Page 100 of Sweet Little Thing

I stood up and ran my hand over my hair. Picking up the blanket, I folded it and left it on the edge of the bed.

I couldn’t stay at Fiona’s forever, hiding from Stone. And he couldn’t ignore me forever. He had to speak to me sooner or later because I needed answers. And I felt lost without him.

Someone yelled, drawing my attention to the noise in the living room. I poked my head out to see what was happening. I also needed to thank Fiona for letting me stay, then I planned to head upstairs to get ready. Geraldine would be expecting me. A flutter of hope came at the thought of her. Would she explain this to me? Or would she feel like it was Stone’s story to tell?

I opened the door and followed the sound around the corner. In the living area, I found a blonde who was built exactly like Fiona. Her hair was in a ponytail on top of her head. She was wearing a sports bra and tiny spandex shorts as she danced in front of what appeared to be a video game on the large-screen television.

“Turn it down! I swear to God, I am going to throw that shit out!” Fiona’s furious voice could be heard loud and clear over the music.

The blonde didn’t even acknowledge her. She kept on dancing. Apparently, I had slept through her dance-off for some time because she was sweating and her cheeks were flushed. She glanced over at me, smiled, and returned to playing the game.

“Why can’t you run like normal people?” Fiona continued shouting as she walked into the room scowling. She looked past the dancing female at me. “Sorry about this.” She waved her hand at the blonde. “She’s a fucking fruitcake!”

I walked closer to Fiona so I could thank her and leave, but as I reached her, the blonde cut off the game.

“Done! Now stop bitching. That’s more fun than running. Running is boring as hell,” the woman said, then wiped her sweaty forehead with a towel.

“Running doesn’t wake up the fucking building at six in the morning,” Fiona shot back.

She shrugged. “I have no time the rest of the day.” She reminded me of Barbie. When she turned her attention to me, she smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Beulah. I’m Chantel. Sorry if I woke you.”

“You woke up Satan himself with that crap. Of course, you woke her,” Fiona grumbled. She turned and gave me an apologetic smile. “Would you like coffee?”

“No, I need to get ready for work. But thank you for last night and for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”

Fiona reached into her back pocket, pulled out a letter, and handed it to me. “Stone dropped this off.”

I looked at the envelope, and my hand trembled as I took it. He wasn’t upstairs. He’d left me a note. I felt sick again, and I wanted to run from the letter. I didn’t want to open it, terrified of what it said. Nothing good could come of this. I knew if I went back to the bedroom and curled up on the floor, it wouldn’t make the letter cease to exist.

“When did he leave it with you?” I asked, my voice sounded shaky.

“Early, about five.”

I nodded and stood there staring at the envelope. I had to open it but doing that in front of two people I hardly knew made me feel even more vulnerable. Then again, opening it alone might be worse. I needed Stone here. I had learned to depend on him. Even though he was the one hurting me, I still wanted him to be there to help me deal with whatever the truth was.

“You can read it in the kitchen,” Fiona said softly.

“That bastard better not be ending shit in a letter. That’s fucking low. I don’t care who he is, that won’t stand.” Chantel sounded outraged.

I decided to open it and face whatever his message was with them here. If I had an audience maybe I wouldn’t fold up or shatter. I would hold it together for appearance’s sake. BeforeStone, I had learned to be strong and trust myself. That girl was still inside me.

Sliding the letter out, I hoped they didn’t notice the way my hands were shaking. He had folded it three times. I took my time unfolding it because I knew I’d be forced to read his words once I had it open. Words that could destroy me. Words that I would never recover from. Words he should have said to me last night and not in a letter he left with Fiona this morning.

His handwriting was neat and small. I stared hard as it all blurred together, blinking several times until I could focus and read.

Beulah,

Spend the day with Heidi today. Geraldine has a friend visiting from Maine. She will be there for the next three days. You won’t be needed while Geraldine has company.

I will be in Manhattan. Not sure when I will return. The apartment is yours to use.

Stone

That was all he wrote. There was nothing more—no answers, no promises, and no, I love you. He wasn’t trying to keep me. Explain things to me. He wasn’t fighting like Jasper had fought when we ended. Stone was simply disappearing and, at the same time, leaving me behind.

I didn’t read his words again. Instead, I folded the letter back the way it had been, slid it into the envelope, and held it in my hand tightly. This was my answer. He was giving me space and time to move on. He didn’t want to make me leave, but he was paving the road for me to leave.

“Are you okay?” Fiona’s voice snapped my attention back to the here and now. I’d forgotten they were there.

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