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Callie
This is literally the worst day of my life—or something like that.
And it’s not because Wade and I were outed, it’s the fact that I let my heart get intertwined in the mess. I stand in the middle of the bedroom, staring at the place that I was starting to feel like was a second home.
But it’s all just been a façade—it’s not real.
I pull out my phone, and instantly go straight to my sister’s name, hitting the call button. I’m certain she’ll be able to help me get out of this situation quickly. I put the phone up to my ear, trying to gain my composure before I have to try and explain everything to her.
“Hey sis, how’s it going?” she greets me, her voice sounding giddier than ever.
“I really need your help—like really.”
“What’s wrong?” Her voice immediately takes a dive, filling with palpable concern. “Has something happened?”
“Everything has happened—like the whole agreement blew up and Wade’s family knows everything, and things went bad.”
“Oh no.” She gasps. “Where are you? Are you okay? What do I need to do for you? You just tell me what you need, and I’ll arrange it. Let me put you on speaker, so I can start researching flights.”
“I’m still at the ranch. I don’t know if I can get an Uber or anything like that way out here, but I can’t stay, and I don’t feel comfortable asking anyone to take me to the airport.”
“So, you need someone to pick you up?” she echoes, like she’s making some sort of list or something.
“I have Bear with me, too. You’ll have to arrange for him to go along with me. I do have his crate though, so I don’t think it’ll be a big deal. You know I travel with him sometimes.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll make sure he’s treated like the king he is,” she adds with a chuckle. “Alright, I’ve got a taxi on the way. Your ride will be there in twenty-five minutes.”
“Thanks sis. I appreciate you,” I say, kneeling down to pull my suitcase out from underneath the bed. “I can be ready by then. I’m packing right now as we speak.”
“And you’re sure you don’t want to talk to the guy before you just take off? Because I can tell that you’re not in the best frame of mind—I don’t want you to take off and regret doing it.”
“What else am I supposed to do? I mean, the whole thing was fake. I just need to get the heck out of here before his whole family comes after me and tells me how terrible of a person I am for partaking in such a scandal.”
“You make it sound like they’re going to be carrying pitchforks or something.” She snickers. “I just booked your flight. It’s soon, you have no time to waste, Callie. You’re probably going to be running through the airport to catch it.”
“Perfect,” I say with a sigh. “I’ll call you when I land.”
“Deal,” she says. “Pack fast, sis.”
I hang up, my heart pounding in my ears. “I always fall for the wrong people,” I mumble to myself as I start shoving my clothes in a bag, Bear is sitting there watching me—like he’s listening to me. “I don’t know what I was thinking,” I say to him. “I should’ve gone home weeks ago.”
He wags his tail a little in response, tilting his head at me and letting out a whine.
“You’re no help.” I laugh, batting a tear from my cheek as I continue to pile everything into my bag. “Here I was, thinking that I was going to somehow make this fake relationship turn into a new one.” I zip up my bag and reach for the drawer of the desk where I had put the notebook full of lyrics I had been working on for Wade. Grabbing my lucky pen, I rip out a page in the back and start writing.
He needs to know how sorry I really am about all this—no matter how this all ends.
The tears slip down my cheeks as I finish penning out the letter, guilt and heartache reverberating in my chest.
“Callie?” a voice says on the other side of the bedroom door. “Can we come in?”
I blow out a breath to steady myself, gathering my wits. “Sure,” I call out to the voice I recognize as Emma’s. I finish folding the letter up for Wade and set it on the desk for him to find before turning to see Emma and Bailey slipping into the bedroom.
“We just wanted to check on you and make sure everything is okay,” Bailey says, a sympathetic smile on her face.
“I just ... I just hate what we did, you know?”
“You mean faking the engagement?” Emma asks, taking a seat on the bed and reaching out to pet Bear. Her blonde hair is pulled up in a clean ponytail, showing off her perfectly defined heart-shaped face.
