It takes all of five minutes for me to head back out to my truck and hit the road. I don’t know where I want to go from here, but I do know that I just want to go home and be alone.
Chapter 34
Ainsley
I’m the worst person—the worst girlfriend—ever. I know that, but I can’t stop the fear.
The second I read Ledger’s text, it felt like this protective bubble around us popped. This safe space, where I could just be who I wanted to be just … disintegrated.
And I panicked. My first instinct was to run, so that’s exactly what I did.
Now, on the road to Austin, I feel like shit. I’m almost at my sister’s house, and I’m miserable.
I ran away from someone who just confessed their love to me. Who has proven time and time again that he’s willing to go at my pace, go along with my asinine rules, and never push me for more than I can handle.
And at the first sign of my precious control breaking, I treated him like shit.
It wasn’t his fault our sleepy little town housed enough amateur sleuths to notice more than the average person. It was only a matter of time before someone saw something. Hell, I’m shocked it took this long, honestly.
And this whole freakout is fueled by fear.
I pull up to Larkin’s house and sit in my car for a minute. I need to call Ledger back at some point, but hanging out with my sister will probablycalm me down more than anything. My phone pings with a text from my dad, and I ignore it.
My passenger door opens, scaring me enough to let out a scream.
“It’s just me, Aunt Ains,” Gavin laughs, and I slap his arm.
“What the hell?! You’re supposed to like me, not scare me!”
“I do like you. That’s why when I saw you pull in and not come in, I came out here while Mom and Dad were distracted, so you could talk it out.”
“And what wise wisdom are you throwing my way today, Gav?” I ask, amused.
“I just came to see if you wanted to talk. You look like you have a lot on your mind.” He shrugs.
“There’s just a lot changing, and it’s a little hard to keep up with.” I’m not going to unload my messed-up life on a thirteen-year-old, but maybe telling him some generic stuff will help me get in the front door.
“Is this about Ledger? Are you not with him anymore?”
“It’s about a lot of stuff, but we’re still together.”If I don’t push him away altogether and he gets fed up with my shit.
“Okay, so what other stuff?” he asks.
“Work stuff, mostly. I’m not really sure what job I want to do.”
“Well, you’ve been a lot happier since you moved, even if it sucks not to see you all the time. And Ledger is your boss, right?” I tilt my head in question. “He told me when we were playing the video game together.”
“Right. Yes, he’s my boss.”
“Well, then why not ask him? You’re happy there, and if you want a different job, couldn’t you just ask him for something different in the company? I’m not sure how all of that works,” he adds shyly. “But I do know he’s awesome and would probably do anything you ask.”
He says it so matter-of-factly that a smile spreads across my face. He may not be Larkin’s biological son, but you can’t tell me they’re not theexact same person. The fact that Gavin just gave me the same advice as my sister did speaks volumes.
Gavin’s right—Ledger is awesome, and I need to figure out how to get over this crushing fear because I don’t want to lose him.
“That’s a great idea, Gav. Thanks.”
“No problem. You ready to come in now? I see Mom peeking through the curtains.” He says it like an annoyed teenager, and when I look up to the front of the house, sure enough, Larkin is sitting there with the curtains pulled to the side. She waves as I shake my head.
