Ch8
“I’m in love with you Luke.” She repeated in a soft voice as tears began to fall. He stood there, stunned, and she knew it wasn’t a good sign. “That night after you visited me on Christmas…when I went to Wal-Mart I was going to tell you how I felt…but you were with Candice…you looked happy, so I kept my mouth shut and pretended to be happy for you…”
“Why are you telling me this?” He asked, his voice cracking.
“Because I’m done holding it in.” And with that, she walked outside and to the truck that had been untouched. She swiped the cooler with the elixir and started walking away. If he didn’t come after her, it was all over.
He didn’t……
Bella had left the cooler in the hotel and packed her bag. She couldn’t stand to be in the same mile radius as Luke and got on the next flight out. She didn’t know where she was going at that point, but somehow she ended up in Dallas, Texas, at her sister’s front door.
She put down her suitcase and shed her jacket from her sticky body. In Texas, June heat was nothing compared to July, but it was still a blistering 99 degrees. She knocked on the front door in hopes that Blakely was home. She didn’t call, but she just thought she’d drop in like Blakely had done many times to her. There was a commotion behind the door then a scream as the door swung open.
“BELLA!!” She shrieked as she pulled her in for a tight hug. “What are you doing here?!”
Bella was silent, she still couldn’t wrap her brain around everything that happened 24 hours ago.
Blakely pulled away from the hug, and seeing Bella’s exhausted and tear streaked face, her big smile faded. “Bella, what happened?”
She couldn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. The moment a tear streaked her cheek Blakely pulled her inside.
“You must be tired Bella. I’ll show you to the guest room.”
Bella followed her up the stairs of Blakely’s beautiful house. She was glad Blakely was quiet and thankful for it too. There were moments when Blakely knew to be serious and drop her pretty smile. This was one of those moments. The moment when Blakely would do anything for Bella, with no questions asked, and all jokes aside.
Walking into the room, Bella saw the bed with white sheets and gold accents. She slid under the covers and curled up into a ball. It had been a total of 3 days that she went without sleep. Her heavy lids closed over her dark eyes and sleep immediately overcame her.
“Sweet dreams Bella.” Blakely said quietly before she turned off the light and shut the door behind her.
Bella awoke the next morning feeling well rested and heartbroken. She took in a deep breath and smelled the sausage and eggs that were cooking downstairs, then she felt the emptiness in her stomach. It had been a while since she last eaten. She got up from the bed and walked downstairs and into the kitchen.
“Morning Bella.” Blakely said with a soft smile as she scrambled the eggs.
Bella nodded and sat down at the bar, there was no sound except for the sizzling of the pans. Bella appreciated the silence, she liked it. Most people would consider it an awkward silence, but to Bella it meant a chance to think.
But the silence didn’t last long.
“So, what happened?” She asked as she set a plate in front of her. The eggs were sprinkled with cheese and the sausage was drizzled in syrup, just the way she liked it.
