Looking up at his beautiful, hurt face, she said, “I’m sorry, Tate.”
He gave her one last look before turning and leaving the room. She listened as he ran downstairs, and when he slammed the door, she was left heartbroken all over again. She wanted to run after him, tell him he was right, but she couldn’t. She knew she was doing the right thing.
Or at least, she hoped so.
Tate wanted to beat the shit out of something, or someone.
Stomping through his house, he gathered his things before going out to the truck and throwing them in the back. Standing there, he took in angry breaths before opening the door and staring at the driver’s seat. Shaking his head, he jumped into the truck, ignoring his desire to run back into the house and hide. No matter how much he wanted to blame his shaking hands on his anger, he knew it was because he was freaking out inside. No matter how angry he was, his anxiety played a major role in his life, and he hated it. He hated that he couldn’t control it, that he couldn’t control the fact that his family was gone and that he couldn’t control how Audrey thought. He was so mad, so hurt, but he had to drive, he had to go to the airfield, and he had to let Audrey go.
Even if doing that made him feel like he had lost everything.
Starting the truck, he took in three long breaths before pulling out of the driveway. Once on the road, he was able to calm down, get his anxiety under control again. But though his heart rate returned to normal, his fight with Audrey took over. He replayed the argument, the words she said, those he said, and nothing added up. He didn’t understand how something that didn’t matter at that moment was keeping them apart. Why was she doing this? Didn’t she understand that his heart was invested with her? He wanted to turn around and go back. Convince her she was wrong. But what good would that do? She didn’t want to be happy, she didn’t want to give him a chance, or at least see where they could go. She’d rather ruin everything over something trivial, something that had nothing to do with them right now. He understood that she was worried about their future, but could they at least get through now before they started worrying about that?
Ah, she drove him nuts!
He knew this was because of that ass-hat, Levi. The guy had hurt her, and because of that pain, he was paying for it. Tate didn’t understand it. What could that asshole say to mess her up so bad? Did he tell her that men didn’t want women who couldn’t have kids? Is that why she was so hung up on it? He wanted nothing more than to confront Levi, demand to know what he’d said to ruin Audrey. He then would promptly beat the shit out of him for hurting her. Why couldn’t he have found her eight months ago? Tate asked himself. Would it have been different? Would she have known what was standing in front of her then?
Pulling into the airfield, he recalled the look on Audrey’s face and knew that she had done what she felt was right. No matter what, he didn’t think she would change her mind. He didn’t understand it and felt utterly helpless.
He got out of the truck, grabbed his bags, and headed for the plane. Things were falling apart around him, but he still had a plane to catch and a game to play.
When Audrey’s phone rang for the tenth time, she decided she might want to make sure it wasn’t Fallon. Peeking out from under the sheets she and Tate had made love in, she saw that it wasn’t Fallon but Piper. Clicking Ignore, she saw that the other nine calls had been from Piper too. Hating that she was ignoring her best friend, Audrey shook her head and went back into hiding.
When her phone rang again and it was Piper, she decided she should answer. Piper could be dying or something.
“About time!” Piper yelled into the phone, making Audrey cringe. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone or joking or being happy. She wanted to drown in her sorrows, and hate herself for hurting Tate.
She was a stupid bitch.