“But I need you, Clare.”
I take another slow breath worried about how many more I have before I give in and regret it. I need Grant too, but I can’t have him. If I sell my soul tonight, I’ll never be able to buy it back.
Some of us are not meant to have the perfect happily ever after. Some of us must learn to love those small flicker of moments when you’re happy. Those are all we get so we must make do.
“It’s over, Grant.”
He grabs at me and I rip my arm away. “What can I do?”
I’ve backed up enough I rest against the cab door. With my arm extended behind me I hold the door handle ready to make a quick escape. “Go back to your life. Meet a nice girl. Be happy.”
“There is no happy for me without you.” A tear, or a raindrop moves over the curve of his cheek and down the side of his face. Grant reaches out and wipes it away. It’s my time to go.
He reaches for me one last time, but I move to the side and open the cab door. “I’m sorry. I’m not the girl for you.”
I slide into the seat of the cab, my clothing sticking against the fake leather. My stringy red hair clings to my cheeks and forehead. I brush it away and turn around in my seat to look out the back window.
Grant stands beside the sidewalk, his hand outstretched as if he could reach me. We leave the parking lot and he falls to his knees in the rain. A clap of thunder shakes the cab and Grant braces himself on the cold wet sidewalk with two flat palms. The rain falls around him and sooner than I’m ready, my view is obliterated by the distance as the cab carries me off to the safety of my home.
With my arms wrapped against the chill, I lower my head so the cabbie doesn’t see me cry, although there’s no way to stop the silent sobs that escape.
