Chapter 15
Tori
Awide stretch had my fingers hitting the empty side of the bed.
I looked over to see that Gabe was no longer there.
Grogginess lingered as I reached for my phone, bumping into the empty wineglass.
It had knocked me right out. I was a lightweight with wine, but it had been a nice topper to a wonderful night.
Butterflies skittered through me when I thought of the way Gabe had made love to me.
Like he was savoring every moment, memorizing my every curve and freckle.
Ten o’clock. Had I really slept that late? I never slept that late, and Gabe had a way of waking my body in the morning that made it impossible to go back to sleep, especially on my days off. I sat up, kicking my legs over the edge of the bed and wiggling my toes to wake them up.
After using the bathroom, I searched for Gabe’s T-shirt, not finding it on the floor where it should have been. Maybe he was washing it.
“Are you doing the wash?” I called, expecting him to be in the other room. When no answer came, I peeked my head out of the bedroom, frowning to see he wasn’t there.
Where did you go? I texted.
Still no answer, but if he was driving, his response would be delayed.
Heading back to the bathroom, I turned the shower on, only then noticing his shampoo was gone.
He must have headed to the store and let me sleep in.
Always the sweetheart. My body hummed as I bathed, thoughts of his touches flooding my mind.
As I combed my wet hair out, it occurred to me that his side of the sink was empty.
No deodorant, no shaving cream. Nothing that had been there the night before.
A sinking sensation grew in my gut as I walked out to the living room, looking for any sign of him.
His book was gone, and only my paper flower remained in the vase.
I went to twist my engagement ring, my chest seizing as I looked down to see that it was gone.
Stumbling back, I put my hand on the counter to catch myself.
Below my hand was a key. I brought it up, my hand shaking as every part of me screamed it was Gabe’s.
Dropping it, I ran to the closet, finding it empty of everything he owned.
A strangled cry clawed its way up my throat. I ran to the window, searching for his car, but it, too, was not there. My heart pounded, every thud like a knife slicing into it.
This couldn’t be happening. There was no reason for it. Maybe it was a joke. A horrible joke. Hands trembling, I called him, trying to rationalize the situation, but no matter how I tried, I could find no answer.
My call went to voicemail.
“Gabe, what’s going on? Where are you? Why did you move all your stuff out and leave your key? I don’t understand what’s going on. Please call me.”
I lowered the phone, my mind going in a million directions as I tried to come to some conclusion other than the one that was staring me in the face just like the empty closet. He had left me. But why? Rubbing my forehead, I stared at my phone, waiting for a call that never came.
As the day went on, I ran through every second of the last two days.
Remembering how off he’d seemed, how he’d taken the call with his sister and insisted on taking it away from me.
The thought of another woman crossed my mind, but that made no sense because he spent all his free time with me. We were inseparable…until now.
I remembered the computer and his story of selling it, wondering if that had been his first step to leaving me.
Had he really left me? The suspicions and questions continued to barrage my mind until I tried calling him again.
Voicemail and another message caused the tears to burn at the back of my eyes.
The shock was wearing off, and as if it was a barrier holding my emotions at bay, I lost control.
The tears flooded from me, my throat dry as my stomach churned.
He couldn’t have left me. It wasn’t possible.
He loved me too much. He had promised he would always love me.
But he had taken the ring and everything else, leaving an empty space like he had never existed.
A sob, hoarse and raw, came from me. I curled into a ball, clutching the phone and watching the light fade in my room while I waited for a phone call that never came.
I called in the next morning, unable to move myself from the bed. Curled on Gabe’s side, breathing in his scent, I called and texted him over and over. With each passing hour, my mood switched from anguish to anger, then back to utter devastation.
He wasn’t coming back. I knew it in my gut, even though I tried to convince myself this was just some horrible dream. It wasn’t. The pain was too real, burning through me like he had severed my heart in two, leaving a massive hollow space inside of me.
By nightfall, I hadn’t eaten for two days, and my mouth was so parched from the heaving sobs and lack of water that I had to move. I peeled myself from the bed, my will to take steps to the kitchen nonexistent.
My phone rang, and I jumped, looking quickly at it as hope returned only to be dashed when I saw Cash’s number. I stared at it, uncertain how to answer but knowing I needed help. Needed someone since the someone I wanted had left me.
I answered, gasping for words, my cry bunched in knots in my throat.
“Tor? Are you there?”
The words came out in a squeak, not forming.
“What’s wrong, Tor?”
Holding my stomach, I doubled over as grief drowned me.
“Tori, talk to me. What’s going on?”
The worry in his voice only worsened the ache that had burrowed so deep in me I knew I would never lose it.
“He… l… e… f… t…,” was all I could sputter out before my tears overwhelmed me.
“Who left?”
I couldn’t answer, the wave of emotion imprisoning me so that my organs threatened to seize up just as my limbs had.
“Damn it, Victoria. Who left?”
“Gabe,” I said in a sob that wrenched me in two.
“Gabe left?”
I nodded as if he could see me.
“He left you?”
“Yes,” I cried, the sound so foreign I didn’t recognize it as my own.
Cash remained silent, and I shivered out another sob, my tears flowing freely again. Saying the words had left me riven just as Gabe had.
“Why would he leave? You mean he moved out?”
I sniffed, rubbing my nose on the back of my hand.
“Tor, you have to give me something here. Help me understand,” he pleaded, and I could hear the emotion, that this was killing him because he was too far away to help me.
“I don’t know,” I managed, sniffing again. “He was gone yesterday. When I woke.” I swallowed, the salty taste of my tears hitting my tongue when I licked my lips.
“He wouldn’t just leave you. I’m sure there’s some explanation.”
“My ring is gone and…” Another cry tore from my throat, scraping it like talons. “All of his things. He’s gone like he was never here.”
But I knew he’d been there because he had left my heart a shattered wreck of carnage.
“God, Tor. What happened? Something must have made him leave. Did you have a fight?”
“No. We had a wonderful night.” Memories of his touch returned, and I bent over, fighting the nausea as more tears came.
“I can’t talk,” I said, dropping the phone and running to the bathroom.
I slid to the floor, throwing up and crying until I was so exhausted I curled up in a fetal position.
I didn’t know how to survive this. Nothing I’d ever experienced had hurt this badly.
No one had ever hurt me like this, and to know Gabe was the source only worsened the agony because he had made so many promises that were now nothing but lies.
The next day was no better, but at least it was my day off. I tried calling Gabe two more times before I gave up. Before I convinced myself he was really gone. That he would never call me back. That I would never hear his voice again.
The next morning, I had no choice but to go to work.
I managed to shower and dress. It wasn’t until I forced myself to drink some water and have a piece of toast that I saw my birth control pack sitting with the vitamins I’d forgotten to take for the last four days.
My heart pounded as I counted the days I had forgotten to take it.
I had never missed a day, always taking it before I went to bed, but Gabe had distracted me the two nights before he left.
His sex drive pushing me beyond exhaustion, and the last night, the wine had ensured I’d never made it back to the kitchen to notice I’d missed it.
I hadn’t set foot in the kitchen since that Friday morning.
He had pampered me, getting me drinks and food, making dinner for me, and in my bliss I had forgotten.
And during the two days I’d been too devastated to move, I had missed it. Four days. I swallowed back the fear and quickly researched how to catch up, taking the pill I’d missed the day before and setting an alarm so I wouldn’t forget the one tonight.
I shoved away the thought that the mistake could exacerbate my current predicament, ignoring the way my hands wouldn’t stop quaking the entire time I drove to work.
I lasted three hours before my manager sent me home because I couldn’t stop crying on my calls.
On my way out, I stopped on Gabe’s floor, peeking my head into his manager’s office.
“Tori, how… Are you all right?” Craig asked, rising from his desk.
I looked like hell. There was no hiding my red, swollen eyes, and no amount of makeup could conceal the dark circles under my eyes.
“Did you talk to Gabe?” I asked, my voice cracking when I said his name.
“No, he sent me an email on Sunday morning at like five o’clock resigning. His badge was on his desk along with his laptop. I stopped by to see you on Monday, but you were out sick. What’s going on?”
“Did he…” Another crack in my voice. “…say why?”