Page 85 of The Friendly Fall

Heart pounding, I run from the workshop, brushing past a confused Devon as I rip the door open to the truck.

“Good luck,” he calls, opening his own car door.

“You too,” I say, giving him—and my past—one last wave goodbye.

I put the truck in reverse, tires flinging snow all over Devon’s car. In any other scenario, I probably would’ve laughed, but right now, all I can think about is making things right with Nick.

Because seeing Devon only made thingsthatmuch clearer…

Nick’s theonlyone for me.

I drive a little too fast down the street, and it’s then that I realize I have no idea where the heck I’m supposed to go. Is he back at the hardware store? For some reason, I sincerely doubt it—but then again, that’s the only place I can think of at the moment. I speed across town, turning the radio up in hopes that it will calm my anxiety…

It doesn’t work.

My heart is in my throat as I throw the truck in park and jump out, leaving the engine running. I don’t care if someone jumps in and steals it. The open sign is lit up at the store, and I rip the door open, the bells jangling obnoxiously.

“Eliza?” Martha looks concerned as I rush in. I’m short of breath, and I’m pretty sure that I look like a mess. I was shooting a couple in a snowy field earlier today and it left me windblown.

“Where’s Nick?” I barely manage to pant.

“Um…” She picks up a note from the counter. “He said that he was going to talk to you. This note says that he’ll be back later.”

Of course he was going to talk to me.

My heart squeezes with hurt. Was he coming to tell me his feelings before Devon got there? Or was it just for some sort of warningbefore Devon arrived? I don’t have an answer, but it doesn’t matter. Whatever the reason, I still need to tell him how I feel.

“Is everything okay?”

I shake my head, fighting back the urge to cry. “No, it’s not. I need to find him. Would he be at his house, maybe?”

Martha’s face fills with sympathy. “I don’t know … I’m not sure where he’d be. But I hope everything’s okay between the two of you … I know things have been off for a while.”

I nod, blinking back the tears. “Yeah, it’s my fault, and I need to tell him … I need to tell him how I feel before it’s too late.”

“I can try and call him for you?” Martha pulls out her cell phone.

“Okay,” I say, ignoring the urge to rush right out of the store and keep looking for him. But in truth, I can’t think of where he’d go—other than home.

“He’s not answering,” she says softly.

I shake my head and pull my own phone out of my pocket. I open up a text thread to him, and furiously type out a message.

Me: Where are you? We need to talk.

I hit the send button, watching as the blue message says that it’s been delivered. Within moments, it flashes that it’s been read. My heart jumps as the three dots pop up on the screen.

Come on, Nick. Please let me talk to you.

However, as quickly as they’re there, they disappear.

“Ugh,” I mutter, feeling a rush of defeat pulse through my body.

Why are you shutting me out like this?

“You know, maybe he just needs a little space. I’m sure he’ll come around, and you can talk to him then,” Martha says, catching my attention from my phone.

“I don’t want to wait anymore,” I reply, my voice soft. “I don’t want to wait at all. I need him to know the truth about everything.”

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