me, not talking to me, then well I would have to deal with it.
I ordered my coffee and waited outside. Addison saw me, waved, and skipped to me. She was just as smiley as yesterday and just as talkative.
"Hi Jared!" She said as she sat down.
I half smile at her, "Hey."
She tells me she's going to order her coffee. I nod and as she's walking away, I take out my phone to check my phone. Shannon had texted me about 5 minutes ago, he said it was urgent and to give him a call.
I stand up and start to dial my brother. By the third ring, he picks up, a bit out of breath.
"Hey, everything okay?" I ask, crossing my free arm across my chest.
Shannon catches his breath for a second before talking, "I think we found out where Dawson is."
I stop, how in the hell did he find Dawson? "What? How did you find out?"
He chuckles a bit, "You didn't bother asking around? Not even Jade? Or her publisher?"
"She didn't want me to find her." I snap. I could feel the little anxiety knot starting to grow, the same one I got in Greece. I look down and close my eyes, trying to push it back.
"Oh, well, Jade said she went home. Like home home. Her parent's house."
I look up from the ground and over at Addison. She was calmly sipping her drink, on her phone. "I can't just fly out there. Plus she wants to be away from me."
"Man, there's a catch. Jade said she isn't how she left. Somethings changed. " Shannon tries to reason with me. I know he wanted me to go get her, take her back here and be happy again. I really couldn't do that. Dawson had made up her mind when she left. She was hurt by me in a way that I swore I wouldn't hurt her. She deserves to be upset and I don't deserve her.
"I can't. I can't Shannon. "
I hang up and run my hands through my hair before returning to Addison. "Sorry. Brother called."
"Shannon?" She asks, locking her phone and putting it away.
I nod, and take a drink of my coffee that they left on the table. Addison and I talked and laughed, we joked around, and actually had a lot in common. However, I didn't really feel like we connected, but that didn't stop her.
"My birthday is coming up and I'm going to have a small party. You're welcomed to come if you'd like." She smiles as she writes her information on a napkin.
"I-I'm not. . . I'll-" I stutter. I tried to think of a nice way to tell her I couldn't attend, but she got the last word.
"Sweet!" She smiles as she walks away into set.
***
*Couple Days Later*:
It was the day of Addison's birthday and I really, really didn't want to go. I didn't want to be rude either because I did have to work with her for the next few months.
I stumbled up to her apartment with a bag in hand. I had gotten her a mug from the coffee shop, similar to the one that had her drink in. As I knocked on the door, I looked around and saw a couple other cars there.
When she opened the door, her eyes got wide and her smile grew, "Hi Jared!" She pulled me inside and pushed a beer in my hand. She noticed the bag in my hand and pointed to the dining table through the hall, gifts go on there. She went first, and I followed. When I got in there, I saw two other couples sucking face on the counter, I froze. Right then I knew that I shouldn't have come.
