Page 51 of Third Time is the Charm
A few short minutes later, she was back out of the shower tossing on her trusted yoga pants and long-sleeve t-shirt. Throwing her dress haphazardly back into her bag, she gathered the rest of her toiletries, taking one last look through the room to make sure she hadn’t left anything. Then, she turned to take one look out of the peep-hole to make sure Mr. Intolerable wasn’t waiting on the other side.
No, she would have heard him by now if he was.
This time, she had a feeling he wasn’t going to let her go so easily; this time, she knew she would be followed. She knew she had some time – Darcy offered to take Jane and Charles to the airport in order for them to take his private jet to their honeymoon. How long after that until he came looking for, she hadn’t a clue; she just knew it was inevitable. She checked her phone for the time.Five AM.
The five AM flee.At least it wasn’t midnight and at least she didn’t have any glass slippers to lose along the way.No, the only thing that she had that was prone to either being lost or shattered was her heart; and she preferred the former.
Opening the door, she stepped into the hallway, walking determinedly down the hall and towards whatever hours of freedom she had left. Last time, she’d left because of him; this time, she left for herself. She needed time to process the truths that she’d learned without the distraction and influence of her desire for him.
Chapter 16
She turned the key, opening the door to her old apartment to be met with an unfamiliar sight; almost complete emptiness save for the few packed boxes littered on the tabletop and stacked along the walls. It no longer looked at all like the place she’d once thought of as home. Most of Jane’s stuff had been moved, but she had asked Beth if she could take the last remaining boxes over to her and Charles’ new home on the Upper East Side. Also, Beth had a few boxes of things that needed to be moved somewhere, and that somewhere was going to be her parent’s house for the time being.
Setting her stuff on the floor by the door, Beth began to walk slowly through the space, memories returning to her from when they’d both lived here. She felt her breath hitch with the sudden onslaught of nostalgia as she stepped further into the bare space.
She remembered the time they’d tried to make homemade Chinese food, both so intent on following the recipe and yet their dinner had still turned out awful; it was how they’d discovered their go-to Chinese take-out restaurant. Her smile faded as the memory transformed to that of her and Darcy in the kitchen.
She didn’t know how not to…
Shaking her head, she walked further into the living room, intentionally searching for memories of her and Jane talking or playing games together, or drinking wine and watching movies.Or talking about Darcy.
She’d let her defenses crack for a moment last night and suddenly everything about him came rushing back in, begging for her attention.
The high, her hurt, the passion, the pain – she remembered every little thing.
Her phone buzzed twice in her pocket and Beth felt her heart stop.
Already?!
She’d assumed she’d have more time before he tried to contact her. No, actually she’d assumed that he would just somehow find her.
Swallowing over the lump in her throat, she pulled out her phone. Air rushed back into her lungs when she saw that the messages were from Colin.
Oh God, Col.
A wave of guilt washed over her, knowing that she’d led him to believe that they could work towards a new level in their relationship. It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to, because she truly had. Until she’d stepped into Darcy’s room last night and he’d erased any thought she’d had of ever trying to love another man.
The notion startled her;was Darcy really the only man that she ever wanted to love? Was that where all her ‘time to process’ was going to lead her?
She opened up Col’s messages.
-Morning sweetheart. Hope this doesn’t wake you but I’m just boarding my flight. I had a great time this weekend, thank you for inviting me?
- P.S. – I can’t wait to see you…
Beth locked her phone; anguish burned through her at the thought of having to let him down. He’d been such a good friend, such a rock to her over these past few months, and not only was she going to have to turn him down, but she would be doing it because of the man who had broken her heart, a heart that Col had helped her pick up the pieces of.
Not because of… but for; she would be doing it FOR the man who broke her heart because the stupid thing couldn’t learn from its mistakes.
She’d respond to him later; he assumed she was still sleeping anyway.
Beth called a cab and then managed to get the boxes downstairs in only two trips. She had the cabbie stop at Jane and Charles’ new place first, entering the key-code and dropping off Jane’s stuff inside before asking the driver to take her to her parent’s house. Staring silently out the window, she watched the achingly familiar scenery of the city pass by her.
She missed New York.
Boston was great, but it wasn’t her city.
The cab stopped in front of her parent’s home. Carefully balancing the boxes on top of one another, Beth made her way up the steps to the front door. Pulling out her keys, Beth let herself into her parent’s home.
