I didn't want to see this place ever again. In fact, I was pretty sure I didn't want to see anyone from this family either.
I was going home.
Chapter Eight
Hanna
It was getting close to eight o'clock by the time Juliette and I arrived back at our parents' house. Tucker had hung around for at least an hour, talking about how he'd gotten a degree in finance but had decided that he didn't want to be an accountant. According to him, LA was the place to be for a fresh start. I hadn't really minded catching up with him, but between Juliette's announcement and my fight with Cross, I'd barely listened to anything Tucker had to say.
As I parked the car, Juliette asked, “Why didn't you tell Tucker that you were seeing someone?”
I looked over at her. “I didn’t really think about it,” I lied. “Besides, after the shit Cross said to me, I don't know how true that's going to be.”
Even as I said it, I felt sick to my stomach. Every couple argued, but the things he'd said had been awful. For me, it was as bad as if he'd accused me of infidelity. It hadn't been a miscommunication. The fact that he'd thought I could be that devious spoke volumes. He clearly didn't know me as well as I thought he did, and he didn't trust me. That’s what hurt the most. When I was at my most vulnerable, I'd put my life and well-being in his hands. I'd let him introduce me to a work where trust was key.
And he'd proven that it only went one way with us.
Juliette reached over and put her hand on my arm. “I've got your back, no matter what happens.”
I gave her a weak smile. She was the one who needed support right now, not me, but I was grateful to have her. With our age difference, we hadn't been particularly close growing up. She'd been my babysitter, but she’d been gone by the time I was a teenager. It'd only been over the last year that the two of us had truly become friends. More than ever, I was grateful I'd gone to California.
“Don't tell Mom and Dad,” Juliette said. “About the baby. We both know they'll assume I'm keeping it, and then try to convince me to move back here.”
She was right. While I was pretty sure she would at least have the baby, I knew the odds of her keeping it was about fifty-fifty. The one thing she'd never do, though, was come back to Ohio. At least with me in California with her, our parents couldn't say she had no family.
“I won't say anything,” I promised. “And I'll have your back whatever you decide to do.”
We stayed there in silence for a minute and then got out of the car. RJ and Abbie must've already gone home for the night because only our parents were sitting in the living room, watching the first of dozens of Christmas specials I knew they'd be watching over the next few weeks. Another Breckenridge family tradition.
“Where did you two run off to?” Mom asked, glancing away from the screen for a minute to look at us.
“Just wanted to see the town,” I said. “See if anything changed. We stopped by the bar and grill to get something to eat. Took a look at some of the shops.”
“You know, Hanna, The Honey Tree has been looking for a new manager,” Mom said. “I know you've never been interested in the auto business, but you always liked that little place. I'll bet Mrs. Franco would love to take you on.”
I forced a smile even as the muscles in my jaw clenched. “Thanks, Mom, but Juliette and I work well together. I really enjoy what I do.”
Both parents looked up this time, and I felt Juliette stiffen next to me. I resisted the urge to reach over and squeeze her hand. She didn't need me acting like she needed reassurance while our parents were right there.
“I know, sweetie,” Mom continued. “It's just when I think of the two of you scraping by, sharing an apartment...”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Juliette scowl, and something in me snapped. “Actually, Juliette's place is over twelve hundred square feet. We each have our own bedroom and bathroom, and the view is gorgeous. It's a lot less crowded than you'd think.” I gave my parents a saccharine sweet smile. “As for us scraping by, I doubt Mrs. Franco would be able to match my salary and health benefits.”
Juliette covered a laugh with a cough.
“I appreciate you looking out for us,” I said. “I promise, if we're ever in trouble, we'll let you know.”
Juliette and I both knew that wasn't entirely true. When she was kidnapped over the summer, I'd waited until she been found before letting our parents know what happened, and even then, we'd given them a sanitized version, downplaying the danger Juliette had been in. And, of course, we hadn't said a word about how she'd known the male kidnapper. While the catering company did do well, our parents could never know that Juliette supplemented her income by being a Dominatrix at a local club.
“I'm tired,” Juliette said. “And my flight leaves fairly early, so I'm going to head up to bed.”
“Me too,” I said, following her as my stomach began to churn.
Cross and I hadn't decided yet when we were leaving, but now that I was back, I knew that he and I needed to talk. Since he wasn't with my parents, he was most likely in bed, still stewing over how we'd left things. Hopefully, he already realized how out of line he was and would apologize right away. It'd make things much easier to hash out once that was done, and I didn't want this to follow us back to California. If we were going to work this out, I wanted to do it here and forget about it.
If.
The word made my heart ache. I didn't want it to be if. I wanted it to be when. And I wanted that to be now.
But I wasn't going to just let him off without talking about what happened, what it meant. He'd been disrespectful and mean, and I couldn’t let that go.
Juliette gave me a sympathetic look as she stopped at her bedroom door, and I took a deep breath.
As soon as I opened my old bedroom door, I frowned. Cross wasn't there. I walked over to the bathroom door, but didn't need to knock. It was partially open...and empty. I turned again to look at my room, a feeling of unease settling in my stomach. Something was wrong, and it took me a moment to figure out what it was.
The shorts he'd worn to bed were gone. I walked over to the closet and opened it. His suitcase, and all the clothes he'd hung in the closet were gone as well. I didn't need to look in the dresser to confirm my suspicion, but I did it anyway. Empty.
Emotions came at me, one after the other. Shock that he'd left. Hurt that he hadn't called.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and confirmed that I hadn't missed any calls. Or texts. Or anything that indicated Cross had tried to contact me to tell me which emergency had sent him back to the West Coast so quickly.
With that realization, anger overcame the other emotions, and my hands shook.
He left. We had a fight, and instead of sticking around to work things out, he ran like a child. No note, no call.
“Cowardly bastard,” I muttered and slammed the bathroom door. “Son of a bitch!”
“Hanna?” Juliette opened the door I'd just closed. “What's wrong?” She looked around. “Where's Cross?”