Page 80 of A Chance at Forever
“Let’s get started on our preparations for state competition, okay?”
For the next hour and a half, Victoria forced herself not to dwell on Troy’s disturbing news. When the final bell rang, she checked her cell phone for a message from Rusty. Nothing. Then she ran all the way to Mr. Noyes’ office and waited for him to come in from after-school duty. He ushered her inside and closed the door.
“Tell me it’s not true,” Victoria began without preamble.
Mr. Noyes let out his breath. “It’s true. Rusty resigned.”
A black abyss began to pull Victoria into its dark depths. Her world crashed. She sank into the nearest chair and felt the color drain from her face. “Why? Did he say why?”
“No.”
“Did he leave a message for me?” She sounded pitiful, even to her own ears.
Mr. Noyes shook his head, and Victoria bolted from his office.
She broke the speed limit on her way home. Bud whined, attuned to her distress, and followed her next door. The fact that Rusty hadn’t taken anything personal with him only slightly alleviated her pain and concern. Victoria checked all the usual places for a note, but he hadn’t left her one. Still nothing on her cell phone, either.
Settling on his king-sized bed where his scent clung to the pillow and bed linens, she called him. He didn’t pick up, nor did he answer her text messages. Victoria contacted Rebecca next. She called her several times during the course of two hours, texted, too, but never received a response. They had to be together in Colorado, no doubt about it. And Victoria knew why. Rusty was terminal.
She needed reinforcements. When she called Jonica and Mia to tell them Rusty had resigned and left Marysville and the reason she suspected, the friends gathered at Mia’s house. They cried in each other’s arms, and even Steve and Danny grew misty-eyed. Over cups of coffee and leftover Valentine’s Day candy, the group discussed how to best handle the situation.
“We mustn’t overwhelm him by demanding answers to our questions,” Steve cautioned. “He’s already cut himself off from us for the time being, and we don’t want to push him any further away.”
Victoria stared at her coffee cup. “Rusty needs to know he’s not alone. He needs to know we’re with him and we love him no matter what.”
“Let’s not bombard him with phone calls,” Jonica added. “Let’s leave simple and supportive text messages. Tori should be the one to call him.”
“No bugging him to respond, either.” Danny handed Jonica a piece of candy from the Russel Stover’s box sitting in the center of the kitchen table.
“Okay, let’s tell him we’re with Tori and thinking about him,” Mia suggested.
The friends reached for their cell phones and sent Rusty texts through their group chat so they could see each other’s messages and any responses from him. They figured if he wanted to respond to anyone privately, he’d reach out to that person.
They waited to no avail. Discouraged, Victoria thanked her friends and went home.
She couldn’t cry. Not yet. She hadn’t eaten anything substantial, and her stomach churned from the coffee and candy. Victoria moved through her normal bedtime routine and tried to keep hope alive in her breast. Rusty wouldn’t abandon her to despair. She slid beneath her comforter and waited.
He called and she rejoiced. “Rusty! Talk to me, baby. Please.” Silence. “Okay, then listen. I know you’re ill. I also know Rebecca is there with you in Colorado, and Alex is working to save your life. We can face this together. We’re strongertogether. I can help you. Please let me help you. I’m with you, no matter what.”
“No…Tori…so sorry. Don’t want to hurt you.”
His voice sounded far away, as if he were under water. “I’m not hurt. I’m afraid. I want to be with you, Rusty.”
“Afraid, too.”
“I can ease your fear, my love.”
Rusty remained silent for so long she thought he’d ended the call. Then, “Sing.”
The lyrics to “All I Ask of You” fromThe Phantom of the Operapoured from Victoria’s soul. She heard Rusty choking and sobbing on the other end of the line. Her heart wrenched in two. “Oh, Rusty! Oh, my poor love! Please,please, let me come to you. You don’t have to be so brave. I’m in love with you, and not being able to comfort you or hold you now when you need me the most is breaking me.”
“No…I need…time. I love you.”
Victoria recalled Steve’s advice not to push Rusty, and she drew a deep breath. “I’ll give you time, and space, too, if that’s what you need. But promise me one thing. Promise you’ll call me every night before I go to bed.”
She thought he might refuse, but Rusty agreed in a hoarse voice, “Promise.” He swore his love for her again before he ended the call.
It wasn’t until after she texted Jonica and Mia to tell them she’d heard from Rusty that Victoria broke down. She cried hot, bitter tears of frustration, fear, and loss.
