Page 55 of Something Blue

After venting to Carrie, she climbed into bed. Her best friend hadn’t rubbed it in that she’d chosen Chase over Andy, but she didn’t have to. Sadie felt guilty enough. She flipped through a few of the pictures she had taken with Andy, including the one the lady had taken of them on the parasailing trip. Both of their eyes were closed, she was resting against his chest. If only he were still there. She hugged her phone to her chest and sniffled. If only she hadn’t given him room to doubt her, they would be together.

23

Andy

Andy grabbed his luggage from the overhead bin and headed toward the cabin door. He moved his luggage to the other hand to pull out his phone. Quickly, he turned it back on and frowned when he saw three missed calls from Sadie.

If she called him again, he would answer. Suddenly, his phone dinged with a text. With his heart racing, he clicked on the message only to be disappointed. Tanner had sent him his schedule for the following week.

He sighed. At least there wouldn’t be time to brood.

Without going home, he headed to work, stowing his luggage in the trunk of his car. It could stay there until he was ready to deal with his feelings. After leaving Sadie so abruptly, he wasn’t ready to face the fact he should have stayed and worked things out.

He drove like a madman back to Wysh, ready to lose himself in work. Tanner was surprised to see him as he walked into the office.

“What are you doing here?” Tanner asked. “You’re not supposed to be back until Monday.”

“I was eager to get back after you sent me the schedule for next week.”

His assistant looked nervous. “Boss, I didn’t send you that hoping you’d come back to work. I was just about to leave for the weekend. Where’s Sadie? Did she come back early too?”

Andy pushed past him. “Let’s not talk about her.” He closed his office door behind him with a loud slap.

Piles of paperwork sat on his desk with sticky notes full of instructions. He settled into his chair and stared at the blank computer screen. Why had he come back?

Chase’s sneering face came to mind. The gall of him, putting her in the middle of his ruined relationship. It wasn’t right, and yet Sadie had done nothing to stop it.

Andy shook his head, wanting to forget everything that had happened. Grabbing the nearest pile, he dug into his work.

After he threw away the last sticky-note task six hours later, he reached for his phone and turned it on. Most of the tasks on his desk were done, most of the emails returned, and he had successfully ignored his phone. No new messages. He groaned and laid his head down on his cool desk.

He had worked through the night without sleep, and now most businesses were starting their day. Soon, his office would be full of noise and requests and more work. He turned off his computer and headed home. A shower and a few hours of sleep, then he would head back to work for another all-nighter. It was the only thing that felt right after living such a lie.

He had only been in the car a few minutes before his phone rang. Without checking who it was, he answered.

“Hello?”

“Is Sadie with you right now? Are you heading back to Vegas today?”

The sound of his mother’s voice sent a wave of panic throughout his body. “Ah, mom. No, I had to take an earlier flight, so I’m already home.”

“Really? That’s great. We want to meet up with the two of you tomorrow. When does Sadie’s flight get in?”

Andy bit his lip. He hadn’t prepared a response as to why he’d “broken up” with Sadie. He needed more time. “Mom, I gotta go. I’m driving, and there was an accident. How about we get together next week sometime? I have a lot of work to catch up on.”

His mother sighed. “Fine, but make sure you put Sadie first. I’ll call you later next week.”

After saying goodbye, he hung up the phone. The silence of the car enveloped him. He slammed his fists down on the steering wheel and braked in time to keep from hitting a semi. It was almost nine o’clock. Sadie would probably be home soon.

Andy found a side road and pulled over. He grabbed his phone and stared at Sadie’s contact information. So many things to say came to mind, but he couldn’t force himself to write anything. Instead he opened a note app on his phone and started to type.

I’m sorry. I screwed everything up. I never should have left.

You picked Chase over me, and I was angry.

Forgive me.

My mom called and wants to see both of us next week. I don’t know what to tell her. She would hate me if she knew I ruined everything.

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