Chapter 27
Surprised that I'd slept at all, I stood on the front porch, staring out over my long, mostly empty driveway. It was just past sunrise, and the only car in sight was my own.
There was no sign of Joelorhis vehicle. This was the second time I'd checked. The first time had been around three in the morning. He'd been gone then, too.
I wasn't sure when he left or if he planned on returning. But Ididknow that I was done chasing after him. I was done pretending that he wanted me as much as I wanted him. I was just done, period.
When it came to Joel, I'd been a slow learner, but everyone wised up eventually, right?
Regardless, there was something that I wasn't going to let go. I pulled out my cell phone, turned away, and marched back into the house, slamming the door behind me.
As I walked toward the kitchen, I pulled up Luna's number and hit the call button. It went straight to voicemail – no surprise there. It was, after all, ungodly early.
That was fine by me. I wasn't looking for a conversation. I was looking to send a message.
At the sound of the beep, I took a deep breath and said, "Hey, remember me? The girl who almost barfed in your bathroom? Well, just so you know, it was just a stomach thing…" My tone grew sarcastic. "…andnota bouncing, bundle of joy. Ididtell you that, didn't I? Wait, don’t bother answering. I did. IknowI did. And just so you know, Iwasn'tlying."
Feeling nearly unhinged, I forced a laugh. "So, anyway, if Joel shows up there – Hey, crazier things have happened, right? – you can all have a good, long laugh about it."
On some level, I seriously doubted that anyone would be laughing, especially Luna, who'd been surprisingly nice. But I was too far gone to care. I wanted to finish with a bang, but I had no idea what to say. In a fit of desperation, I blurted out, "So thanks a lot!"
I froze.Thanks a lot.God, I totally sucked at this. But so what? I'd made my point. With a sigh, I disconnected the call and tossed my phone onto the kitchen counter.
In the back of my mind, I realized that Luna probably meant well. But the emotional roller coaster ride had taken its toll. After too many ups and downs, I'd reached the point where all I wanted now was to get off this crazy ride and forget every single one of them – Luna, Jake, and especially Joel.
When the phone rang an hour later, I picked it up and studied the display, only to feel myself frown.
It was Jake.
Just great.I could only imagine why he was calling. I felt my jaw clench.Fine.If he wanted to chew me out, he could do it in a voicemail, just like I had.
I shoved a nervous hand through my hair. Who knows? Maybe when I cooled down, I'd be apologizing to Luna for leaving such a rude message. But for now, I was too angry, too tired, and too sick of all of them. When a beep announced a new voicemail, I eyed my phone with renewed dread.
If his message was anything like mine, I didn't want to hear it – not now, anyway. So instead, I marched upstairs to freshen up, only to pause when I caught sight of my shower drain.
There it was again – standing water, probably from my ill-advised 3 a.m. shower. I gave a long, weary sigh. In all the drama, I'd completely forgotten about my sewer problems.
Here, I had a whole bunch of bathrooms, and now, none of them were draining – or at least, not fast enough to matter.
I was still looking at the drain when the doorbell rang.
I froze.
Joel?
Doubtful.
And besides, what did it matter? I didn't want to see him, anyway.
Really, I didn't.
Probably, this was a good thing, because itwasn'tJoel at the door. Instead, it was two strangers, a couple of guys in their early twenties, who looked vaguely familiar.
I was almost certain that I'd seen them somewhere before.
But where?
