Page 136 of Love Me Steadfast
Back at the house, I climb the porch to get out of the rain, trying to think up a plan, but where do I even start?
I call William. There’s so much left unsaid between us right now, but maybe we can put it aside for the time being?
But it rings and rings. When I get his voicemail, I hang up and call The Limelight.
“This is The Limelight,” Mike says over the textured sounds of clinking glasses and conversation and the television playing over the bar.
Mike doesn’t really know me, and I don’t have the bandwidth for pleasantries. “Hey, is Will Hayes there?”
“I can transfer you to the office line, hang on.”
I wait through a short pause, then the line rings again. And keeps ringing. The answering machine recording is still my dad’s voice. He sounds cheerful and youthful and so out of place in this moment—not just because it’s far from cheerful but because I could sure use him right now. I hang up and hit redial.
“This is The Limelight,” Mike says in that same bright tone.
“Hi, I just called looking for Will. He didn’t pick up. Can you see if he’s in the office?”
“Uh, sure. Give me a sec.”
The receiver clunks down on the bar. In the background, a sports whistle chirps, followed by the faint drone of an announcer, punctuated by the hum of conversation, a burst of laughter.
I count my breaths, forcing them to steady as I wait for what feels like hours.
“He’s not here,” Mike says. “I just saw him like twenty minutes ago, but he must have taken off.”
“Any idea where he went?”
“I don’t, sorry. Want me to take a message?”
I turn him down because I need helpnow. Pacing on the now-clean porch, the rain drumming on the roof above me, I’m about to call Theo when my phone chirps.
“Hello?”
“You broke our deal, and now you’re going to have to pay.”
Air whooshes from my lungs, followed by a surge of anger. Why can’t he leave us alone? “What are you talking about?”
“It’s such a shame. First, you and your whore of a sister get more than you deserve, and now you’re about to lose it all. What’s it going to be like watching us gut those animals one by one? To watch everything burn to the ground?”
“I haven’t done anything!”
But the line is already dead.
Breathing fast, I call William again, but when it goes straight to voicemail, panic sets in.
I need you!
I race through the rain to my car and tear down the gravel road. I don’t know where to go. Home?
Home. Even through my frazzled panic, I recognize the warmth vibrating my heart.
It’s the tall pines and the wraparound porch and William’s truck waiting for an adventure. It’s Ollie greeting me at the door, her soft muzzle brushing my shins, sleeping at my side like my own personal sentry. It’s waking to the fragrant warmth from the woodstove in the morning. The scent of William’s soap and the feel of his lips against my skin. It’s cuddling with him on the porch bed while the rain drums on the roof. It’s his body curled around me at night and hissteady heartbeat against my cheek. It’s knowing I’m loved and cherished and safe.
It's William. He’s my home.
He’s all I’ve ever wanted, and I’m about to lose it all again. A sob rips from my throat just as my phone rings through the Bluetooth.
“Zach?” I manage.
