Chapter Twelve
Adrián
Without opening my eyes, I knew she was gone. No need for my legs to search for hers, for my hands to feel the coldness of her pillow, fragrant with her scent. I only required the quiet emptiness in my chest, the knots of my stomach, and the ache in my soul to tell me the truth.
Even though every sign of her departure mocked me as I hastily put my clothes on, I refused to accept the truth. What if the empty drawers I offered her to put her intimates away haunted me while I looked for my underwear, or the sad clink of my toothbrush in the holder that used to host two reminded me of how happy we’d been these two weeks?
I refused to accept the truth.
Even when I ran out to find Claudia’s eyes full of sad sympathy and a hint of pity, I refused to accept the truth.
“Did she leave? I... I need to talk to her, she...”
“Se fue. Mario and Chichi took her to the airport.” Claudia rested her hand on my shoulder.
“Damn it. I just wanted to...say...”
“I know. I know.”
Claudia embraced me, attempting to erase the truth that I was finally compelled to accept. Accept the screaming in the back of my head, and the sorrow that had captured me even before falling asleep last night. That my days with Genevieve were a thing of the past. That all I had left were her memories. That she did not want anything else from me anymore.