Page 76 of An Unexpected Everything
I was ready to leave. Leave this town that I loved, the people who had somehow become my family.
Because Bella was my future. She was going to be my family.
Only I had no idea if she even wanted that. She had a whole damn life without me. I’d left her once before and I wasn’t sure she wanted orcouldtake me back beyond what we had. We’d never made any promises, and for all I knew, this was temporary.
She was ready to walk away.
I knew it.
And I could only blame myself.
“You want to go for a walk?” I asked, gesturing toward the edge of the lake. The Cages held most of the property and rented out homes to residents who wanted to live there permanently. So we wouldn’t be trespassing no matter where we went.
“Okay. A walk would be good.”
She sounded as distracted as I felt, so I squeezed her hand, and we made our way down the path. The trees surrounding us were at full bloom, the allergies scratching my eyes. The lake itself shown bright blue underneath the sunlight, and in the distance the sound of the river winding through the passage filled the canyon.
“We’re only a couple of miles from where I first saw you again,” I said after a moment, realizing that we were indeed close to the mountain that she had nearly fallen down. It wasn’t exactly Champagne Peak, but it had been tall enough to terrify me.
“It seems like so long ago the ground literally gave way under my feet. And yet sometimes it feels like it’s constantly doing that.”
“I hate how we met again, but I’m glad for it.”
“Me too. Really glad for it.”
“Bella,” I began, not sure what to say.
“I need to go back to the city,” she blurted.
I blinked, feeling as though I’d been kicked in the gut, my hands shaking. “What?”
“I’ve been here for a couple of months now. Far longer than I was planning. And I love it here. I truly do.”
“Are you serious?” I whispered, my voice cold.
“I left so many things unsettled at home. I came here to breathe, to try to find my peace. I had had panic attack after a panic attack, especially after the mugging. And I can finally breathe again.”
“So just like that, you’re going to leave Cage Lake. You’re going to leave me.”
Her brow furrowed. “No. Notjustlike that.”
I wasn’t listening. Not really. No, I could only hear the fact she was leaving even while something inside screamed for me to tell her the truth. “I’m glad you’re telling me this. So you’re not even going to ask me to go with you?”
She took a step back. “That’s not what I’m saying at all.”
“So you just made this decision? You’re going to listen to your dad and you’re not even going to talk to me about it?” I knew I needed to stop talking but I just blurted words that didn’t make any sense.
“I’m trying to talk to you about it.”
I shook my head, bile coating my tongue. “Is this payback? Because I left you with a note? You’re at least going to leave me with a kind word? Are you serious? Just like that, you’re going to leave?”
“I need to fix a few things. Weston. It’s not like that.” She fisted her hands at her side, not reaching out. She couldn’t touch me. Didn’t want to. No wonder she was ready to leave.
“Just go. If all of this was so you could breathe, I’m glad you can. But if there’s no reason for you to stay, no reason for you to ask me to go? Then just leave.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she took a staggered step back. “That’s not what I meant at all. But if you aren’t even going to give me the decency to tell you what I was thinking, then fine. Stand in your self-righteousness. But I fucking love you, Weston Caldwell. And I wasn’t leaving you.”
I blinked, the roaring in my ears intensifying. “You love me?”
