Chapter 36

Ethan

FOOD, SLEEP, AND CONVERSATION had been basically non-existent these past three days. I was on a mission to type “the end” and stick it to Edward and my publishing company, now more so than ever. There was nothing in my contract that dictated what type of story I had to write, so how dare they place those demands on me? My eyes were like burning embers from staring at the computer screen for so long, and my legs wet noodles after pulling an all-nighter. I stood up to get the blood circulating and squinted as I peered out my office window at the early morning sunrise. It was a beautiful sight to watch it rise from behind the trees and reflect so eloquently off the dusting of snow that must have fallen overnight. For the first time in a long time, I realized the beauty of the dawning of a new day. I rested my head on the cool glass of the window, wondering what day of the week it was. As I moved my hand down my face and felt the full beard replacing the stubble from just days ago, it was time to come out of my writing cave and step back into reality. That reality included a much overdue phone call to Jenna. I reached for my phone and realized the battery had died at some point while I was being imprisoned by my words, so I headed into the kitchen and plugged it in. I decided to take a shower while it was charging and then take care of another much-needed item—caffeine.

The shower had done wonders for my stiff muscles and low spirits, but absolutely nothing for my appearance. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my eyes bloodshot, my skin pale, and even after a clean shave I still appeared disheveled.

“Maybe some coffee will help fix that,” I whispered to the person staring back at me in the mirror. I threw on a pair of jeans and T-shirt and started to head out of the bedroom, when something shiny caught my eye on the bottom of Darrah’s empty closet floor. My stomach churned as I moved closer and opened the door wider. I bent down and picked up the lone earring lying on the floor, holding it in the palm of my hand like a bomb getting ready to detonate. Memories of the night I’d given her these earrings flashed through my mind.

I’d just found out she was pregnant a few days prior and surprised her with the diamond and aquamarine earrings she’d always admired from the window of Tiffany every time we’d go into the city.

“Hey there!” Darrah greeted as she stood in front of the stove, attempting to make something edible for dinner. “How was the city?” she asked as she looped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the lips.

“It was a crazy, long-ass day with my publisher, but other than that nothing exciting…except for this.”

Her eyes widened when I revealed the familiar blue box from behind my back.

“Ethan!” She gasped, unable to hold back her smile. “What is this?”

“Open it.”

Her smile widened and tears pooled in her eyes when she lifted the lid. “Oh my God! You got them! They’re so beautiful. But they were so expensive, Ethan.”

I waved my hand in a dismissing manner. “Nothing I give you will ever match the value of what you’re giving me.” I placed my hand on her belly that still wasn’t showing any sign of pregnancy, but inside was the most precious gift I could ever ask for.

“I love you so much!” She sobbed, kissing my face over and over.

So much had changed from that day, and this earring that had once meant so much to her, thrown upon her closet floor like a piece of cheap costume jewelry was proof of how much our marriage had disintegrated in such a short amount of time. Once Nolan was born everything started to unravel. I eyed up the once precious possession one last time before hurling it across the room. Every time I managed to chase her ghost away, she had to let me know she was still here haunting me. Maybe I needed to get away for a little bit, head to some place new to research for my next book. I wasn’t sure what the answer was, but at the moment, I knew getting out of that bedroom that reminded me so much of her was a start. I headed back downstairs, my mood tainted by the recent memory of us.

The first sip of coffee entering my body sweetened my sour thoughts from just a few moments ago. I scanned my phone, checking the messages that had come through in the last few days I’d been MIA, surprised to find not one from Jenna.

“Great.” I sighed. She was more than likely pissed at me for my silence. I scrolled through my contacts and found her name, hoping she’d understand that I wasn’t ignoring her on purpose.

“Hey, Jenna.” The sound of her voice was like music to my ears, and it was at that point I realized just how much I missed her.

“Oh, hey.” She sounded distant, and I couldn’t tell if that was because she was pissed or preoccupied with something else at that moment.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called or texted. I’ve just been really busy trying to meet this deadline.”

“It’s…not a big deal.” She was a little too quick to brush it off, which told me it was a big deal.

“So, what have you been up to?”

“Nothing much. I finished painting all the bedrooms and they laid the last tiles in the bathrooms. It looks really nice.”

“That’s cool.” I wished she were sitting right beside me. An awkward silence fell between us, not at all what I’d been expecting after not speaking to her for several days. Normally, Jenna could keep the conversation going nonstop even if we’d just talked only minutes ago, but at that moment it seemed as if she had nothing to say. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Just been a busy couple of days.”

“Oh...okay.” I was hoping that was all that was on her mind and without being there with her to read her, I had no other choice but to believe her. “Well, umm…maybe we can get together at some point next week.”

“I’d like that very much,” she replied, almost in a whisper.

“Okay, I’ll…call you tomorrow, or if you get bored you can always call me later.”

“K, that sounds like a plan,” she replied, sounding more like the Jenna I knew.

I hung up the phone, a little uneasy over our conversation, but there was nothing I could do about it at that moment. I’d hash things out with her when I saw her again. I grabbed my cup of coffee and headed back into my office in hopes of reaching the end of this book and releasing myself from my prison sentence. But when I got behind my computer a million thoughts raced through my mind and none of them had to do with the story I was supposed to be concentrating on. Jenna. Nolan. Darrah. My head was spinning, making it impossible to focus on anything. I opened my desk drawer, deciding on some self-torture as I pulled out the crumpled-up letter once again.

My Beautiful Angel Eyes….

I was filled once again with a sense of familiarity with that salutation. Where had I heard that before? I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair when it dawned on me. The sailboat at the marina the day I’d visited, bearing the name Angel Eyes. Now that I’d figured it out, I should have been satisfied, but it seemed to be bothering me even more. I thought back to that day and the most gorgeous boat I’d ever laid eyes on. Darrah had been my first thought the moment I saw it, knowing how much she would have loved it.

“It belongs to some bigwig celebrity type with money. As far as I know, he hasn’t even got her out on the water this season.”

It was all a coincidence. My mind was overthinking. There was no common denominator between the man who wrote this letter—the man Darrah was screwing around with—and the person who owned that boat. I needed to let it go and move on. I placed the letter back in the drawer and placed my fingers on the keyboard, but it was useless. I grabbed my car keys, determined to put an end to my ludicrous thoughts and at the same time pay the person I was missing more than anything a visit.