Page 106 of Forgotten Pieces

He pulls me back into him and I struggle to get out of his grasp but he is too strong and I am too weak in this moment. “Don’t do this Tacoma. Don’t push us aside. You—”

“You are pushing me aside. You are choosing her over me,” I grit.

“It’s only temporary.”

“I wanted forever Ry.”

He wraps one arm tighter around me, using the other to lift my chin. “I said this would be hard.”

“You never said she would get pregnant.” I know I am being a bitch but I can’t deal with this. I wanted nothing more than to be with him. But I can’t be with him if he won’t be there for me.

“It’s a complication neither of us saw coming. But I love you, Tacoma. We are still us. It’s still you and me,” he says, his voice laced with a hint of defeat.

“No, we aren’t.”

“I love you.”

I force myself to say the words back but I can’t because right now I am feeling nothing but betrayal. “Sometimes love isn’t enough, Ry.”

“Don’t say that, birdie.”

“I guess I was meant to fly again.”

His mouth falls onto mine and I try not to kiss him back but the electricity that was always between us still electrifies. When I finally break the kiss, he lets go of me enough that I can pull away from him.

“Can you please leave?” I say in defeat.

He knows the battle is over. He felt it in the kiss. It was our goodbye.

At least this time we had one.

“Our story isn’t over. I’ll come back for you, T.”

“No, you won’t.” I don’t even show him out. I just walk to my bedroom and shut the door behind me. I sit on the bed willing the tears to come out but there aren’t any. All that’s left of me is a black hole. And I think the darkness is permanent this time.

I don’t know how long I sit there. But when my phone starts ringing and I see it’s Trace, I shake myself out of the trance I was in.

I look at the clock and realize I am late for work. I answer the phone and tell him I’ll be right down.

I go into my closet and pull out some clothes. I see my suitcase on the ground and pull that out too. I start to pack it and put as much inside as will fit.

It’s a start.

I can finish when I get off work.

I send out a text to Cam. And one to Laney.

Then I head downstairs to quit my job.

* * *

“You’re quittin’?” Trace asks me. I at least waited until the afternoon rush was over.

“I need to leave.”

“I thought you were happy to be back. At least you seemed like it.”

“Things change,” I say as I wipe down the menus.

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