I took another look around my house. No pictures anywhere. No decorations to make it feel like a home. No one with me to fight off the lonely nights.
Violet was right.
Time to stop being a fucking pussy.
Tossing random necessities into my duffel bag, I packed for my road trip with little concern.
Now that I’d decided to visit Cadence again, I couldn’t get to her fast enough.
I longed to see those amber eyes, her beautiful smile, and feel her body against mine.
I wanted it so badly that driving through the night wouldn’t be a problem.
Every part of me ached to be with her again.
With my duffel in my hand, I walked out of my bedroom and into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water for the road.
“Damien,” a voice said, and my spine went ramrod straight. I nearly dropped my bottle, feeling like ice had been poured down the back of my shirt.
I turned slowly, trying to breathe since all the air had escaped my lungs. “What are you doing here?”
“You were never good at remembering to lock your doors. And I had to see you. I heard your song.”
“My song?”
“It’s about me, isn’t it? It has to be. ‘You’re a ghost in my embrace, a memory time won’t let go’. You wrote that about missing me. I know you did.”
I took a step back, then another, until I hit the counter. I was seeing a ghost. My brain couldn’t process the person standing in front of me.
“How did you find me?” I said, finally finding my voice.
She laughed, “I’ll admit it took a little digging, but no one is untraceable, and you have a habit of thinking you aren’t someone worth noticing.”
Slowly, Vanessa stepped toward me.
I held my hand out. “Stop. Don’t come near me. In fact, get out. Leave. I want you out of my house.”
She pouted, dropping her head to the side like she had so many times before. But it wouldn’t work on me now. “Come on, Damien. I missed you. And you clearly missed me.”
I let my gaze travel over her. It was early spring, and she wasn’t wearing a coat, only an oversized ragged gray hoodie and her leggings clung to her thin legs.
Her face was hollow and ashen, her brown eyes wide and appeared too big against her cheekbones, while her brown hair was looked stringy and unkempt.
She hadn’t gained a single pound in two years. In fact, it looked like she was still using. The familiar pity I’d felt for her returned.
Vanessa was still fighting her demons, but right now it seemed they had the upper hand.
I had decided all those years ago that she was beyond my help.
And it still rang true today.
I shook my head. “No, that song wasn’t about you.”
She fluttered her eyelashes. “You’re not telling me the truth.”
I picked up my duffle from the floor, and I walked toward her.
She watched me, her eyes glistening as she assumed she was getting what she wanted.
