Bang, bang, bang!
A hand touches my shoulder. “Theo!” I whip around ready to jump into his arms.
“Scarlet, what’s going on?”
“Nolan.” I grab his shirt and shake him because my emotions have shattered all of my control. “Where is he?”
Drawing in his eyebrows, he wraps his hands around my wrists. “He’s gone. What’s wrong?”
“Gone? Gone where?” Every word flies out of my mouth on a labored breath; each one feels like the last.
“Nashville, I suppose.”
“No. No… he’s not leaving until tomorrow.”
“I woke up to this text.” He holds up his mobile.
I snatch it from his hand.
Theo:Everything is out. Taking off. Thanks for the job.
“What are you doing?” Nolan reaches for his mobile.
I turn my back to him, moving my fingers over the screen. Desperate. Out of control.
Nolan:Where are you? Come back! It’s Scarlet. I love you. I NEED you. PLEASE!!!!!
“Scarlet—”
“Shh!” I can’t listen to anyone speak. The only voice I want to hear is Theo’s. “Come on!” I shake the mobile as if it will expedite his response. My patience is nonexistent, so I call the number. It’s goes to voicemail and says the mailbox has not been setup. “Fuck fuck fuckity fuck!!”
Nolan:Turn around. I’m at the house… our house. Come back to me. I’ll do anything. I’ll go anywhere. PLEASE! I love you… God… I can’t even breathe.
I watch the line at the top. It goes over halfway then stops.
Failed to deliver
“No.” I try to deliver it again, and again, I get the same message. The first message was delivered. He’s avoiding me.
“Scarlet.” Nolan overpowers me, taking back his mobile. “What are you doing?” He reads the texts I tried to send.
“I love him,” I whisper.
Nolan nods. “I see that. He’ll call back.”
I shake my head. “He won’t. He’s gone.”
Nolan sighs, the sympathetic kind that makes me feel like a lost puppy. “Do you need money to get to Nashville?”
My gaze shifts from Nolan’s phone to his concern-etched face. “He’s not going to Nashville.”
“That’s where he told me—”
“No. He’s doesn’t want anyone to know where he’s going. That’s how I know he’s not going there.”
The lines in his face deepen. “I’m sorry. I’ll keep trying to reach him.”
I press my palm to the door, like I used to press it to Theo’s chest. “I want to go inside.”
