“I have to go…I’m sorry.”
And she took off.
Gage and I were left staring at the spot where she once stood. Then we stared at our father, who didn’t seem surprised by her actions.
“Chase,” my father said. “Are you and Maryellen in a relationship?”
Now I was getting pissed. What the fuck was going on?
“Yeah, why? Is that a problem?”
His mouth twisted as he rubbed at his chin. I looked to my brother, hoping he’d offer some support. He seemed as confused as I felt. My father put his arms around us both and led us toward the main room.
“Let’s go see where she went, shall we,” he said.
I stopped him and pushed his hand from me.
“Dad, what’s going on?”
“Son, there’s no reason to get upset. Let’s go find Maryellen.”
Then I caught sight of Gage. This was a special day for him and Harper, and they didn’t need my antics to ruin it. Nodding, I walked along with my father as he led us back to the main room. My eyes scanned for her immediately, looking for any sign of her blonde hair or white outfit.
Nothing.
“I’ll find Harper and see if she’s seen her,” Gage said.
My father and I stood together, silent, as I frantically searched.
“How long have the two of you been seeing each other?” he asked.
Sharing information about my relationship without her being here with me felt wrong. This was something I wanted us to do together.
“It’s, uh, kinda new. This time. We had a little something last summer that didn’t last long, but we’re trying again.”
It had become easier to avoid eye contact while talking to him. As I got older, I understood his culpability in the crumbling of our relationship.
“I’m going to walk around and look for her,” I told him.
The room was significantly more crowded since I was last in it. I saw many familiar faces, but none I wanted to see.
Evie came running up. “Have you seen Maryellen?”
“No,” I said, even more discouraged. “I was hoping you had.”
With a huff she took out her phone and sent a text. Staring at her phone for a full minute after she sent it, she angrily stuffed it back in her bag. Her eyes shot around the room looking for her friend.
“She’s not answering you?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I think she left, Chase.”
Fuck.
My palms were sweaty as I pulled out my phone to shoot her a text. When it went unanswered, I shot her another.
It also went unanswered.
Suddenly I couldn’t even swallow my own spit as I looked around the room. My initial instinct was to run from this place and go straight to her apartment. But there was a part of me thatwas angry, and I didn’t know how that part of me would react when I saw her.
