Isabella gave a slight shake to her head, a hollow feeling in her low belly at the realization things were really over. “He knows. We were going to try long-distance, before Harrison showed up and ruined everything.” She slipped her feet out of the red pumps, stretching out her toes.
Norah gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We were having fun. We wanted to keep it a secret a bit longer.” Sorrow pricked her eyes once again. “Ugh. Shouldn’t all of this be easier? If two people love each other, shouldn’t that be enough?”
Norah shook her head. “I don’t know. I wish I had the answer for you.”
“Me too.” Tears pooled in her eyes.
“The only option you have is to go find Leo and tell him everything before you leave.”
“But your reception isn’t over.”
“Believe me, your doomsday presence really isn’t helping the mood.” Norah leaned into her, and Isabella pulled her into her side for a hug.
“Thank you.” She swiped at her damp cheeks.
Isabella snuck out of the reception, without saying goodbye to friends or family. She took an Uber to her parent’s home and ran inside, searching for Leo. When she didn’t hear a reply, she ran across the joint yard, the heels of her pumps digging into the snow. After pounding on the front door with no response, she searched for the hide-a-key in the spot it had always been—under the heavy planter next to the front door. She put the key into the lock and pushed it open.
“Leo?” she called, searching through the Hoffman home.
In a way, it felt as if Mrs. Hoffman had never left. Her presence still loomed all around. From the feminine touches of florals to her quilts. But new pictures had been hung on the walls in the hallway and up the stairs. Photos and canvases displaying breathtaking landscapes and destinations that she was positive Leo took.
Her phone chimed in her hand.
Norah: Did you talk to him yet?
Isabella ignored the text, jogging up the stairs. The house had almost the same exact set-up as the Whitley’s, but was swapped, making it so that Leo’s bedroom was upstairs to the left rather than the right like her own. She pushed open the door, her heart pounding and her feet wet from stepping in the snow.
“Leo?” she called again, searching the room. But the room was completely empty.
Defeated and hopeless, her feet burning from the cold, she slumped onto the window seat. The blinds were still closed, and she pinched the slats, gazing out at her own bedroom.
Her chest felt hollowed out, her heart now completely gone. Leo felt further from her than he ever had before. Even further than those first few months after she’d returned to New York after Mrs. Hoffman had told her to leave and not come back, when she’d felt so heartbroken. But now, she worried her heart would never be revived.
She glanced around the room. The sheets had been stripped from the bed and the quilt Mrs. Hoffman made Leo and given him their sophomore year sat folded at the foot of it. There was no luggage, clothes, shoes, or any other sign Leo had ever been there. Only one thing remained, on top of the folded quilt sat a magnet. She picked it up and gazed at the words:Pineridge, Coloradoprinted on it with a picture of a snowy mountain and a sled. Without having been told, she knew this small gift had been intended for her.
She squeezed the magnet in her fist, pulled herself up, and dragged herself back down the stairs and out of the house. After locking the door and returning the hide-a-key, Isabella went back to the Whitley home and into her childhood room. She took one last look at the space, filling her mind with the memories. All the good and bad. Then she slipped off the wet pumps and began packing her things, tucking the precious magnet into her suitcase.
Celebrating Christmas went dreadfully slow.If she could’ve, Isabella would’ve headed to the airport Christmas night after she finished packing her things. But her flight wasn’t until nine o’clock the following morning, and Ava had been so happy Isabella was finally celebrating Christmas with them. She couldn’t do that to her. But the sympathetic looks Landon continued to pass her all night, along with a gentle hug from Howard as he whispered in her ear, “I apologize for my son, he’s a jackass,” caused her to crave escape.
After a restless last night sleeping in her childhood bed, Isabella got up before the sun and dragged her luggage downstairs. Besides Dad, Mom was the only other one awake to say goodbye to her. She handed over travel mugs filled with coffee to both Isabella and Dad. And when he headed out to the car to load up her luggage, Mom squeezed Isabella in a tight hug.
“Don’t be a stranger this time, okay?” Mom’s voice sounded strained.
“I won’t.” But her words felt like a lie. Isabella didn’t know when she’d build up the courage to return to Pineridge again.
Mom pulled back and took Isabella’s face in both of her palms. “Remember, you’re strong and capable and deserving of love.”
Tears worked their way up Isabella’s throat, and she tried to clear them away. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”
“Love you too, sweetie.”
Dad drove her the two hours to the airport, leaving the house at five in the morning. They sipped coffee but didn’t share many words. There wasn’t much to say. Everyone knew all that had happened with Harrison and the proposal, then her telling Leo she wanted to stay but he’d told her to go. In a way, when Isabella hugged Mom and Norah and Finn, it felt as if she was not only saying goodbye to them, but to Pineridge, Colorado as well.
For good this time.
“You sure you’re gonna be okay?” Dad asked, taking the snowy roads with ease.
