A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) (18 page)

(16)

Jake opened the apartment door and
expected to find Chloe sitting at the table with a coffee and her tablet,
surfing the
‘
net.

The table was empty.

There was no coffee mug or tablet.

Even the living room was empty.

It was eerily quiet in the
apartment. It was like Jake had the apartment to himself again. For a second,
he smiled
…
but then there
was a noise.

Jake closed his eyes and sighed.

Chloe was still here. Of course she
was.

Chloe appeared from the bedroom and
instantly had a smile on her face. She ran at Jake and before Jake could make a
move or say a thing, she jumped and wrapped her arms around Jake.

“
Jake,
”
Chloe said.
“
Oh, Jake
…”

“
Chloe,
we have to talk,
”
he said.

Chloe got back to her feet and
slapped Jake across his face. His face stung and he touched his cheek. His eyes
were teary but he nodded.

“
I
deserved that,
”
he said.
“
And more probably.
”

“
Why?
Where were you? What were you doing?
”

“
I
just needed to get away,
”
Jake said.
“
I
’
m sorry. This whole thing has me
confused.
”

“
Why?
You thought I wasn
’
t
pregnant?
”

“
I
don
’
t know what I thought.
Are you
…”

“
Are
you going to ask me if I
’
m
pregnant?
”
Chloe asked. She
backed away and touched her mouth.
“
I
took a test yesterday. Do you know how humiliating that was?
”

Tears filled her eyes.

“
Chloe,
stop,
”
Jake said.
“
I
’
m
not trying to hurt you.
”

“
Then
don
’
t. Tell me everything
that happened.
”

Jake sat down at the table. He had
to spill it all to Chloe. The truth, no matter how much it would hurt her.

“
I
don
’
t want you to feel
alone, Chloe,
”
Jake said.
“
Okay? I
’
m not the kind of man that will ever abandon his
responsibilities. Do you understand that?
”

“
I
don
’
t know,
”
Chloe said.
“
What happened last night?
”

Jake curled his lip. Now she was
going to act like a baby. Maybe she had the right to do so, but it bothered
Jake.

“
What
I
’
m trying to tell you is
that I won
’
t let you do
this alone,
”
Jake said.

“
Alone?
Why would I be alone?
”

“
This
isn
’
t
…
come on, Chloe.
”

Chloe backed up to a wall and let
out a whimpering cry.
“
Jake
…”

“
I
ended up at a hotel bar. I drank until I was done. There was a woman and we
ended up getting a room.
”

“
No,
”
Chloe said.
“
No. Not the rockstar bullshit.
”

“
Chloe,
we didn
’
t do anything,
”
Jake said.
“
I think I was too drunk.
”

“
Oh,
sure, that
’
s a great
excuse.
”

“
I
’
m not making excuses here,
”
Jake said.
“
I woke up this morning and the
woman left. That was it, okay?
”

Jake stopped there. He didn
’
t want to bring Mel into this.
Mel meant more than just some woman who was in his bed.

“
You
cheated on me,
”
Chloe said.

“
Cheated?
You have to be with someone to cheat on them.
”

“
Oh,
we
’
re not together? So I
don
’
t live here? We don
’
t have sex? You didn
’
t get me pregnant?
”
Chloe touched her stomach.

“
Stop
it,
”
Jake said.
“
You pushed your way in, Chloe. I
’
m sorry. And I don
’
t want you out there trying to
survive while pregnant.
”
Jake let a few seconds go by. Then he said,
“
I
heard you went to Mack
’
s
house.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Chloe whispered.
“
So?
”

“
You
went to the doctor.
”

“
Yeah.
Had to get a check up.
”

Jake watched Chloe turn her head.

“
Everything
okay?
”
he asked.

Chloe scoffed.
“
Okay? You just broke my heart,
Jake.
”

Chloe took a few steps away and
Jake went after her. He took her by the waist and pulled her back. Chloe
stumbled back and touched Jake
’
s
body. His hands slid around to her stomach. Chloe put her hands on his and
looked over her shoulder at him.

It made Jake
’
s heart race, but not in the way he wanted. He
wasn't in love with her, and he never would be. She had been a symbol of lust
and his dream of rock n
’
roll. He felt bad for her, but this wasn
’
t
meant to be.

“
Kiss
me,
”
Chloe whispered.

“
I
can
’
t,
”
Jake said.

“
You
never loved me, did you?
”

“
There
was a time I could have, Chloe. But right now
…”

Chloe closed her eyes. She shook
her head.

“
Tell
me what happened at the doctor,
”
Jake said.

“
I
told you already,
”
Chloe
said as she broke away,
“
I
went for a check up. Okay?
”

Chloe moved faster and Jake chased
after her. He had fire in his veins, ready to explode. He wanted the damn truth
and he wanted it now. But before he could get to Chloe, she was in the bedroom,
with the door shut and locked.

Jake hit the door and said,
“
Chloe, don
’
t do this.
”

“
I
am,
”
she said.
“
You made your decision. I have
nothing. You took everything away from me, Jake. Just like you did before. That
’
s why I wanted to end up with
Trent.
”

The words were meant as venom and
stung the same. Chloe wanted to cut into Jake and it was working.

“
Is
that really what you want to talk about right now?
”
Jake asked.
“
We
have bigger things to talk about, Chloe. I want to know what happened at the
doctors.
”

“
Maybe
if you were there with me instead of fucking other women you
’
d know!
”
she yelled and then let out a cry.

Jake lowered his head in defeat.
Chloe wasn
’
t going to back
down and sadly, she was right in everything she wanted to say. Jake deserved it
all, maybe even the shots about Trent.

“
I
just want the truth,
”
Jake
said.

“
Me
too,
”
Chloe yelled.
“
Just go, Jake. You don
’
t want to be here.
”

“
I
want to take care of what
’
s
mine, that
’
s all.
”

“
That
doesn
’
t include me.
”

“
I
never asked for it,
”
Jake
said.
“
I never asked
…”

Jake backed away from the door. He
told himself that if Chloe was still pregnant, she
’
d open the door. Of course she would because she
would have the power over Jake.

But Chloe didn
’
t open the door. There was
silence and nothing more.

“
Shit,
”
Jake whispered.

Maybe Trent was telling the truth.
Of course he was. Trent would have no reason to lie.

“
Chloe,
I
’
ve got to go,
”
Jake said.
“
We
’
re
going to a show to pick out a band to open for us on tour.
”

“
Go
enjoy your women,
”
Chloe
said.
“
Maybe I
’
ll be here, maybe I won
’
t.
”

“
That
’
s not fair,
”
Jake said.
“
I
’
m
trying to ask questions and get honest answers.
”

“
I
have nothing else to say to you, Jake. If you
’
re
leaving, then go.
”

Jake opened his mouth but stopped.
There was nothing else to say. It wasn
’
t
worth the time or the words. Chloe was Chloe and that was that.

Jake looked down at himself and
realized he was in the same clothes as the day before. He couldn't get into his
bedroom to get changed. Then he remembered about the practice stage. He had a
bag packed there with some extra stuff in it. Guitar strings, old pictures, and
a few changes of clothes.

“
Awesome,
”
he said to himself as he
grabbed his keys and left the apartment.

There was nothing left to do and
certainly nothing left to say. Jake admitted what he felt he needed to and that
was it. He wasn
’
t with
Chloe and he should have never slept with her. Now with her attitude and
hiding, he felt the pit of his stomach churning, convincing him to really
believe that what Trent had said was true.

That Chloe was no longer pregnant.

As he drove to meet the band again,
it was all Jake could think about. How could Chloe be pregnant yesterday but
not today? Jake had seen the test with his own eyes. The lines on that test
were clear and positive. Something had to have happened to Chloe overnight...
while he was drinking, flirting, and getting naked in a hotel room with a
stranger.

Jake gripped the steering wheel and
hated himself. If something happened to the baby it must have hurt. Right? She
must have been scared to death, and she had been alone.

“
What
an ass,
”
Jake whispered as
he looked at himself in the rearview mirror, sitting at a stoplight.

The light turned green, Jake drove,
and he thought of Mel. He felt like a complete idiot now for even inviting her
to the show tomorrow. What would that prove? Why would he drag another woman
into the mess of his life? His life wasn't the glitz and glamour of celebrity.
He had real problems and he was to blame for most of them.

The band met in the parking lot,
five cars and five guys. It reminded Jake of the old days, when they
’
d meet in an empty parking lot
and jam out for hours. They
’
d
dream of big stages, hit songs, and a good life. Now it was all here, in the
palms of their hands. Although Jake felt like he was dropping his portion of it
all.

A black limo showed up a minute
after Jake got there and he elbowed Luke and nodded to the vehicle.

“
What
the hell is this?
”
he
asked.

“
Our
ride,
”
Luke said with a
grin.
“
Compliments of the
recording company.
”

“
We
have to be safe,
”
Mack
said.
“
No drinking and
driving, right Trent?
”

“
Screw
off, Mack,
”
Trent said.

Mack laughed and Gray and Jake
shook their heads.

They climbed into the back of the
limo and it was Mack who brought out the first round of drinks. Jake wasn't
going to turn down a drink. It had been a hell of a day so far, and he didn't
mind blurring some of the details.

Small talk entered the back of
limo, chatting about the tours, set lists, the album, and ideas to make the
tour bigger and better. The band agreed not to go wild with pyrotechnics but
rather keep it as small and intimate as possible. That meant many side stages
and opportunities for the band to get close to the crowd.

“
Hey,
”
Trent said leaning toward Jake.

“
Yeah?
”

“
It
’
s not my business, but how did
things go?
”