Page 40 of Return To You

She asks, “And if she refuses before your final show?” I raise a brow, and she just shrugs, “I like your band, not you.”

I snort and state, “It’ll be canceled if she doesn’t speak to me.”

She winces, knowing all the upset that canceling the gig will cause, but I shrug and say, "Though, if you can convince her to speak to me, I’ll give you five free tickets and backstage passes.”

She chuckles and says, “Nice try,” then walks away. I chuckle and sit back, rolling my tongue bar along my bottom lip, and watch Rose.

She can ignore me all she wants, but she knows we need this; we need to talk everything out, even if it's just so we can move on….

Hours, it feels like fucking hours that I have watched Rose before she finishes her shift, laughing and joking with that fucker who seems to be the cook.

Are they together?

Is he the biological father to her child?

Does she love him?

I grit my teeth at my thoughts and watch as she rounds the counter, picking up her bag, but sigh in relief at seeing her say bye to the fucker with a wave instead of a kiss.

With a nod to Natalie, I get up, leaving her a very large tip, and walk out.

I lean against my rented SUV and watch the door for her to come out. I know she thinks I’ve left, but we have unfinished business.

I can’t keep going, feeling numb.

I love her, I always have, and something has to give. Whether or not it’s just for closure for both of us, well, that’s yet to be seen.

Rose walks out, digging through the purple bag I bought her for her sixteenth birthday, and I notice she’s also wearing the necklace I bought her.

Something inside me flutters, but the feeling soon disappears when she walks over to my fucking dream bike and puts her bag in the saddle.

Motherfucker….

Anger takes over, and I snap, “Let me guess, your boyfriend’s bike?”

She looks at me in shock, and our eyes connect, and anger and hurt shine through hers.

All the fucking nights I promised to take her away on that bike, for us to tour the country on it, with the boys in a car behind, before I knew we were getting signed, and she’s got that fucking bike, the one I swore I’d get for her and me, with another man….

Her nostrils flare, and she snaps, “Actually, jackass, I bought this bike on our graduation day as a surprise gift for you!”

My eyes widen in shock, and she scoffs, climbing on the bike and turning it on. She revs it up, and then spins out of the parking lot, and I snap out of my head.

Fuck!

I run to the driver’s side of the SUV and climb in. Spinning outta my spot, I quickly follow her through town.

She has another think coming if she thinks she can tell me something like that, then run off.

More information is just not adding up, and I need fucking answers, and I need them now.

I follow her for two miles before she pulls up outside a colorful building, the sign saying “Alice's Daycare” large above the door. I don’t follow her in; instead, I wait inside the SUV.

She clearly doesn’t want to continue our talk and knows I won’t cause a scene where several kids are.

I know I should leave and try to find her again tomorrow. I'm not sure I can speak to her holding a child that could be another man's, but instead, I roll my tongue bar along my lip again, ignoring the itch to grab a cigarette.

I wait for ten anxious minutes before she finally walks out, smiling and talking to the baby in her arms, and I decide to say fuck it.

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