Page 69 of Polly

Chapter 22

Polly

Polly stayed in bed and thought about it. It made sense. She and Flynn were hours apart. He was a man with needs. Of course he would indulge. Tears welled in her eyes and a wave of sadness hit her. They’d been doomed from the start. Their obligations would always keep them apart. The tears broke free. How Flynn handled this and how he’d let Polly find out was shitty, though.

The warmth from the tears flooded down Polly’s cheeks as she tapped out a message on her phone.

Polly: We’re done. No need to contact me.

The response was immediate despite the late hour.

Flynn: Whoa, wht hppnd? Answr the phne

Polly’s phone rang. The familiar picture of Flynn’s smiling face flashed across the screen. Her heart stuttered when she saw his picture, and she choked back a sob.

The voicemail notification lit up on her phone and text messages began pinging.

Polly turned off her phone and laid back in her bunk. The hum of the bus wheels and darkness surrounding her lulled her as she cried. The only light came from a muted TV built into the foot of the bunk.

She heard shuffling in the aisle outside and suddenly the bunk’s barrier ripped back and Jade and Ryker’s sleepy faces appeared. Jade’s rainbow hair was sleep tossed and Ryker’s dark hair was messy, like Jade had been running her fingers through it.

“What’s wrong?” Jade whispered.

Polly sucked in a breath and started to answer but Jade nodded and interrupted. “Man trouble,” Jade said.

Ryker nodded. “Okay, take the night to think about it. I’ll arrange an assassination or kidnapping or whatever in the morning if you want. Hang on until daylight.” He patted Polly on the shoulder. “I’ve got your back.”

He turned to Jade. “Night, sweetness.” He kissed her on the cheek, then disappeared into his bunk.

Jade chuckled and climbed into the bunk beside Polly and shut the curtain. “The perks of loving a SEAL.” She snuggled up to Polly and wrapped her arms around her. Jade’s warmth cocooned Polly. They touched noses and met eyes in the dim glow from the TV.

“Talk,” Jade said.

“I - I...” Polly swallowed. “There are pictures of Flynn with his hands on Amie. I know the tabloids lie, but I didn’t even have to read them. Pictures are worth a thousand words. His hands are on her. He knew that the two of them working together worried me.” She sobbed. “He said it was a professional relationship. There’s a picture with his hand on her boob. I don’t see how that’s professional.”

“Oh, Polly.” Jade hugged her tight. “I’m so sorry. If I can do anything, please let me know.”

Jade stroked her hair and held her until they both drifted into a restless sleep.

In the morning, Polly woke before Jade. The warm body sleeping next to her was comforting, but it wasn’t the one she wanted. She missed Flynn. But Flynn had betrayed her. She’d lost her best friend and her boyfriend at once.

Tears filled Polly’s eyes. She’d trusted Flynn and never thought he would break her heart like this. Feelings of emptiness and hopelessness overwhelmed her. Every man she’d dated lied to her. Grady had been married. She’d asked Flynn about Amie and he’d told her nothing was happening. The lie made Flynn’s betrayal sting worse than Grady’s.

Polly turned on her phone, which lit up with missed calls and texts from Flynn. She deleted the texts without reading them and blocked his number. Polly couldn’t bring herself to delete his voicemails. She wasn’t perfect. What if she had a moment of weakness and needed to hear his voice one more time?

The bus no longer moved and her phone’s clock showed that sound check would happen soon.

Lightly, she shook Jade, whose groggy eyes opened.

“Hey. You okay?” Jade asked.

“Yeah. It’s going to take some time, but I’ll be okay.”

Jade nodded. “I’m here for you. If you ever want to talk or rant or whatever, you can come to me.”

When Polly bobbed her head yes, Jade opened the curtain and hopped from the bunk. Polly followed her.

Ryker sat at the table up front with three steaming coffees in front of him. His short, dark hair looked neatly combed, and a tattoo poked out from the neck of his snug security shirt. He sipped his coffee.

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