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WHERE YOU LEFT ME
Vol 3.
1. Departures
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When I said I was ready for whatever the Universe was going to dish out for me when I landed back in Erwin, I thought maybe it would be to utter chaos and a quarter-life crisis. You know, the sort of thing you’d expect after you’d been left at the altar by a man you’d been engaged to for four years, only to buck tradition and marry the first volunteer who said yes, take a cruise with said volunteer, and fall madly in love with him, before he, too, leaves you alone on your fake honeymoon. Let’s face it, I was the poster child for a pending mental breakdown. No one would have blamed me.
Except, having a mental breakdown required energy. And I was toast. Burnt, emotional toast. A breakdown would at least be a direction to go in. I didn’t even have that. I was off the boat but had no idea what to do next.
Grabbing hard onto my suitcase handle, I took a few deep breaths. I’d left Shawn’s luggage in the cabin. They’d fine me for it, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to hang onto anything he’d worn.
In my other hand, the locker key dug into my skin as I clenched my hand. How badly did I need my phone? Considering all of the extra frills I’d paid for on the cruise, and the fact I needed to find a new place to live as soon as possible, buying a new phone was not a realistic possibility.
Sighing, I walked over to the lockers and found the one that matched the key number.
For several moments, I stood there with the key in the lock unable to make the final twist to free the items from their prison. I still had a plane to catch, so I pinched my eyes closed and turned it. Part of me was hoping maybe Shawn had figured out a way to get his phone without the key, while the other part was flooded with relief that it was still inside. Proof he had been real. His white phone lay on top of my black one.
With shaking hands, I picked up his phone, long drained of its battery, and hugged it. Tears filled my eyes again. When would this pain go away?
I didn’t need to look at my phone to know it was dead. I had a charger somewhere in my case. I’d need to find an outlet when I got to the airport. Or not. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the reality awaiting me. The messages from worried “friends” wanting to check up on me after the wedding of the year but who were more interested in the gossip than my well-being. Missed calls from my mother worried if I’d sunk in the ocean, or gifs from my brother asking about how hot the sex was.
Shoving my phone deep inside my suitcase, I took a deep breath. That was a problem for another day.
Shawn’s phone, however, I slid into my shoulder bag. It was too precious to toss somewhere willy-nilly. I knew at some point, I’d have to find a way to get it back to him. Not today, though. Not yet. I was too much of a raw nerve.
Using all my mental strength, I pulled myself together enough to hail a taxi to the airport. It was time to go back to reality. The one thing I’d tried so hard to avoid this past week. No escaping reality. It was surrounding me. Suffocating me. What was I going to do when I landed? There was less than a week left on my lease. Everything I owned was either in boxes to move to Dwayne’s or currently at his house. How was I going to get it all back? Where was I going to live now? My head throbbed with the weight of it all.
Mercifully, I slept like the dead on the flight home. One moment of peace from all of the heartbreak. Probably the last restful sleep I’d have for the next few weeks until I figured out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Alone.
Exiting my gate, I made my way to the taxis. I was thinking of crawling into my bed and downing a bottle of wine when I heard my name being shouted from across the airport.
“Jasmine!”
The deep voice came from somewhere behind me. I didn’t register it when the person called out as there are plenty of Jasmines in this world, and it wasn’t like I was expecting anyone to meet me at the airport, but that was when the voice got closer. A familiar voice.
“Jasmine. Wait up. It’s me.”
Turning around, I watched in disbelief as Dwayne came running up to me. Dwayne. The cheater. The ex-fiancé. The douche canoe of a human being who tried to steal my honeymoon and took off with one of my bridesmaids had the gall to be running toward me like he was the hero straight out of a romantic comedy. He even held a bouquet from my brother’s flower shop. I recognized Skylar’s signature tulle bow.
“Whatever you have to say to me, I don’t want to hear it,” I groaned, turning away from him. I had no desire to hear his reasons for leaving with Emma. I really didn’t care.
“Jasmine. Please, hear me out.”
“There’s nothing left to say. You left me. Found someone new. Case closed. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get home.”
“No. Jasmine. You have to listen to me. This isn’t about us.” He panted, finally catching up to me. At that, I turned.
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s your dad.”
My skin ran cold. “What about my dad? Is he okay?” My voice trembled.
“We tried to call you, but it kept going to voicemail. I knew you were coming back today. I told them I’d try to catch you at the airport. He’s in the hospital. Liver failure.”
My heart seemed to stop as I tried to process the news. My vision blurred, and I felt myself wobble. Dwayne reached out to steady me.
“I’m sorry, Jasmine. The booze finally caught up to him,” he said. “The doctors say he doesn’t have long. I thought maybe you’d want to see him. Hence the flowers. I knew there might not be time to stop. I can give you a lift to the hospital if you want?”
“He’s dying?” I whispered.
Dwayne lowered his head. “They said it would be any day now. I think he’s been holding on to see you.”
I blinked at him in disbelief. No. There had to be some mistake.
“Let me give you a lift...” He reached out a hand to me, and I looked down at it. Dwayne wasn’t a hand-holding kind of guy, but this was a whole different ball game. My dad was dying.
In one horrific moment, I did the only thing I could do; I reached out and took my ex-fiancé’s hand and let him lead me away from one hell to enter another one.
“It’ll be okay, Jasmine. I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”
In a daze, I went with him. It wouldn’t be okay. Nothing would ever be okay again.
***
YOU’RE LEAVING IT THERE? WHAT ABOUT SHAWN? WILL THEY EVER SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Find out in WHERE YOU LEFT ME Vol. 3
Available for pre-order now.
