Chapter 30
When I was twelve,I broke my ankle. A kid whose name I don’t even remember double-dog-dared me to skateboard down a railing at a park. Had I ever been on a skateboard before? Nope. But he bet me ten bucks I couldn’t do it, so, of course, I told him I could. One compound fracture later, I proved him right.
I remember staring down at the bone sticking out of my skin, and afterward at the hospital, waiting for at least one of my parents to leave work, thinking that was the most pain I’d ever experienced or ever would experience again. All my life, nothing compared to that.
Until now.
That pain was almost nothing compared to the agony I’ve experienced over the last forty-eight hours trying to save my company.
“We did it,” Shane murmurs.
I can barely grunt a reply.
The two of us are alone in a big, empty conference room at the hotel we’re staying at in Tennessee. He’s slumped over in his chair, his head resting on the dark wood table before us, arms splayed out over his head. He looks exactly how I feel.
Ten minutes ago, this room was filled with Em3rge’s legal team. That’s right. Em3rge doesn’t have only one lawyer on retainer anymore. We have a whole freaking legal team. A team who charges what I personally feel are illegally high rates, but, as Shane keeps reminding me, as long as they do their job, it’ll all be worth it.
Shane sighs. “It was a rough two days, but it’s over, and tomorrow, we can go back home.”
“Psh, ‘over?’ This thing has barely begun. But you’re right about one thing. It was rough.”
In the past forty-eight hours, I slept for only seven of them. I’ve conducted more meetings than I normally have in a week, and I never want to see another fast-food burger again. But the good news is, we’ve staunched the bleeding caused by our mole, ordered retractions to several online magazines, and begun what I’m hoping will be a quick legal battle, having served papers to Craig, his step-daughter, and everyone else they pulled into their little vortex of conspiracy.
I rub my eyes with the heels of my hands. “I’m ready to sleep in my own bed again.”
“You and me both.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, hitting the button to turn it on, but nothing happens. A jolt of alarm hits me as I remember my stupid mistake.
I left my charger at home.
In all the harried panic buying the plane tickets and packing, I neglected to pack my phone charger. When my phone died yesterday, I was too busy to do anything about it and too exhausted after working to go out and buy a new charger. Of course Shane’s phone uses a different charger than mine, so I couldn’t borrow his. I meant to run out during my lunch break today to find one, but there was no lunch break. I had five minutes of spare time for me to shove a burger and fries down my throat in between meetings.
So now, it’s been over twenty-four hours since I’ve had a charge on my phone.
And over forty-eight hours since I last talked to Junie.
“Dude, are you feeling okay? You literally look pale.” Shane reaches toward me, but I swat his hand away.
My heart takes a nose-dive for my stomach, and I push away from the table. “I feel fine.” But even as I say it, a queasy, sick feeling wraps around my midsection and squeezes.
“Where are you going?” Shane calls after my retreating back.
“I need to run to the store. I’ll be back soon.” Then I’m gone.
How could I have been so stupid? How could I have let this happen?
After everything I know Junie’s been through and telling her she could trust me, promising I’d never leave her, how could I have let all this time pass without talking to her? I told her I’d call her when I landed in Tennessee, and I didn’t even do that. I was so busy, so worried about the company, I didn’t even give her a second thought.
That’s not completely true.
I did think about her. I thought about her a lot, actually. But I didn’t follow up on any of those thoughts.
I’m just like my parents.
This thought pulls me up short, causing me to almost run into a man walking down the sidewalk. I mutter an apology and keep going. I can’t let this ruin things. I can’t let this be the end. It was only two days. Junie will understand.
But she shouldn’t have to.
And that’s the part that bothers me the most.
I manage to find a store that carries my charger and get back to the hotel, racing up to our room. Inside, Shane is nowhere to be found. I sit on my bed and kick my shoes off.
“Come on, come on, come on,” I mutter, as I tear at the packaging. Why do companies always package things like this? With the kind of plastic so thick, you need garden shears to get through it?
After managing to rip it open, I plug it into the outlet beside my bed then plug the other end into my phone. For half a second, nothing happens. The sick feeling in my gut intensifies. Did I get the wrong kind of charger? Is the outlet even working? Or maybe my luck is worse than I thought and my phone isn’t dead but broken. But within a few seconds of these thoughts zipping through my head, a little green lightning symbol lights up on my screen, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
I have to wait a couple of minutes for the phone to build up a charge before I can turn it on, but as soon as I do, notifications start erupting from the speaker. Texts and calls from not only Junie but Kiera and both my parents as well.
What in the world?
I start wading through the messages, but each one leaves me feeling sicker than the last.
Junie:Hey, I know you’re busy, but could you give me a call when you get a chance?
Kiera:Have you talked to Junie? I’m worried about her.
Kiera:Dude. Mom and Dad called me three times. TOGETHER. What did you do???
Mom: Owen, call me this instant.
Dad:I’m extremely disappointed in you, Son.
Mom: You’d better be able to explain yourself.
Dad:Of all the irresponsible, illogical, ridiculous things you could have done.
Kiera: Seriously, where are you?! Why aren’t you answering your phone??? Mom and Dad found out about the fake secretary thing AND the fake girlfriend thing AND how neither of them are actually fake. They confronted Junie at Em3rge! I wasn’t there, but I heard it was awful, and now Junie isn’t answering my calls. What the heck is going on?
Junie:I didn’t mean for it to end this way, Owen. I’m so sorry.
I jump from the bed as if I’ve been burned. Panic rises in my chest. My throat is tight, and my mouth is dry. The queasiness I was experiencing earlier turns into a full-blown, stomach-turning, rocking-back-and-forth, gonna-throw-up-any-second feeling.
I call Junie, but she doesn’t answer. Again, nothing. Again, nothing. Despite the AC running full-blast in the room, I’m sweating like I’ve run a 5k in the middle of July.
I’m packing my things before I even realize what I’m doing. My flight is first thing tomorrow, but that’s not soon enough. I need to get to Junie now. There’s got to be a flight that leaves tonight. A red-eye. I’ll buy a ticket at the airport.
Do people even do that anymore? Is buying tickets at the airport possible?
I have no idea, but I’ve got to try.
As I’m flying around the room, grabbing my things, I’m vaguely aware of the door to the hallway opening. It’s Shane. Probably just coming back from the conference room. I’ll have to explain on the run.
I rush past the open door into the bathroom, sweeping my toiletries off the counter and into my bag.
“Shane, I’ve got to go.”
“Owen,” Shane says behind me.
“I need to get back to Junie.”
“Owen.”
“I can’t explain. I might not have time to cancel my other flight. Tell them—”
“Owen!”
My hands freeze at the sound of a voice that is most definitely not Shane’s. It’s a voice that at once fills me with relief and worry, and it doesn’t make sense. Junie isn’t here. My neurons are freaking out right now and some signals have been mixed up, and now I’m hearing things. Wishful thinking at its most painful.
“Owen.”
I turn slowly, struggling to understand what I’m seeing. Junie is framed in the door, looking disheveled, a bit tired, but still radiantly beautiful.
“Juniper.” Her name drops heavily from my lips. “How did you— I mean, I thought—What are you doing here?”
She shrugs, her gaze dipping to the floor as her cheeks blaze pink. “I had Kiera text Shane to find out where you were staying. You weren’t answering your phone.”
I wave behind me but can’t, for even a second, take my eyes off of her. “It died. I’m an idiot and forgot my charger. I’m so sorry.” Step by step, I approach her until we’re toe to toe. I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around her and pull her into a hug, but something about her body language, the way she’s got her arms wrapped around herself and won’t look me in the eye, stops me. “Will you come inside?”
There’s a long pause, which is almost as painful as sitting in a meeting with Em3rge’s legal team, but then she nods.
“I’ll give you two some space,” Shane says. I’d almost forgotten he was here. He leans inside to punch my shoulder. It’s a punch that says, You’ve got this, and then he’s gone, closing the door behind him. Now it’s Junie and me in this hotel room. She moves further into the room, looking around, and when I come closer, she backs up, creating more space between us.
At least she’s here,I remind myself. That has to mean something.
Hopefully it doesn’t mean something bad.
“Are you hungry? Thirsty? I think Shane might have left a soda in the mini fridge.” I scrounge around for a second and hand her an orange Fanta. She doesn’t back away this time but puts the drink on the nearby desk. More silence follows, and I have to fill it with something. “Junie, I’m sorry I didn’t text you when we got here like I said I would. We were thrown into a meeting right away, and it’s been one thing after another since then. I feel awful. I was in survival mode, but that doesn’t make it okay. You deserve better than that… Maybe you deserve better than me—”
“I told your parents I love you.” Junie claps her hands over her lips.
My mouth hangs open. The jittery, tense energy buzzing through me seconds ago hums and quiets. The AC cuts off at the same time, plunging us into silence.