I also now carried the status of unemployed.
So, without Elijah and a job, why stay here?
This was one of those moments where I felt the universe telling me what I needed, and it was up to me to listen.
There was only one place to go.
Home.
To go back to Fayetteville shattered and in pieces, to put myself back together again.
I wanted to look in the mirror and see the strong, independent woman I’d always wanted to be. Instead, I saw an imitator who wore my skin.
Liam’s words echoed in my head.Whenwas the last time you sang?
I honestly couldn’t remember.
And then it hit me, that tingling sensation I used to feel when I was on the verge of inspiration that would push me to write a real kick-ass song. I let it simmer, not wanting to rush the thoughts until they were ready to be put down on paper. But it brought a smile to my face.
There was something inspiring about hitting rock bottom and creating yourself all over again, brick by brick.
For now, I needed to call my mom and ask her opinion on having her twenty-six-year-old daughter stay with her until she found a place of her own.
Chapter Twenty
Cadence
“Ican’t believe you’re leaving me to fend for myself in Charleston.” Jade crossed her arms in the passenger seat of my Jeep as we drove to into Fayetteville.She’d agreed to help me move back home and made me realize how lucky I was to have her as a sister.
“I’m sorry, Jade. It’s just that you are the only person there I like.”
“What about Rachel?”
“Okay, you got me. I like Rachel. But she was a work friend. Work friendships don’t last long once you’ve left the job. It’s just how it is.”
“Fine. But still. I’m enough to make you stay.”
“You’re right, but I have to do it this way.”
“I get it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Actually, I don’t.” She turned her body toward mine. “Yeah, we talked about it. But what the hell happened? I thought everything was okay. And suddenly, boom, you’re breaking up and moving away.”
“Things haven’t been good for a while, and I just got tired of putting up with it.”
Jade took a second before answering. “Why didn’t you ever talk about it? You know you can tell me anything.”
“I couldn’t talk to anyone about it. It wouldn’t have mattered, anyway. I was blind to it all until I saw it myself.”
I glanced at the driver’s side mirror to make sure everything still looked good on the trailer I towed. I’d filled it with the stuff I deemed essential. The rest of my belongings would come after the house sold.
Since we’d bought our home together, we agreed to sell and split the profits. I already contracted a company to move all my furniture up to Fayetteville after the sale. As of now, Elijah was using those items to stage our house. I didn’t need any of it at this moment, anyway. Not without a place to live.
“If you can’t bear the thought of living without me, come up here and get an apartment with me.”
Jade chuckled. “Don’t tempt me with a good time. I can do my job anywhere in the world.”
