Page 5 of Love You Still

Bitterness courses through my veins that fate could be so cruel. That it’d allow this angel to light up my entire world before ripping her away from me and plunging me back into darkness.

I should’ve pushed her harder about what she was thinking, about going with her to New York, anything I could to make her understandshewas my dream. That being with her was the only thing that mattered to me. Everything else was just background noise. Ensuring that she knew with every fiber of her being that she was it for me, that the way I love her is all-consuming and bigger than anything else in the world. But I failed, and now she’s gone.

I wasn’t kidding when I said I was happy for her that her dreams were coming true. The only thing I ever wanted in life was for her to be happy. I wanted her to live out her dreams. The only thing I wanted was to be by her side as she did so. I know in my soul that Selina and I are meant to be together. That this separation is only temporary, no matter how much it’s tearing me apart inside. I need to be patient and believe that someday we’ll find our way back to each other.

“Can I have my phone?”

“She’s on the plane, Vance. She won’t be able to answer,” Lydia says as she pulls away from me, stepping directly into Connor’s open arms.

“I know.”

My eyes lock with Connor’s, and we stare at each other for a few moments before he places my phone in my palm. I take a deep breath, pulling up Selina’s number, wanting one final connection to her before I let her go. Opening a text message, I leave her one parting message.

I love you to the moon and back, Seli. Always and forever.

I don’t wait for a response. My eyes burn with unshed tears as I shove my phone into my pocket and stride out his bedroom door.

Chapter 3

Vance

Two Years Later

“This better be good to be calling me at two a.m. We have to be at the job site in a few hours,” I grumble, sitting up in my bed.

I look around my small bedroom. It’s not much, but it’s all mine. This isn’t where I planned on being at this point in my life, but it’s a roof over my head, so I can’t complain.

True to our plan, Connor and I have been working on getting a construction company started here in Tyson’s Creek. Right now, it’s only the two of us and a few other guys, but we always have steady work coming in. We are one of the few companies in the area. Choosing to keep our prices affordable and working on word-of-mouth referrals is working in our favor, but we want to take our small business to the next level. That’s why Connor and I started taking business classes at the local community college. It’s been hard trying to juggle a new business and classes, but I doubt it’s any easier for Connor with a baby on the way.

“Did you pocket-dial me again?” I chuckle, flopping back on the bed. My eyes droop slightly, but I fight the urge to go back to sleep. When he doesn’t answer me for a second time, I know something is wrong.

“Connor? Are you still there?”

“She’s gone, Vance. She’s gone.” Connor’s voice breaks as he sobs into the phone.

My body moves on autopilot. I slide my bare feet into my boots that are lying on the floor near the end of my bed before making my way into the living room. “What do you mean? What happened?”

Connor still says nothing. I can’t hear any other sounds in the background that would let me know where he might be.Shecould be anyone.Gonecould mean anything. Bile rises in my stomach at the idea of something happening to his mother or Lydia.

Those two women have been my rock since my mother passed. I always said she was going to work herself to death, and I was right. She had a massive heart attack during her shift at the grocery store. The doctor I spoke to told me it was quick, and she felt no pain, which to me, was a blessing. But most twenty-year-olds don’t have to worry about burying their parents. I had bills to take care of and a funeral to plan, all while going to community college and starting a business. Mrs. Bennett helped me with all the legal stuff, helping me get everything situated with my mom’s insurance, and since our house was mortgaged, the bank took care of all the paperwork for me, as well. Lydia helped me find my apartment, saying she wanted to keep me close so they could keep an eye on me, but I knew it was for my benefit.

I’ve been a mess ever since Selina left for Juilliard. I miss her. My soul yearns to be near her, but it’s too late now. I should’ve told her before she left that I’d follow her anywhere, that I got into NYU and wanted to come with her. But I was naïve. I believed that our love would stand the test of time and that the distance between us meant nothing. At first, it didn’t, but then her phone calls became sporadic, trickling down to nonexistent.

She always calls on my birthday, our anniversary, and on major holidays, but our conversations are always stilted and filled with a lot of uncomfortable silence until she makes an excuse to get off the phone. When she called after my mom passed, she listened to me sob into the phone about how much I missed my mom and blabber on and on about how much I missed her, too. She was ready to rush home, but I told her she needed to stay in New York, that hearing her voice was enough for me. What a crock of absolute shit. I wanted to beg her to come home immediately, but it felt wrong.

After that, Selina was always practicing or off somewhere with her new friends. I keep hoping that once Connor and Lydia have the baby, she’ll come home. We can talk more, and everything will be fine, but who knows? Selina is living her dream, a dream much bigger than a small town near the Tennessee-Alabama border. I don’t know how I ever thought she’d be happy staying here with me. At first, I hated her for leaving the way she did, but I know I’d have asked her to stay, but I will always wonder if she’d have said yes.

“Connor. Connor. Are you still there?” I plead as I search my small coffee table set in front of a faded leather couch for my keys, wallet, and shirt. Thankfully, I fell asleep in my jeans after a long day of work at the construction company. I find one of my shirts draped across the back of the couch before shoving my keys and wallet into my pocket.

“Just tell me where you are. I’ll be in the truck in a few moments.” I make my way down the stairs and quickly unlock my truck, waiting for Connor’s response. My mind is racing with all the things that could’ve gone wrong. Connor doesn’t answer, just keeps repeating the same phrase as he sobs loudly into the phone.

“Is it Lydia? The baby?” I choke out, my hand tightening on the steering wheel. I suck in a shaky breath and hold it, bracingfor him to answer me when I hear someone else on the other end of the line.

“Hello? Vance, are you still there?” The soothing sound of Mrs. Bennett’s voice sets my mind at ease. Relief courses through me, knowing that, whatever happened, Connor isn’t alone.

“Yes, I’m here, Mrs. B. What happened?”

“There were complications during childbirth. Lydia…” Her voice trails off, but I already know what she is going to say.

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