Page 58 of Playing the Neutral Zone

“I don’t have a clue what to do.He was so horrible when I saw him last.”

“He’s hurt, Scarlett.What I think you need to do is take some time to think about it.Let your heart lead you.Do what comes naturally.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

Scottie got up and slid the chair back under the table.Placing a hand on my shoulder, he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

“If it doesn’t work, then you two weren’t meant to be, and you’ll need to find a way to move on.At least you can make peace with yourself knowing you tried.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, looking back at the screen.

“Scarlett, from here,” Scottie said, tapping his chest once again before he left me in the kitchen.

I tookto heart what my brother had suggested, finally sitting down and writing everything out, from my heart.When I finally finished everything, I attached the document to an email and sent it over to my brother to get his opinion before I moved forward.

I sat behind my desk, the office buzzing with energy, when my phone rang.

“Scarlett Green, how can I help you?”I answered.

“Scar, that was amazing!”Scottie boomed.

“You like it?”

“You hit it out of the park.”

“Well, if it hadn’t of been for you, I’d probably be stuck in some place on the other side of the world hating myself.”I giggled.“You really think it’s good?”

“I do.Now, when are you sending it to him?”he questioned.

I sat there, unsure how to answer, biting my thumb.I’d come up with an idea but I wasn’t sure it was the right way to go about this.

“Scar, you there?”

“I’m here.”

“When are you sending it?”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.“I’m not.”

The line went quiet.I’m sure my brother probably thought I’d gone crazy.I’d spent all this time on this, and now I wasn’t going to send it.

“You mean to tell me you’ve gone to all this trouble agonizing for months over him and you’re just going to shove this into the bottom drawer?”

“Have you spoken to him?”I questioned.

“Scarlett, what are you thinking?”Scottie asked.

“Just answer me.”

“I have.Just the other day, in fact.Why?”

I looked at the calendar on the wall, at the date I’d circled two weeks ago.It had been my way of giving myself a deadline.

“Do you know if he’s seeing anyone?”I asked.

“Scarlett?”my brother repeated.I could hear the tension in his voice.“What are you going to do?”

“Just answer me.”

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