I clench my eyes tight as I think back to everything Lance told me this afternoon. Cara is back in Australia. She sold the studio, and I seem to have more control than ever.
For nearly two years, it’s all I’ve wanted, yet now I have it; my world feels like it is slipping through my fingers.
I stare down at the tiles, watching as the water runs down the drain.
Because the woman I love, the woman who still tries to put on a brave face for me, tries to fix me, she sits on my sofa none the wiser to who I am and what I have done.
And I have no idea how to face that.
* * *
Nina
After last night’s argument,I found myself waiting for Mason to come find me. He didn’t. I spent the entire night in the spare room.
I need him.
Probably more than I care to admit, and he hasn’t been here.
It has me questioning everything I thought he was.
Everything I thought we were.
I stare down at my bangle.I promise you forever, my Pixie.
My head hits the back of the seat, and I tell myself I am doing the right thing. I have to push my own problems to the back of my mind right now. Mason has a lot going on, and I want to be there for him.
It’s why I’m in a taxi and on my way to Lowerwick. I want to do something, something that will take my mind off of the studio, and something that will allow me to be there for Mason’s family while he can’t.
After contacting the girls from the studio, I felt reassured. They all vowed to practice at home until I found a space, but I know the more days that tick by, the lesser our chances are at winning the showcase. Losing the studio couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Henry picked up work with his dad on a building site for the time being. He is a chilled guy and didn’t stress that he was out of a job. And Logan has been on the phone constantly worrying about me. Unlike Henry, he doesn’t have a job or any idea what he’s going to do, but his only concern is how I am.
I hope we can find somewhere with a similar set up for both of our sakes.
Lowerwick comes into view, cutting off my thoughts, its beauty undeniable and captivating. It baffles me that Mason can be so absent from his childhood home when it is so beautiful.
I pay the taxi and cringe at the amount. It’s foolish of me to be spending so much when I am in such a financial mess.
Taking the sprawling steps, I knock on the door and wait.
After a few minutes, I try again, but no one answers. I push on the handle, and it opens.
“Hello?”
I walk into the entrance and peer into both the rooms on my left and right, but they are empty.
The entire house is silent, no life or soul, and no love. It was full of it when I was here before, the Montgomerys and Lowells as one, but looking around now I can see it as the broken home that it is.
My heart hurts for Mason, and I find myself rubbing absently at my chest.
“Hello,” I call out again, moving farther into the house.
I hear a light cough, and I halt in my steps. “Anthony?”
“Who’s that?”
I push open the door at the end of the corridor and find a small living room. Anthony rises from the chair, and straightaway I notice the pained look on his face.
