Page 60 of Broken Rules
Chapter Eighteen
Savannah opened herdoor and walked into her cottage. Without bothering to turn a light on, she dragged her body over to the couch and collapsed.
She spent the night there, bunched in a tiny ball. In the morning, she still couldn’t move. Morning became afternoon. Her phone rang, forcing her eyes to open. It was Brandi. She let it ring. Hours passed by. Someone knocked on her door. She only moved to use the bathroom. But when evening approached, she got a call she couldn’t ignore.
“Hi Ellen,” she rasped.
“Savannah, honey, I’m so sorry, but I can’t go to Nonna’s tonight. I’m not feeling well, and I don’t want to risk getting her sick, not in her condition. Do you want me to call Janet, and see if she can fill in for me?”
Savannah shook her head before she remembered Ellen wouldn’t be able to see her answer. She had to force herself to speak.
“No, this is her night off. She always watches her grandchildren. I...” Savannah took a deep breath. “I will go. You rest up and feel better.”
Her hand shook as she fit the key into Nonna’s front door. The evening nurse would have left for the night. She knew she would find Nonna sitting up in bed watching an old movie. She crossed to her four season room that had been turned into a first floor bedroom.
“Oh dear,” Nonna said when they locked eyes. “Someone has broken my gal’s heart. Come here, my darling.” Her nonna patted the side of her bed.
Savannah released her breath. Her shoulders slumped, and she padded across the room and curled up next to her grandmother.
She couldn’t do what her heart craved, which was to release it all and spill her guts completely. She didn’t want to risk distressing Nonna, especially right before bed. She was fragile. But in that moment, Savannah closed her eyes and breathed in her Nonna’s familiar, comforting scent. Within that smell, she could find her parents and the days of youthful security when she was the one allowed to be vulnerable.
“What is his name?” Nonna asked while she rubbed Savannah’s back.
“Damien,” she whispered, choking her sob back.
“Well, what did this Damien do?”
“He stole my heart,” she cried.
“They’ll do that sometimes. Do you love him?”
She sat up and looked at her nonna.
“Ah,” the old woman said knowingly. “I can see that you do. Now, take it from this old lady. If you truly do love him, don’t give up. Never give up on true love.” Pain filled her eyes the instant before she dropped her gaze. “I did and I’ve always regretted it.”
Savannah sniffed and swiped at her wet cheeks. “Are you talking about Tony?”
A glint shone in Nonna’s faded blue eyes. “No, Tony was just a fling. There was someone else. Someone I loved so deeply.” She closed her eyes. “I can still see his face the moment before our first kiss, the smile playing at his lips, the way he smelled.”
“What happened?”
Nonna’s eyes opened. “My story doesn’t have a happy ending.” She patted Savannah’s hand. “Run upstairs to my room and bring me the blue velvet box from my unmentionables drawer.”
Savannah crossed to the stairwell and ascended to her grandmother’s old bedroom that was nearly empty but for a few cardboard boxes. She no longer had an unmentionables drawer. Her turn-of-the-century bedroom set had been sold along with most of her other possessions to afford her medical care. In a cardboard packing box, Savannah dug out her old jewelry box. Lifting the lid, she found the small blue velvet box and hurried back downstairs.
