Chapter Twenty-Five
“What do you mean, gone? She couldn’t exactly leg it out of here. We’re nearly an hour from anywhere.”
Brandon rubbed the skin between his eyes. “I saw her hop into the back of a car. It had one of those ride-share service stickers on the back. She had all her things. She returned the key in the drop box by the front desk.”
A feeling of dread settled down on Caleb. Words were unreachable to him at that moment.
“She left a note in her cabin, addressed to you.” Brandon handed it to him. Emma’s signature handwriting was missing—just a quick scrawl of his name littered the front.
Caleb’s heart raced as he tore open the envelope. What could it possibly contain that could explain her sudden disappearance?
He tugged the card out and read.
Caleb,
I think I got caught up in the Christmas magic of this place. I never meant to hurt you. But it’s time for me to return to the real world. I’m sorry. I knew you would try to talk me out of it, so I took the coward’s way out.
Please forgive me.
Emma
He shoved the card unceremoniously back into the envelope. “Apparently, we all live in a dream world.”
Sabrina and Brandon exchanged another glance. “I don’t think that’s quite the reason she left. I have it on good authority that that ex of hers was nosing about.”
Oh. Well, that made sense, then. He couldn’t blame her. He was rich and good-looking. Davis could offer her a life Caleb never could.
God, he was so good at hurting his feelings. Why had he let himself fall so quickly? He felt like the biggest idiot in the Commonwealth right about now.
“They didn’t leave together, if that’s what you’re wondering. He huffed off a couple of hours before she left,” Brandon said. “And the biddies—”
“Does it matter?” He shook off his feelings. Emma owed him nothing. She’d been honest with him from the very start. So why do I feel like throwing up?
Maybe she was right. They were living in a dream world. The bubble would’ve popped eventually.
“I think it matters very much,” Brandon said. “Considering that I think she’s running scared.”
The last thing he wanted was to continue this conversation. “I’m going to my room for the night, unless I’m needed elsewhere?”
Sabrina frowned. “But there’s the concert and drinks afterward.”
“I’ve heard enough of the choir already. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” Sabrina called after him. “Don’t think you can hide out in your room all day!”
He made a vague gesture to show he’d heard her, then slipped down the stairwell toward the second floor.
All he wanted was to be alone. None of this would be happening if his family had just left him alone in the first place.
He slammed his key card against the reader by his door and fell into bed, still fully clothed. If life were merciful, maybe he could find a way to sleep through Christmas.
* * * *
If her driver didn’t shut the hell up, she was going to lose her mind well before they reached DC.
First, Marge had rattled on about her most recent divorce—she was hoping to find husband number six in the new year. Now, she was trying to convince Emma to sign up for her multi-level marketing scheme. That totally isn’t a scam, no siree, Bob.
Thankfully, her phone began to ring as they hit the endless traffic that started roughly an hour outside of DC. She didn’t have much faith that Marge knew her way into the city, so she was taking her as far as Alexandria. Emma would catch the metro from there.
Emma would’ve preferred a conversation with a telemarketer over being told the wonders of ‘sparkling candles with money inside’ for one more second.
Luckily, it was Aniyah on the other end.
“Hey,” Emma said. “Why are you calling me tonight? Aren’t you busy?”
Marge met her eyes in the rearview mirror and let out a little huff at the interruption.
“I got a notification that your location changed. Why are you no longer at Sky House?”
Emma winced her eyes shut. Why had she forgotten to remove location tracking? She and Aniyah had always kept tabs on each other, going back to their time in foster care. She didn’t think Aniyah checked it much these days—after all, she had her own family to look after.
Clearly, she was wrong.
“I had to get back to the city,” was the lame excuse Emma came up with.
Aniyah’s sigh crackled along the line. “What happened?”
Marge turned on the traffic report at full volume. Emma covered her phone. “Can you turn that down a little, please, Marge? My sister is on the phone.”
Marge harumphed to that but did as asked. Emma leaned back into her seat. “I think I was living in delulu land.”
She could picture Aniyah on the other end of the phone, her index finger massaging the spot between her eyes. “You are too practical for delusion, Emma. You were developing business plans the last time we spoke. So, what happened? I’ve got all night.”
“No, you don’t.” She knew that Aniyah was probably on her way out the door for a holiday event. She’d healed her childhood trauma by being a fantastic mother. Those kids were so lucky to have a mom who packed as much magic as possible into the holidays.
“So, beloved, please get to the point. What happened?” Aniyah said.
“Fine. Davis showed up.”
“What? You left Mr. Lumberjack Dreamboat to go back to DC with Davis? Put that pale-eyed menace on the phone right now. Better yet, put me on speakerphone.”
“I’m not with him. He came in like a tornado and left me like the remnants.”
Aniyah sighed. “Setting aside the insensitive analogy, I get where you’re coming from. So, what happened?”
Aniyah interrupted roughly every two words as Emma explained Davis’ payment plan to her.
“Are you fucking kidding me? That little weasel can’t get you back, so he wants to bankrupt you instead. Oh my god, I’m going to kick his ass. Better yet, I’m going to send my cousins to kick his ass. It’ll only take them an hour or so to get there from PG county.”
“We both know he would stroke out if he ever saw them, so please don’t. I’m just going back to the condo to pack up my things and figure out where I’m going next.”
“And Davis will be there too, presumably?”
“No. I texted him after he left to let him know I was going back to the city and would leave a check for him. He told me he’d be out of state until after the New Year, so I could stay there if I wanted to. So at least I’ll have the place to myself.”
“So, you’re really giving him money? Seriously? He has no leg to stand on.”
If anyone could understand the worry and anxiety bubbling up in her throat, it would be Aniyah.
Growing up with an uncertain future meant she’d never allowed herself to get too comfortable.
Paying Davis his discounted rate now meant that she could be done with him and still have a decent amount of savings to live off while she figured things out.
“We both know how petty he can be. I’d rather pay him half and be done with it. I’m already looking at an Airbnb to stay at while I apply for jobs. I’ll be okay for a few months, especially if I receive unemployment benefits when my severance ends. Those checks will start coming in the new year.”
“Wait, what about the stationery store? Aren’t you going back to Falling Leaves? That sounds like the perfect next step for you, Em.”
When Emma said nothing, Aniyah only sighed once more. “Don’t tell me you left without saying goodbye.”
“I left a note. I can’t go back there. It was some sort of Christmas-induced hallucination. They need me in the real world.”
“Falling Leaves is in the real world. You could have a home there if you wanted.”
Emma’s gaze moved to the haze of red brake lights ahead of them. “No. It’s better to start over. It’s too late to look back.”
There was a ruckus in the background as Aniyah corralled her kids toward the car. “You just left like two hours ago. There’s still time.”
Emma had had enough of this conversation. She’d rather talk to Marge about her sparkly money candles.
“I’ve gotta go, Aniyah. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
She ended the call to Aniyah’s protests. Then she promptly put her phone in do-not-disturb mode.
All she needed was a good night’s sleep. Then she’d figure out the rest.