Chris was looking into warehouses, since the one Birdie found was a little too much for how much I was able to invest. But using the storage unit for now would mean I could start making money. I could get the store out of the hole that it was in, and I could get on top of my finances.
Enzo and Nora both were making sure I was fed, as eating wasn’t something I was particularly into at the moment. There was something for me to take for breakfast every day, along with a packed lunch, and I was instructed to be at their restaurant every evening for dinner.
I never really took a lot of time to head to their place for dinner, and I was regretting that now, as it was, of course, delicious, and the people they work with were amazing.
It was a distraction, a good one, but a distraction nonetheless.
The store is quiet this evening. Something is missing from it, and I know exactly what it is. There’s this unnatural quiet that is taunting me, keeping me from reaching that destination of contentedness, and it has everything to do with the woman I love not being here anymore.
I hate it.
I hate it with every fiber of my being.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, intent on calling her and begging for another chance, when the bell rings above the door. Hope unfurls in my chest, and I wait for a moment for the person who’s entered to show themselves.
When they do, I’m both shocked and let down.
“Roger?” I step around the counter and hold out my hand for him to shake.
He gives me a solemn look, taking my hand and glancing around the store. “Quiet tonight.”
I nod my head, letting our hands drop, and say, “Tuesday nights are usually pretty dead.”
“Sure, sure.” He nods his head, pursing his lips before he looks back at me. “You doing all right, son?”
The words are not the ones I’m expecting, and for some reason, they damn near make me emotional.
“Uh, been better, if I’m honest.”
Roger nods and says, “Sure. I understand that. Birdie let us know what was going on, she’s been pretty sad about it all. Told us you two were… well, taking some space.”
The words gut me all over again, before he continues.
“She thinks you need some time away from her, that she was overstepping.”
I’m shaking my head before he can finish his sentence, and shame coats my skin like raindrops. “Absolutely not. She wasn’t overstepping, I was just embarrassed that I’ve let the shop get this far.”
Hell. Everyone already knows everything so I may as well spill it all. “I’ve been barely scraping by for over a year, trying desperately to make ends meet. I was about to give up when I met Birdie again, and…” I pause, thinking over how I want to say it. Roger’s sad expression just makes me realize how pathetic I must look, but I don’t care.
“Birdie made me realize that I want this to succeed, that I need it to.”
“Because you want to take care of her, of Rora.”
“Of course I do,” I start, pleading with him. “I love your daughter, sir. I love Rora. They’re my family now.”
He nods, letting out a deep sigh. “Being apart from them must be rough.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” I almost tell him that I feel like my heart has been ripped from my chest, but it seems dramatic, and I don’t think Roger takes that seriously.
“Well, what are you going to do?”
I bite the inside of my lip. “I don’t know. I’ve started to implement her plan for the store, and it’s working. I’ve called and texted, trying to get her to talk to me.”
“Have you gone to her?”
Shaking my head, I say, “She’s up at my best friend’s house.”
“No, she’s not,” he answers, making my head jerk up at him. “She’s home now. She had to work, and Rora had school.”
