Page 50 of The Grumpy Actor

The moment I noticed that only made things worse, I started working at the diner with Mom again.

It takes my mind off things, and I’m beginning to get used to the constant gossip and looks everywhere I go.

Goodness, how does Liam deal with it?

No, Sophie, don’t think about Liam right now.

I place the tray on the kitchen counter and pick up the one for the next table.

“Sophie, I really think you’re overworking yourself.” Mom takes the tray out of my hands. “Please go home. I’ll handle this with Susan. Lily will be here soon, too.”

“Mom, it’s fine. It’s not like I have anything to do at home. If I’m here, I’ll be able to take my mind off things.”

“No.” Mom shakes her head stubbornly and pulls the apron off my waist. “Go to the beach. You do have a secret place there, after all. Go there and get away from all of this. You won’t see any of these staring faces there, and you’ll get to enjoy a beautiful view instead.”

Secret place?

I scoff.

If only she knew.

However, I stop myself from arguing with her. Knowing Mom, she won’t stop until she’s successfully gotten me out of the diner.

I pick up my bag and slip out the back door of the diner.

I don’t even get to walk three steps before I start getting the looks again. As always, I pretend not to see them as I make my way to the beach.

It isn’t until I get to the rock that I regret my decision. This place holds too many memories of the times I shared with Liam.

Tears sting my eyes, and I let them fall freely.

Why did I do this to myself?

I should have at least kept this place for myself. That way, I’d have a place to go where I wasn’t haunted by him.

Did I make the wrong choice?

Should I have just continued dating him and waited until things naturally ended between us?

No. Then I’d be betraying my own heart.

I made the right choice for myself. And seeing as Liam hasn’t reached out to me since that day, it’s clear I made the best choice.

He doesn’t want love, and that’s not going to change. Being with him is only going to cause me heartache.

I sit on the rock and pull my legs up to my chest. The calmness of the water is so much different from the turmoil in my heart.

It’s too beautiful to appreciate with a broken heart.

My hand instinctively reaches for my phone. I go to my search engine and type in his name, just as I’ve been doing every day since our breakup.

Unlike the first time we parted ways, I’m trying to connect to him in any way I can, even if it’s through reading recent news about him.

However, there’s been no recent news about him. All that’s up are the same articles about his first love and pictures of me that people who come to Surfside Haven keep taking.

For the past three weeks since he went back to LA, no one has seen him or reported him doing anything.

It’s quite unusual because in the past, when I was actively trying to avoid hearing about him, he was always all over the news.

---