36. Leo
Chapter thirty-six
Leo
The Villa was quiet.
Too quiet.
No music playing. No laughter echoing down the hallway. No Chelsea yelling about something dramatic. No Cherise roasting me to kingdom come.
I stood in the middle of the living room for a second, just…taking it in.
Yesterday, this place had been alive.
Now it felt empty.
I grabbed my suitcase handle.
This was it.
Time to go back to real life.
I found Cherise near the door, already dressed, already put together.
Already…distant.
The wall she dropped this week?
Back up.
Chelsea stood beside her, scrolling on her phone, surprisingly quiet for once.
Even she felt it.
No one really talked as we said our goodbyes to everyone.
Hugs.
Quick jokes.
A few “text me when you land” thrown around.
But it all felt…off.
Forced.
The only thing that played in a loop in my head was that this was not only the end of the trip.
It was the end of whatever the hell this had been.
The end of Cherise and me.
***
The ride to the airport was silent.
Chelsea tried once.
“Okay, this is depressing,” she muttered, looking between us. “Somebody say something.”
Neither of us did.
She huffed, rolled her eyes, and went back to her phone.
That was that.
***
The airport was loud.
Busy.
People rushing around us, dragging suitcases, laughing, arguing, living their lives.
Meanwhile, mine felt like it was at a standstill.
We stopped near security to say our final goodbye.
Cherise shifted her bag higher on her shoulder while her other hand had a death grip on her suitcase handle. She avoided my eyes for a second before finally looking up at me.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
I just stared.
“For everything. For…showing up. For making this week…” She let out a small breath. “Easier.”
“It wasn’t a hard decision to make.”
Being with her had been the easiest thing I’d ever done.
Her lips pressed together, like she wanted to say something more, but stopped herself.
“I’ll send you the money as soon as I get a new phone, I promise,” she added quickly, defaulting to business. Safe territory.
I shook my head. “You don’t have to—”
“I want to,” she cut in gently. “Moose needs that surgery as soon as possible. Also, please tell him that I’m going to miss him.”
I nodded once. Trying to keep my face neutral.
“Okay. I will.”
She hesitated.
Then—
“One more thing.”
I looked at her.
“Can you please…make things right with Derrick?” she asked.
I let out a short scoff. “Cherise—”
“I’m serious,” she said, stepping closer. “I know how it feels to lose someone who’s supposed to be there. Life’s too short to hold on to things that don’t matter. He’s your brother. The only one you got.”
I clenched my jaw, looking away for a second.
“I’ll try my best.”
I wasn’t going to argue with her.
This was hard enough.
“That’s all I can ask.”
There was a moment of silence.
She gave me a small, sad smile. “I guess this is it.”
“It’s been fun,” I said, trying to lighten things, but my voice wavered.
Say it.
The words sat right there.
Right on the tip of my tongue.
Tell her.
Tell her you don’t want this to end.
Tell her you don’t care about the deal or what Derrick thinks.
Tell her you’re in love with her.
I opened my mouth—
Her eyes locked on mine.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Just say it.
My grip tightened on my suitcase handle.
And I—
Choked.
Instead, I forced a smile.
“You have a good life, Cherise.”
Her smile fell.
“You, too,” she said quietly.
She nodded once. As if she was sealing it.
Closing it.
Then—
She turned.
Walked away and didn’t look back.
Chelsea gave me a small, apologetic look before following her.
And I just stood there.
Watching her go.
Not doing a damn thing to stop it.
For the second time in my life…I let her walk out of my life.