The apartment is drenched in total darkness. An eerie feeling crawls over my skin as I step over the threshold. I set the bags down slowly, the excitement I was feeling moments before fleeing from my body.
“Frost?” I try again, softer this time. “You here?” Peeking outside, I notice his bike is gone.
How’d I miss that?
Maybe he ran out to grab dinner for us since I’m so late. I pull my phone out and send a text.
Me: I’m home, FINALLY! Where’d you disappear to?
I wait for the typing dots to appear on my screen signaling he’s replying, but only my words stare back at me.
“Okay,” I murmur, forcing a laugh. “He probably left it on the charger.”
I head to the bedroom to hide the gifts I bought him. They’re stupid little things like heated gloves for chilly night rides, a vintage Harley Davidson shirt, and a motorcycle communication set for our helmets so we can talk while we're on his bike.
I push open the bedroom door and freeze. The air deflates from my lungs. The corner where he kept his bag is empty, and the spot on the dresser where he kept his cologne and deodorant is bare. Running into the bathroom, I quickly spot that the toothbrush holder is missing one.
My stomach drops so fast I have to grab the doorframe. “No,” I whisper. “No, no, no.”
I check the closet and under the damn bed as if the floorboards could have somehow swallowed him whole. Everything of his is gone. All traces of him have been wiped clean. Almost like I dreamt him up. The realization hits like a physical blow.
He left without a word.
I fumble for my phone, hands shaking, and type again, faster this time.
Me: Frost? Where are you? Did something happen?
Please answer me.
I wait and wait some more, only to get no reply. Hitting the green button on the phone, I call and call, but it goes directly to voicemail every time. A strangled sound breaks out of my throat. I don’t even recognize it as my own. I stumble into the kitchen, desperate for a sign that I’m wrong, that he went for dinner and will be back any minute.
You’re kidding yourself. Frost broke his promise. He left. You’re another notch on his belt.
My eyes blur instantly, and I sink to the kitchen floor, pulling my knees to my chest because remaining upright is impossible. A sob tears free before I can swallow it down.
“I’m such an idiot,” I choke out, pressing my hands to my face. “I believed him. I actually believed?—”
My chest aches so hard it feels like my ribs might crack. I let him in, into my home and my heart. I trusted him. I let myself think that maybe this time, maybethis man,wouldn’t betray me.
“I’m done,” I whisper into the empty room. “I’m never letting a man get close to me again. I can’t do this. I can’t—” Another sob shakes through me, harder than the last.
Frost didn’t only leave the apartment, he leftme. I don’t know how to detach my feelings from the weeks we spent together, from the way he held me and touched me, from how he looked at me like I mattered. I wish I had never let myself fall in love with him, wish I didn’t care about him.
Curling up in a ball, I sob on the floor while the truth hits me square in the face.
I cared too much, and he broke me.
CHAPTER 14
FROST
“Who’s doing the pick up at the church tonight?” Chaos hollers.
Eagle looks over Paige’s shoulder to study the schedule I put together for the next several days. Each location has a certain day and time, so we can stagger the load. It gives us time to wrap and address the packages before more arrive. This way, nothing is missed. Once they’re labeled, they’re loaded onto a moving truck until we head out to deliver them.
“You and Colt are up,” Paige yells back over the noise.
Everyone in town has rallied to make this the most successful toy drive we’ve ever had. Losing Mom made a huge impact in the community, and no one wants to see this project fall through the cracks.
