Chapter Twenty-Seven

Isaac

 

Beth startled me as she stepped out of the small break room in my office. “What are you doing here?” I gasped, trying to hide the fact she’d scared me.

“I didn’t have anything else to do, so I figured I’d get caught up on paperwork. Why are you here?” she asked.

I set my briefcase down by my feet and leaned against the wall. Her eyes lingered on mine, questioning, judging. I could feel her disapproval, and I knew there’d be plenty more once I told her how close Maddie and I had become. “I just wanted to make sure I didn’t have any loose ends before I headed to Portland,” I explained.

“So, you’re actually going?” she asked with a relief in her voice that made me uneasy.

I didn’t want to, but I’d promised. If there was any way to get out of it, I would. “I don’t think I can put it off any longer,” I sighed.

“Well, it’s the right thing to do,” she smiled.

Was it the right thing to do? Maddie was happy. I was happy. All this trip was going to do was make us both miserable. “I suppose,” I grumbled.

“Maybe things will be okay,” she encouraged, even though her tone told me she didn’t think it possible. It wasn’t going to be okay. Maddie was going to find out that I’d lied to her, and even though I was only protecting her, there would be no way she’d ever truly believe that. I am fucked.

Beth sat down in the chair by her desk, her eyes reading me thoroughly as she pursed her lips. “Why don’t you tell her, before you go?” she suggested.

“I can’t,” I protested.

“Look, things have gotten out of control, but that doesn’t mean you can’t at least explain yourself. Maybe she’ll understand in time,” she offered.

“What if she never remembers? Wouldn’t I be doing her a favor by not telling her?” I asked.

“She’ll remember. She’s already started having memories, and you know what the doctor’s said: it’s just a matter of time,” Beth scolded.

“I hate to lose her,” I sighed, slouching against the wall.

“I know you love her,” Beth sighed.

I fought back the tear trying to push from my eye and forced a faint smile. “She told me she loved me,” I admitted.

Beth’s face was filled with shock. “Isaac, you can’t continue this any longer,” she insisted.

I knew she was right. I hated that I’d let things get this far out of hand. The man, Rob, waiting on her in Portland, was a horrible man, and I couldn’t bear for her to end up in his clutches. She’d come here to get away, to start a new life, and that’s what she’d done. We were in love. We were happy.

Beth clutched her mug of coffee, bringing it to her lips slowly as she eyed me for a reaction. I smiled, nodded, and then picked up my briefcase as I moved into my private office.

I opened the safe, took out Maddie’s phone and held the button on the side until it lit up and turned on. There were a couple more texts from Rob, demanding to know where she was. The last text I’d sent, the one I made look like it was from Maddie, saying to leave her alone. It was obvious he wasn’t taking the hint so easily. The voicemail was full, all from Rob’s number, but I couldn’t bear to listen to his voice, so I shut the phone back off and shoved it into my briefcase. Once we arrived in Portland, I’d give her the phone back before I left her for good. She wouldn’t want to come back with me, not after finding out I’d lied. I knew that for certain.

There really wasn’t much for me to do at the office, but I wasn’t ready to go back home. I started packing up the Christmas decorations as Beth walked into my office. “You know it’s bad luck to take down the decorations before the new year,” she smirked.

“Thanks for the warning,” I chuckled, pushing a thick pine garland into the plastic container.

“There’s a bad storm on the move,” she advised.

I looked up, watching her eyes leave pity on me. “Oh yeah?” I asked half-heartedly. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk, especially about the weather.

“The weatherman was saying it could be as much as twelve inches in just a few hours,” she added.

“Rain?” I questioned.

“Snow,” she said slowly.

“In Miami?” I chuckled at the thought of snow hitting Miami.

“Portland,” she corrected.

My heart raced at the thought it may be too bad to travel. “So, are flights canceled?” I queried, trying not to act too excited.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “But, this may give you more time to tell her. It’s not too late.”

I shoved the last of the decorations into the container and grabbed my briefcase. “I gotta go,” I exclaimed, rushing from the office in haste.

Maddie was on the beach when I arrived home. I watched her walking across the sand, bending occasionally, to pick up sea shells I assumed. She had started quite the collection since she arrived, all cleaned and displayed in a large ceramic bowl on the counter in the kitchen.

I turned on the TV, clicked to the weather station, and sat as my eyes glued to the screen. The weatherman gave the local updates, sunny, warm, yadda yadda yadda. Get on with it!

Yes, a large storm was rolling through Washington and Oregon was expected to be hit hard, harder than they’d been hit in decades. I heard the door open, and soon Maddie’s warm hand was on my shoulder.

“When did you get home?” she asked.

“Just a few minutes ago,” I turned to smile in her direction. Her eyes were so pure, so beautiful. I couldn’t lose her. I just couldn’t. “Looks like the weather is getting bad,” I pointed to the screen.

A map was displayed showing the vicious storm headed straight for her hometown. “Can we still fly?” she asked.

“We’ll have to wait and see what happens,” I said as solemnly as I could muster.

She looked so disappointed as she slid onto the couch next to me. Her hand rested on my knee as her head leaned against my shoulder. “I hope we can,” she sighed.

I struggled with Beth’s suggestion. Should I tell her? Would it be better than her finding out on her own? I swallowed hard, pressed my hand against hers and felt my heart ripping from my chest as I contemplated what to do.

She lifted her head from my shoulder and stretched her lips to my neck. The warmth of her kiss melted me into her. “I love you,” she whispered.

I turned my hand upward to grip hers, squeezing it tightly as I fought back my pain. If the flight is canceled, I’ll tell her. It felt as though it was fate giving me a second chance.