Page 14 of David's Proposal

“Go home,” I say, laughing, and she wags her finger at me with a smile on her face before rolling the window up and moving away.

I watch the car rolling down the street and vanishing in the distance, and it all looks surreal.

I almost need to pinch myself to convince myself I’m looking at Thea. The girl who now has a girl and a boy and a handsome, loyal husband.

Pushing that thought back, I set myself in motion and walk a couple of blocks before I reach inside my backpack and scoop out my phone.

Holding my phone with one hand and unlocking the door with the other, I tap the screen and call Chloe.

“Hey,” I say, pushing through and kicking off my shoes not far from the entrance.

She says nothing, and I get that feeling again that something bad has happened. Guilt spins inside my chest while I close the door, leave my backpack next to my shoes, and go straight to the kitchen.

“Chloe? Are you still there?”

“Yes… Yes, I am.”

“What’s going on?”

I notice how out of sync we are.

Now I wish I made a video call.

“Can I call you back?” I ask.

“No.”

Man, she’s in a bad mood.

I sit at the table in the kitchen, place the phone down, and put her on speaker.

“I left,” she says evenly.

“Uh… What? You left someone? Like a man?”

“I left no one. Well… You, maybe. I flew out of the country. I’m in Madrid.”

I fold in on myself like a melted candle.

Frankly, I have a hard time grasping what she’s saying. And there are so many questions.

Why? Why would she do something so extreme?

Something really bad must’ve happened.

But before pondering that, I’m more concerned with the panic spinning in my chest.

Chloe has left?

That means it will only be me at the wedding.

Thea is… Well, she’s the bride.

And Terry is… Well, she’s my mother.

Chloe has always been that one special person in my life with whom I shared all the good and the bad of my existence.

I can only assume this wedding falls under the good things in my life.

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