Twicein my life I’ve been stood up. Each time courtesy of a certain red-haired, feisty female. The first time, I hung my head, and then fate had me stopping at the drugstore for medicine.
This is the second time, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand by and lick my wounds. The first place I thought to go was that old apartment she lived in with her mother, but I’m guessing she no longer lives there. At least, I hope she doesn't. I’ll try it if I have to, but first I’m going to do some research.
It’s not hard to find out where someone lives. The Internet doesn't have secrets. When my query for Ember comes up empty, I type in her sister’s name.
Bingo.
After Brody heads home, I leave the bar and follow the directions spouting from my phone. The house it takes me to isn’t palatial, but it’s nice. Well-kept. The porch is hedged by eucalyptus, manicured into near-perfect rectangles. Four steps lead to the front door, and I take them two at a time.
I haven't stopped to think through what I’m doing. I have no idea if Ember lives here. Maybe she lives with Dayton. It doesn’t matter. Sky will know where she is.
My knocks on the wooden door land one on top of the other. Not a casual knock. I’m not feeling exactly nonchalant right now.
Nobody comes to the door. From the corner of my eye, I see movement in the curtains. Lifting my eyes to the porch ceiling, I send up a quick prayer that Sky remembers what I look like, and that she answers the door.
The sound of the lock brings my eyes back down.I owe you one, God.
A red-haired girl opens the door. A red-haired girl smiles at me. A red-haired girl fills my vision.
“Should I even ask how you knew to find me here?” Ember steps back, opening the door all the way.
“I could tell you, but I’d have to kiss you.” I take one step inside, halting when I see Ember’s frown.
“Behave,” she warns with a pointed finger.
“Am I allowed all the way in?” I nudge the toe of one foot forward, inching my way into the answer I hope she’ll give me.
She sighs, her eyes roaming my face. In her gaze I see reluctance infused with longing, fear mixed with need. The magic of Ember washes over me again, drowning me. Doesn’t she know I can’t get away from her? No matter the physical distance, she is never far from me. Suddenly her hand is in mine, and I don’t know how it got there. It’s soft and warm, and when I rub my thumb against the heel of her palm, she sighs. A different sigh this time. Delicate.
Her head leans against the open door. “We haven’t spoken since we broke up.” Her voice is soft but her gaze is hard.
I gulp. I knew I was going to have to answer for that. “That’s how breakups usually work.”
“But didn’t you…I don’t know…come home at all in the last four years?” Little lines form around her lips, a sure sign she’s getting angry.
“No. Not really.”
“You stayed away?”
“I came for Christmas.”
Her anger deflates. “You didn’t come back because of me?”
“Seeing you would’ve torn me apart, Ember.”
“But you’re here now.”
“Because I have to be. Then when I thought I saw you, something took over. It was like I couldn’t help myself. I had to know where you’d come from.”
With one finger I touch her temple, my finger free-falling down her face and ending at her jaw. Hooking my finger below her chin, I tilt her head up and gaze into the eyes of the woman who made mefeelmusic instead ofhearit.
“For the past few years I’ve been imagining you, seeing you in different places, my heart beats speeding up each time. In my mind I knew there was no way I was seeing you, but today, it was possible. It wasn’t just a daydream anymore.” My thumb traces a design on the plumpest section of her lower lip.
“Noah,” Ember whispers, her eyes worried, “You shouldn't be here.”
I shake my head. “Don’t say that.”
She lifts her shoulders, holds them, and lets them drop. “It’s true.” The simplicity of her words pierce me, a sword swiftly vanquishing my hope.
