Chapter 37 - Charlie
Say Something - A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera ? *Continued
Three nights without Porter. Three nights where every night has meant nothing. I should have seen it coming, how he was pulling away from me. Leaving me before either of us had time to register.
But why would he tell me about her only to leave?
It makes no sense why he would just ghost me like this after everything. How he was on the roof that day was like his grief finally spilled over. That he couldn't keep it inside any longer.
“The bar is still closed,” Dante grumbles at me as he sips his first cup of coffee for the day. “Lights are out. Not sure if he's still there or if he's disappeared but Ace and I will head over to check later today.”
“No, please don't. If he's left then I just need to let him go. I don't want to make it harder for anyone. None of this is going how I thought it would. It was more than just a fling, you know … but maybe, maybe he’s just struggling to find the room to love me and her.”
A single tear slips down my cheek as I stare out to the dawn. Wondering if he’s looking at it too.
The sun slowly illuminates the sky.
The world is still while my heart breaks.
Nodding his head at me, he reaches out holding onto my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before leaving me alone in the kitchen.
Alone with my thoughts.
Alone.
△△△
The morning is slow. Dimi should be arriving soon. He said he would meet me at Ace's house within the hour. Mila’s having a morning nap, her hyperemesis seems to get better each day. It's a small victory that she's only sick maybe five times a day now. The vibration of my phone no longer elicits the hopes I had of it being Porter. Which is why when the notification showed his name I felt the what the expression cross my face.
Porter messaged me?
?Ports?
Hey, baby girl. I’m sorry.
I’m a bit tied up but please come
to the bar and I'll make it right.
Weird? It doesn't even sound like him but this is what I’ve been waiting for right? He's ready to talk so either way I get the closure I'm after. My time in Hidden Valley is coming to an end and we can officially call it quits on our relationship. I'll finish the last ten weeks of Mila's pregnancy before I return to the city and back to normality. Porter can just be a guy I met at a friend's wedding.
Me
I’ll be there soon, just coming from Ace’s
Quickly, I forward Porter's message to Dimi, letting him know what he sent and where I've gone. I scribble a note for Mila and head out, prepared to lose the only man I've ever wanted to love.