Chapter 22 #2
“I better go. Before I can’t control myself any longer.” His voice strains, eyes lingering on my lips.
Dalton backs away slowly, turning toward the door, pausing to give me another look. “We aren’t just a thing, Savanna. We’re fucking everything.” His voice shakes, clicking the door shut behind him.
I let his words crash over me as I sink to the floor and let out a sob.
“Knock, knock, my sexy little mama…I come bearing gifts! And by gifts, I mean a giant ass pitcher of sangria I made today.” Hailey smiles, walking through the front door.
Once she’s inside, she spots me on the floor, curled into a tight ball, legs clenched to my chest, with mascara streaming down my face.
“Oh my God, Savanna!” she shrieks. “What the hell happened?”
Setting down the Sangria on the entryway table, she rushes to my side. “Is Drew okay? What’s going on?” she demands, her hand resting on my shoulder.
I unlace my fingers from where they’re tucked around my knees and wipe the tears from my face. I give Hailey a silent nod, reassuring her that Drew is fine.
Hailey lets out a sigh, clutching her chest. “Okay…if Drew is fine. Why the hell are you crying, Savanna?”
“It’s a lot to explain,” I say, sniffling.
“Uh-huh.” Her voice comes out unconvinced. “Well, would this ‘it’s a lot to explain’ have anything to do with the fact that I just saw Dalton running down your street, like he just broke out of fucking jail?”
My shoulders shake as I let out a sob at the mention of Dalton’s name.
Hailey jumps up from where she’s kneeling on the floor.
“Shit, it does!” she gasps, her mouth falling open.
“I fucking knew it! You have been off all week since he’s been back in town visiting...
and last Friday night…” She pauses. “I have never seen you so damn angry while closing down the bar. You were shooting daggers his way the entire night!”
Hailey’s epiphany causes me to pull my face from my hands and look up at her—staring back at me is a sly grin. I really shouldn’t have put it past my best friend to connect the dots between what’s been going on with Dalton and me.
She has a superb bullshit meter.
“You knew something was going on?” I whisper.
“Well…define knew. I think I might have assumed some things.” She holds her hand out, and I take it, letting her guide me to the couch.
“How about this? I pour us some killer Sangria, and you let it all out. This is a zero-judgment space tonight, my friend.” She takes the wine glass and pours me a generous serving of a fruity Sangria—blackberries float to the top.
She hands it to me, and I take a sip.
God, Hailey’s good.
“Okay…” I say hesitantly, chewing the inside of my cheek.
She takes her seat on the cushion next to me. “Just fucking spill it, Savanna. Whatever it is, it’s obviously eating you alive. I found you crying on your damn floor, for Christ’s sake!”
“Well, it's complicated.” I shrug, wiping my nose with the sleeve of my sweater.
Hailey snorts, pointing to her chest. “This is me you're talking to. I know complicated, Savanna. I fucking invented it.”
I bite my lip and contemplate how much of my history with Dalton I should confide in Hailey. Do I go back to the beginning? Should I tell her about his connection to Drew? Do I tell her I’ve been in love with him since I was a teenager?
Just how far do I go?
I take a few large gulps of my Sangria, letting the fruity blend hit my bloodstream for some liquid courage. My hands tremble as I’m about to reveal the secret that’s been locked tight in my chest.
“Well, the night before Dalton left for basic training...we slept together.”
Hailey jumps up from her spot on the couch, almost spilling the fruity drink that’s sloshing around in her hand. “I knew it!” She points her finger at me. “I knew there was some sexual tension between you two. I could sense it from a mile away.”
“I think there’s a little more than just sexual tension,” I mumble, twisting my fingers around the stem of my glass.
She sits back down slowly, eyes narrowing. “He’s Drew’s father, isn’t he?”
I suck in a breath. I’ve never admitted this out loud.
To anyone.
I nod, my gaze lifting from my drink and finding her gaze. “Yeah, he is.”
Her eyes widen, her back falling against the couch as she studies me. “I was right,” she says under her breath. After a moment of silence, she asks, “So, what happened, then?”
I shrug and take a sip of my sangria. “He didn’t come back.”
“He didn’t come back?” Her forehead pinches together.
“Nope. The night he left, he promised me he would call me after his training was over...” I wipe a tear away from my cheek. Memories of that night resurface.
Memories I’ve tried desperately to forget.
I inhale a breath, letting it leave my chest slowly. “Dalton told me we would figure out whatever we were once he finished his training, when he came home to visit.”
Hailey’s face softens, her hand finds mine, and she squeezes.
“But he just vanished,” I choke.
Hailey’s head recoils, eyes bulging. “Vanished?”
A sinking feeling settles in my stomach as I nod. “He didn’t call after he graduated. And he didn’t come home with his mom like he was supposed to.”
My chin quivers, and I close my eyes, replaying the memory of my mom telling me Anne came back to the island from South Carolina alone.
That Dalton was eager to start his career in the Marines.
That he wanted no distractions.
Hailey scoots closer, bridging the gap between us, placing a hand on my back.
I open my eyes and look away. “And by then, Hudson was already away at college. I had no way of getting in touch with him. He had a new phone.” Tears continue to spill. “And I wasn’t about to explain to his mom that I needed his new number because I was pregnant.”
When I turn toward Hailey, her features soften. “So, you thought you would do it alone?”
Raising my shoulders, I swallow hard. “Why go out of my way to tell him, if he clearly wanted nothing to do with me?”
She studies me, her face pulled tight. “Yeah, but I don’t know, Savanna.
Seeing him around this week, and the few times he’s come into the bar with Hudson, I feel like that might not be the whole story.
” She squeezes my hand reassuringly. “I think he’s a goner for you. I think you’re the one that got away.”
Hailey’s words crash over me as my fingers curl around the stem of my glass.
The one that got away.