Chapter27
Lakelyn
When I finally garnered the courage to call Boden, my call eventually went to voicemail. I figured he was still busy with the electrician, but then my text went unanswered. While trying not to read into the situation, I took a bath, hoping the eucalyptus salts would aid my anxiety, but to no avail. The silence was deafening, so I pulled the plug.
After dressing in sweats that matched my mood, I spotted Boden’s truck parked in his driveway. But dusk had since fallen, and his house showed no signs of anyone home from the outside. For all I knew, he could have taken a nap, much like I had done earlier, but the matter of ghosting my call and text left me somewhat unsettled and with more questions than answers.
I rang the doorbell, knowing he’d get the alert on his phone.
Silence.
I knocked.
Followed by more silence.
I knew the code from when I let out Sheba, so I could always let myself in. The decision weighed on me as everything had been over the last few hours. It was his personal space, and maybe he was having second thoughts after our night together. But the rational part of me also knew that made zero sense.
What if he wasn’t well?
What if something had happened, and I was standing here debating my moral code?
I punched the code in, listened for the lock to deactivate, and opened his front door. The open-concept living space was bathed in darkness, the backyard a darkened abyss through the patio door and windows.
“Boden,” I called out, feeling my way along the wall until I found a light switch.
There was no sign of life besides bags of groceries sitting on the counter. The hairs on my arms stood on edge.
I headed down the hallway toward the master bedroom and was met with silence from the doorway. It wasn’t until I flicked the light on that my audible gasp sent a jagged spear through my chest.
The image before me was my worst nightmare coming to fruition.
I was too late.
He knew.
I sat down on the edge of the bed before the weight of the world brought me to my knees. My hands trembled as I ran my fingers over the open pages of a tabloid magazine, showcasing various photos of me and words that vilified my character. Lies that were just that, defamations to sell a fake narrative at my expense, all because I didn’t fall in line with what Tyler had wanted from me.
My eyes pinched closed as the anguish of my past colliding with my present engulfed my emotions. Thinking I could run and hide from a mammoth error in judgment was my first mistake. Not confiding in Boden was a close second. Knowing I’d hurt him by omitting the truth was crippling and made me sick to my stomach. As was the knowledge that the way he’d look at me would forever change . . . it was too much.
A chime pierced through the air, startling me, but it hadn’t come from my phone. I looked around the room only to discover Boden’s phone was laying on his bedside table alongside his truck keys.
He’d seen the lies and was now nowhere to be found.
I had to find him and explain. He needed to hear my truth.
Without a clear plan, I sprinted through his house toward the front door, but as soon as I stepped outside into the cool crisp night air, the world kicked me when I was already down, and darkness became my enemy.
Chapter28
Boden
“Well, well, to what do I owe the honor?”
“I’m in no mood, Ry.” It was the reason I’d purposefully slid myself into the booth in the back corner of McQuade’s, needing to go unnoticed while I sat searching for answers. Answers I knew all too well wouldn’t be found at the bottom of the rum and coke in my hand.
“You don’t call, you don’t write. I was beginning to think you’d finally thrown in the towel and ventured outside of Sutton River.”
“You know why I can’t do that.” I’d made a promise to Brooke, one I won’t break unless she wanted to relocate.
