A Way Out

Chapter 14

Seven days, 168 hours, 1080 minutes, and 64800 seconds. That's the amount of time that passed since I last saw Donovan Dane. The clock on my wall became my arch-nemesis. It laughed at me every single passing minute. For the past week, my head had been in a complete and utter daze. Every time my mind traveled to that intense moment on the beach, my senses tingled, and my blood rushed. God, did I long for another moment like that again.

The past week hadn't given me any hope for such a moment to happen again, though. There had been no call, nor had there been a message from him. He didn't even show up at the coffee shop as he did. It didn't matter if I was there or not. Cassie hadn't seen him either.

Today was my day off, and I was on the couch with my pajamas on, contemplating whether or not I did something wrong. I couldn't discover a single flaw in my actions, which frustrated me even more.

Raleigh was out for the day, and that meant I had enough time for some self-pity. The self-pity didn't last very long, because someone knocked on my front door and I had to break away from the comfort of my couch. The mere sound of knocking kick-started my heart and for a moment I felt hopeful, but that hope shattered when I opened the door and Daley greeted me.

"Damn sis. Smile a bit when you see me," he commented, before walking past me into the apartment.

I closed the door and sighed. "What are you doing here, Daley?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest and leaned against the wall.

Daley narrowed his eyes at me as he gave me a skeptical look. To him, I was an open book and there was no point in hiding anything from Daley. I begged him with my eyes not to ask me anything and luckily, he seemed to catch on.

"Mom is waiting for us at the shopping mall, so go get dressed," he said as he plopped down on my couch.

"Do I have a say in this?"

"Nope." A sigh left my lips once again and knowing there was no place to argue, I went to my room to change.

As I was rummaging through my wardrobe, I felt my phone buzz in my back pocket. Every little sound or buzz my phone made ignited a spark within me. That spark fuelled my hope, but that hope always ended up being destroyed.

I unlocked my phone and saw that I got an e-mail from Cole, which said,

Dear Ms. Florence,

With this e-mail, I wanted to invite you for a meeting about your manuscript. That way we can start up this progress and talk about what we expect of you and what you can expect from us.

I would like to hear what day and time suits you best.

Yours, sincerely,

Cole Hughes.

I smiled as I stared at my phone. It was finally happening. Finally, I could take some steps towards a dream that seemed so far out of reach a couple of weeks ago. I emailed Cole back with a date and went on looking for an outfit to wear. Eventually, I settled on a white T-shirt with a denim jacket. My trousers were black, and I finished the outfit with some white sneakers. Cole's e-mail brightened my day, and I felt excited to see my mom and tell her about everything that recently transpired.

"I'm ready." With a smile I stood in front of the TV, blocking Daley's view.

"You left your sour mood upstairs?" he asked as he turned the TV off and got up.

I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips at him, "Hilarious. Let's go, you idiot."

"So, who's idea was this?" I asked with closed eyes as I enjoyed the wind blowing in through the open car window.