Page 54 of Something Blue

She squirmed as Chase brought up her mom. “Yeah, maybe. Look, can we talk about this later? I feel bad I left Andy, and I’m sure you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

“Sure. I understand. I’m sure things will work out with us.”

Her face flushed with heat. She imagined Andy sitting in the room by himself. He’d be fuming if he ever heard what Chase had said. She couldn’t think about this right now.

“I’ll talk to you later.”

By the time she made it to the room, she’d rehearsed her apology a couple of times in her head. There was no reason for Andy to doubt her feelings. She opened the door to find the room pitch dark. She clicked on the lights, but no one was in the front room. The entire condo had been cleaned.

Wait a second. She stopped short and looked around. Where was Andy’s phone charger? It’d sat by the couch where he had always charged it. Now it was gone. Her heart raced as she continued to look for Andy’s missing items. With a heavy heart, she swung open the closet door to reveal only her suitcase. She ran to the back room to make sure he wasn’t sleeping, but he wasn’t there.

“Andy?” Her voice sounded more frantic that she wanted.

A piece of paper on her pillow caught her attention. She ran over and read it.

I’m sorry if I interfered with something I shouldn’t have. I’m not sure what we are anymore, but I need some space, and I think you do too. As of now, our contract is complete.

PS- I called a cab to pick you up tomorrow at ten. Have a safe trip back.

Sadie’s eyes watered as she stared at the paper. He was gone? She tried calling him, but his phone was off.

A knock sounded on the door. She sprang out of bed and ran for the door. Was he back? She held on to that glimmer of hope as she turned the doorknob.

Her heart dropped as Chase’s face came into view.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

He looked behind her into the room. “Can I come in for a minute?”

It was dark behind her, and she tugged at a stray thread on her dress. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’m waiting for Andy to get back.”

“You’ll be waiting a while,” Chase said laughing. “My cousin said he left with a suitcase a while ago.”

Her face soured as if she had bitten into a lime.

He took one of her hands. “Fine, I won’t come in. I want to say something.”

She sighed. “Okay, go ahead.”

“I’ve known for a while that things weren’t working with Piper. I’ve been stupid this whole time, knowing how you felt and not doing anything about it.”

Sadie folded her arms across her chest. “It was a beach crush. It’s not like we even live close enough to do anything about it.”

“We can change that. I can work from anywhere. My job is not the greatest anyway.”

She looked down at her feet. This conversation wasn’t enchanting at all. This wasn’t supposed to be how he told her he liked her. She felt as if she were a last resort. “Chase, I don’t know—”

“Let’s give dating a try. I’ll come to Vegas. We can be together . . .”

“I feel like we went from childhood friends to dating too fast. You’ve never been interested in me before. I don’t want to be your rebound. If you haven’t liked me until now, I don’t think your feelings will change.”

He clucked his tongue. “I told you, I’ve been blinded this whole time. Remember how well we used to get along? We were inseparable. I think if we got a minute to be alone, you would see how good we are together.”

Despite his confession, she was ready to crawl into bed and cry. It was Andy she wanted, not Chase.

“Look, it’s been a long, confusing day, and I need some rest. Can we talk about this when I get home? I need a hot minute to think.”

As she closed the door on a reluctant Chase, she felt right about sending him away. Even if Andy didn’t want to date anymore, a relationship with Chase wasn’t any more appealing. All she needed was a long talk with Andy to iron things out. She knew why he left, but it also made her angry. In less than a minute, she was sure she could’ve cleared things up, but he hadn’t given her a chance.

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