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“You’re leaving?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah. Thanks for letting me stay, man.”

“No prob. Anytime. Good luck.”

Sam grimaced slightly. “Thanks. I think I’ll need it.”

Heading outside, he tossed his bag in the back of his truck and got in, mentally preparing himself for the journey.

He drove for a few hours, eventually acknowledging he was due for a break. Pulling into a roadside service station, he filled up his car before heading inside to grab a coffee. While he waited for his drink, he switched his phone on. Multiple notifications pinged, and he scrambled to find the volume controls.

Missed calls and messages from two random numbers. The notifications from Hazel almost broke him.

He read through her messages. A tight knot had formed in his stomach.

Clicking on a message from an unknown number, he scanned it before noticing the name at the bottom. Serena. This couldn’t be good.

Hazel has been trying to reach you for days. She’s been to your house. I don’t know what you’re trying to prove, but whatever it is, it’s not worth it. She deserves better than this.

Another message, he assumed, from Josie, although there was no name.

Sam. I cannot believe you haven’t at least called Hazel back. This is so out of character for you. Call her. ASAP.

Sam got back in the car and continued on. He drove in silence, deep in thought.

He’d tell her he loved her. That he was sorry. An immature fool. He didn’t give her the chance to explain and had just assumed something, immediately thinking the worst of her.

He would stop at Blooms and get her some flowers. And a packet of sour worms.

At the grocer, he darted inside, grabbing the packet with the most blue and pink worms he could find. Then he ducked across the road to Blooms, the bell jingling as he pushed the door open.

Katie, the owner, looked up from an arrangement she was working on. “Hey Sam, what brings you in?”

“Katie.” Sam nodded. “I need a bunch of flowers that say I’m a fool and I’m sorry,” he admitted.

Katie’s face dropped. “For Hazel?”

“Yeah.” Sam gave her a quizzical look.

“Oh, Sam, you’re too late. Wendy Simpson told me this morning she’d seen Hazel leaving Molly’s yesterday, her bags packed.”

“What?” His heart dropped.

“Love, I’m so sorry.”

Sam struggled to swallow the lump in his throat. “I guess I won’t be needing anything then.” His voice was clipped. He pressed against the door, pushing it open.

She’d left.

Days of silence had no doubt told her that he wasn’t interested. He’d been a coward. Hiding out and licking his wounds when he should have been here with her. Fighting for her.

He’d book a flight. Find her. Tell her everything he should have said over the last few days. He reached for his phone, but something stopped him.

Hazel had made her choice. She’d accepted the job. He’d messed up, and now he had to accept the consequences.

Sam couldn’t take it anymore. He’d been miserable for two days. He’d called off all of his jobs for the week, which he was now regretting. At least working would have distracted him. Instead, he’d been moping around the house, living off Chinese takeaway and whatever was in his fridge. The television had been on, but he never watched it, not properly. He’d spent many an hour or two just staring into space. This was no better than what he’d been doing at Lucas’s place.

Forcing himself to have a shower, he changed his clothes for the first time in days. He shaved.