AllFreeNovel
Share Us
All her things were gone off the dressers.
Out of the bathroom.
Out of the closet.
Ryan stood there, lost in his own thoughts, and hadn’t heard Hayes come into the apartment. “Rook, what are you doin’ in here, man?”
He turned and handed the letter to him, watching his face sink as he read it. “What the...”
“She’s gone, Hayes. She moved out.”
“Fuck.”
“Did you know about this?”
“Swear to God, Rook. I had no fuckin’ idea.”
Ryan shook his head. “She’s gone.”
“It was just a matter of time, man. Honestly? It’s probably for the best.”
???
“So, what is it you wanted to talk about?” Amara asked Jake, as the two went for a stroll along the marina after enjoying an entirely-too-expensive dinner.
Being mid-March now, the weather wasn’t as excruciatingly cold as it had been the past few months, though it was still a bit windy. There was enough she loved about Bridgeport, but Connecticut weather, Amara had decided, could suck it.
The two of them had reconciled shortly after Jake's talk with Ryan, and after she’d moved out of the apartment and into an extended-stay hotel about 15 miles out of Bridgeport, though she’d waited for him to initiate it. She’d quit her bartending job at The Bull and decided to focus her attention on her freelance writing, but she still kept in touch with Dani at least once a week.
“You haven’t spoken to them at all? Nothing?” Jake had asked her, right after learning that she’d moved out.
“No. I haven’t spoken to either of them since I left. Tyler checks in every few days with a ‘You still alive?’ text, to which I reply that I am, but aside from that? Nothing.”
“When Ryan and I spoke, he had only amazing things to say, Amara. He cares about you.”
“And I care about him too. So much, which is why I left.”
“Just so you know, I’m fine with you staying friends with him, if that’s something you feel you need to do. It’s totally fine. It’s still a little weird, but I’m fine with it.”
"OK, Ross. I’m glad you’re fine,” she joked. “What I need to do is move on with my life and let him move on with his.”
“You don’t miss him?”
“I miss Ryan every damn day.”
“Then why don’t you talk to him?”
“Because,” she’d told him. “There’s too much I need to say to him that I’m not ready to say yet.”
And two months later, it all remained unsaid.
Aside from the occasional text exchange with Tyler, Amara hadn’t spoken to either of them at all. Tyler wasn’t happy about it, but he understood.
T: Mar, I told you, I'll do whatever I have to do if it means you're happy, and I meant it. Do what you gotta do, OK?
T: When you're ready, I'll be here. I told you, I'm not going anywhere.
“Here, sit down,” Jake told her, taking a seat on a bench along the walking path, which overlooked the bay. “It’s breathtaking out here, isn’t it?”
