Destiny Ever-Changing (24 page)

"Oh, yeah right," she roars. "All I have to do is make one single phone call to your father, and he'll change your mind for you. I'm not the least bit worried about that."

"Get out of my house, both of you. I don't care anymore. My father can do whatever he pleases, but nothing in this world could force me to marry you. It's over."

"Alex, let's go," she says, pulling her shirt over her head. "I have a phone call to make." She storms out of the room with Alex still cowering behind her, and I hear the front door slam and her car squealing down the drive moments later.

All of a sudden, I remember that Laura is here, so I race into the kitchen to find her. Instead, I find a scribbled note telling me that she took my truck and went home. I dart out to the garage, and it is empty, as expected, with the exception of her bicycle.

I immediately get to work on repairing the tire, knowing that I had to have some way to get to her house; Will and Ashton took off earlier in the other car. But, before I could finish the repair, my cell phone vibrates in my pocket. After pulling it out to identify the caller, I decide that this expected call is one that I am ready to have behind me, so I walk back into the kitchen and answer.

"Hello, Dad."

"Brooks, what the hell is going on up there?" he asks, gruff and impatient. "Jacqueline just called me and told me some nonsense about you calling off the wedding."

Here we go. "That's because I did."

"I believe we talked about this, boy. You know what the consequences are, so you better think long and hard about it before you make some rash decision."

"I've thought about it, and I guess I'll accept the consequences. I'm not marrying her."

"Like I told you before, you can do whatever you want once the contracts are signed."

"No!" I yell.

"I'm on my way up there." He hangs up before I have a chance to talk him out of it, and I hurl my cell phone across the kitchen, shattering a glass tea pitcher. Shards of glass and plastic pieces of my phone litter the counter and the floor, and tea runs off the granite, dripping onto the tile in a steady rhythm.

But I don't care. All I care about right now is seeing Laura.

Chapter Seventeen — It's So Over, Again

Laura:

I grab Brooks's truck keys off of the kitchen counter and race out to the garage; I have to get away from here. I'm not the least bit jealous that Alex is with Jacqueline, and I don't know how they met—nor do I care. I do care, however, about why they dragged me into the middle of it and plotted against me.

The suspicions that I have been harboring about Jacqueline's motives have now been confirmed, and the scene that was just laid out before me was more than I cared to witness. Also, the situation was made significantly more uncomfortable for me, just knowing that Brooks had to see it, too. I could tell that he was about to explode.

As I carelessly whip the bulky diesel pickup into Nana's drive, chunks of gravel pepper the front porch, and it doesn't take long for Nana to scurry out, readying herself to scold Brooks. She opens her mouth to reprimand him, but instead, the words come to a screeching halt at the tip of her tongue once she sees me climbing out of the cab.

"Sorry, Nana. I wasn't thinking."

"Why are you driving that young man's truck? What's wrong?" She holds the door open for me as I come in. "You look upset."

"That's because I kinda am," I admit, dropping down onto the pale blue loveseat.

She sits down beside me and places her bony hand on my knee, tiny blue veins creating a roadmap under her translucent skin. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I tell her everything. I tell her all about Brooks, filling her in on our adventures together: the airborne panties, the night I found him asleep on the beach, the day he revealed his identity, and the times we spent together at the cave, the cove, his home, and the marina. I explain the unfortunate situation that he is in with his father and fiancé. And lastly, I divulge this morning's conversation with Alex and, then, the appalling revelation that Brooks and I happened upon just now. All the while, Nana listens patiently and silently, twirling a loose string from her apron around her finger.

As my story comes to an end, her soundless laughter causes the sofa to quake. While I didn't find anything about my story amusing, she seems to find it full of humor. "Laura, I thought you came here to get away from all the drama!"

"I think it follows me."

"Obviously so. So, what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm not going to see him anymore. There's no other option. I can't continue to put myself through this. Don't you think?"

"I want you to do whatever it is that makes you happy. That's all the advice I can offer you."

"I guess I'll have to learn to be. You know, I still don't understand how my mom did it. How did she stay positive after she and Joe stopped seeing each other?"

She lights up. "Oh, did you finally figure out what happened between them?"

"No, I haven't yet, but there are still a few entries left. I'm not even sure I want to get to that part. It's been therapeutic for me to read her cheerful thoughts. I don't want to get to the sad ending."

"I think you should; you've come this far. And just look at what interesting places she has taken you. You should finish it."

I nod. "You're probably right. I do want to know what happened. I wish she had written a little more about herself, though. It's
all
about Joe."

"Well, of course it is. She loved him. One of these days, when you find yourself only able to think about one special person, maybe you'll understand. You just haven't experienced that kind of love yet."

"So, what if the one I find is engaged, and I've only known him for five days?"

She brushes my hair back over my shoulder and her lips curl into a knowing smile. "Love has no concept of time. When it happens, it happens, and if it's meant to be, it will be."

"Not if I'm not going to see him anymore," I mutter solemnly.

"That's for the best, at least until he gets some of his life worked out. And if he's still getting married, you don't want to end up heartbroken. Well,
more
heartbroken."

I lean my head over on her shoulder, smelling her sweet rose perfume. "Nana, would you be terribly upset with me if I decide to go on back to Alabama? I think that's the only way to get away from Brooks and keep my sanity."

"You know I love having you here," she gushes, wrapping her arms tightly around my shoulders. "But I'll understand, if that's what you want. I don't want you to be unhappy here." I knew that she would say that; she wouldn't ever admit it if she was upset with me.

"I'll just plan on leaving within a couple of days, then. Maybe, I can come back after a while, but right now, it's just . . . hard."

"You'll always have a home here, Laura."

I crawl into my bed, wanting nothing more than to sleep and forget about this entire day.  Sure, it's only three o'clock, but who cares? I'm tired of this day. Just when I feel like I'm getting some of my life figured out, something else comes along to jumble it up. And now, I feel like I have unnecessarily hurt Nana's feelings because I know she wants me to stay. I just can't.

An abrupt peck at my door rouses me from my restless nap, and I bound off the bed, the sudden shock causing my heart to pound fiercely. Brooks stands outside the entryway, raindrops trickling down his skin into his drenched shirt, and a mixture of fury and exhaustion mask his usually pleasant characteristics.

"Ever heard of grand theft auto?" He attempts to be funny.

"Sorry."

"I don't blame you. Hey, uh, can I borrow a towel?"

"Oh, yes!" I gasp, realizing I've forgotten my manners. "Please, come in and dry off."

I step into the bathroom and pull a towel off the shelf, opting for a manlier brown one instead of the pink. He swiftly smoothes the towel over his exposed skin and pats it over his clothing, realizing quickly that there's no hope. After I toss it in the bathroom hamper, I return to the bedroom just as he begins anxiously pacing the floor.

"I need to apologize to you," he blurts out all of a sudden. "What they did was—"

"No!" I interject. "What
they
did, Brooks . . .
they
, not you. You don't apologize."

He shakes his head, pacing even more quickly now. "I told her, Laura. I called it off. The wedding, it's all over."

"I don't know what to say," I whisper, conflicted. "What's your dad going to do?"

He stops dead in his tracks and faces me, putting his hands on my shoulders. "I don't care. Not at all. I'm actually . . . well . . . ecstatic." His broad hands slide down my arms, and he takes my hands. "Don't you understand what this means?"

"Brooks, no. Don't say it. Just because you think it's over now, doesn't mean that it's really over. They'll find a way to suck you back in, and you won't have any other choice."

"I won't let them change my mind."

"You say that now, but how do you know for sure? I can't do this. I can't take it."

He releases my hands and slides his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him. "I do know for sure. I'm quite certain about a lot of things. And one of them is my love for you."

"Brooks," I groan.

"I'm in love with you, Laura. I don't know how it's possible in such a short time, but I do."

I push away, willing myself not to cry. "Brooks, listen to me. I'm going to back to Alabama. I can't see you anymore."

"You don't mean that." He reaches for me again, but I step away.

"Yes, I do. I've already told my grandmother, too. It's easier this way."

He slumps, stunned and defeated. "I can't believe that I've waited thirty years to say those words to a woman, and it was all for nothing."

"You've never?" I sniffle, tears blurring my vision.

"No, because I've never meant it, until now."

Before I ever say the words, I feel my heart breaking, knowing that I'm lying to myself and him. "I don't love you."

A solitary tear trails down his face before he swipes it away with his hand and walks to the door. "I wish you the best." And he's gone.

As soon as the heavy wooden door closes behind him, I throw myself onto the bed, and I lose all of the control that I fought so hard to maintain. I cry . . . and I cry like I never have before. I do love him, somehow, but telling him that I didn't was the only way I could protect myself. This hurts. There's no way that my mom could have made it through something so painful and traumatic and still found happiness through it all.

Desperate for guidance and answers, I blindly reach over to the nightstand and feel around for Mom's journal, but the wooden table is bare. After darting frantically around the room, searching all possible locations, I finally remember where I left it. I took it out of my bag when it started to rain at the marina and stuffed it under my shirt to keep it dry. I still had it in my hand when I went into Brooks's house and saw . . . what I saw, and I remember putting it down on the couch arm during all of the confusion.

Now, I come to the realization that I have to find the strength to face him again in order to get it back, a thought that overcomes me with deep despair all over again. I don't know how I can, after what I said. I don't even know why I came here in the first place. I'm going to be leaving here with way more heartache than I arrived with.

Until then, though, I just want to go to bed and stay there for a few days. Pulling the heavy quilt over my head, I curl myself into a tight ball and cry myself back to sleep.

Chapter Eighteen — Consequences

Brooks:

When I was on my way to Laura's house—on her grandmother's bicycle in the pouring rain—I only imagined how much my life was about to change for the better. I just knew she felt the same way, and we could be together now. I never, for one second, believed that I would be losing her. But I have.

She doesn't love me.

Now, on my way home, speeding down the asphalt in my truck, I feel my life careening out of control, and I have a sudden urge to keep going, to pass my house and drive forever, not caring where I end up. I want to disappear, but I know I can't, not yet. I will not be a coward; I will face my father. I have nothing left to lose.

"What the heck happened in here?" Ashton inquires as soon as I storm into the house. She and Will are crouched over beside the kitchen cabinets, picking up slivers of glass and carefully dropping them into the wastebasket.

Ignoring her, I perch myself upon a bar stool and put my head down on the counter, pressing my face against the cool surface and closing my eyes.
Please let today be a dream.

An unexpected clatter beside me forces my eyes open. Pieces of my cell phone lay all around my head, and Ashton is standing over me, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.

Heaving an audible sigh, I push myself upright in the chair. "What?"

"Oh, come on," she rants. "You may not be a genius, but you're not stupid."

"Okay, fine, let's see if I can summarize my day for you," I sneer sarcastically. "First, I went to Laura's house, and her ex was there. Later on, Laura and I walked into the den and caught her ex and my so-called fiancé going at it, naked, in the floor. So, I called off the wedding and made Jacqueline leave. Of course, dad called within minutes—he's on his way here, by the way. And, finally, we come to the part of my day when I told Laura that I love her."

"Oh, Brooks!" Ashton cheers. "You told her."

Will, who has been silently listening in on the conversation, pulls himself up off the floor to join Ashton. "That's big, man. Huge. You've been saving those words up all these years. How did it feel?"

"Let me put it this way, I would rather go through the pain and suffering of marrying Jacqueline than to experience that feeling again. She . . . she doesn't love me.
And
she's moving away." I stand and sulk toward my bedroom. "So, to sum it all up, it sucked."