Damien
The city had a pulse that was steady and predictable. It bent when I told it to.
It was like a dying animal tonight.
In the low light of my penthouse office, my phone screen shone. Three phone calls. Three are still unanswered. Every second of silence between us made my jaw tighten.
Laurie has never let me down.
No.
I tried to call again.
I called her phone, and it went straight to voicemail.
A cold, calm rage ran through my veins. This wasn't the kind that blew up and burned; it froze everything inside me. The kind that told you something was very wrong.
I walked back and forth in front of the windows that looked out over the wide skyline of Blackwell Tower. The storm made the lights look blurry and streaky, which made everything look strange. Not right. Nothing.
Like the room without her.
Laurie had only been here twelve hours before, sitting cross-legged on my couch with her hair all over the place, stealing fries from my plate, and smiling like she didn't know she was the only thing that ever made me feel better.
She is gone now.
And she didn't bring anything with her, not even her coat, her favorite book, or the jewelry I gave her for her birthday. She always had a small purse and her phone with her.
Things you need to run away.
My chest got tight.
Someone knocked on the door to the office.
"Sir?" It was Vincent, who was in charge of my safety. "We looked at her apartment. "Empty."
I knew it would be. Still, the confirmation felt like a blow.
"And her car?" I asked in a flat voice.
"Still in the garage." Not touched.
So she walked away. In the rain. There isn't a plan that goes into enough detail to include transportation.
My temples hurt.
"Find street cameras," I said. "Every block is within ten miles. Get video from the time she left.
Vincent nodded and started to dial as he walked down the hall.
I went back to the desk and made myself think.
Laurie left while we were having a disagreement, not a fight. Not really. When she was feeling anxious, she would twist what I said inside her heart.
I should have hugged her.
I should have told her that she was important.
I should have said what I had been holding back for months.
I let her go instead because I thought she needed some time alone.
But there is space...
There was noise in space.
It wasn't safe to be quiet.
My phone buzzed. Vincent was calling again.
He said, "We found her."
My whole body went stiff.
"Where?"
"She was caught on camera at a bus station. A half hour ago.
My heart rate sped up. "Where are you going?"
"Northbridge."
Northbridge.
A peaceful industrial town three hours north has a population small enough that you can hide in it. Affordable apartments. No one asked any questions. No eyes.
She was really running.
The knowledge cut right through the ice in my chest, leaving something more raw behind.
I told them to "bring the car around." "I'm going there."
There was a pause on the line. "Sir... The roads are already past midnight—
"I didn't ask you what you thought, Vincent."
A moment of silence.
"Yes, Sir. The car will be ready."
The call is over.
I stayed still for a short time, with my hands pressed against the edge of the desk, trying to breathe through the storm that was building inside me.
She left.
She really did leave me.
And she didn't even leave a note.
My chest felt like it was going to burst, and it hurt like hell. I had lost billion-dollar deals without even blinking. They lost business partners. Investors were gone. I have lost friends without crying.
But I couldn't let her go.
Not Laurie.
Not the woman who taught me that warmth doesn't have to cost anything. Who thought my deadpan jokes were funny? Who touched me gently, as if she knew how much I needed kindness in a world that needed steel.
I took my keys, phone, and coat.
She didn't know me at all if she thought distance would keep me away from her.
I locked the door to the office behind me and walked quickly and purposefully to the elevators.
There was thunder outside.
Laurie was running away from me, miles ahead on a dark road, thinking I had left her.
But she didn't know what was really going on behind my ribs.
I didn't go after things I didn't want.
And I have always wanted her.
Laurie
The bus rocked as it got closer to a stretch of road that was empty. The storm had turned into a steady drizzle. I didn't mean to fall asleep, but I was so tired that I couldn't help it.
A sudden bump woke me up.
My heart raced until my mind caught up.
Still on the bus.
Still in use.
I rubbed my face to try to ease the pain that was building up behind my eyes. The windows were now fogged up, and I could see a thin outline of myself: pale skin, dark circles under my eyes, and wet hair sticking to my temples.
I looked like someone who was running away from a war.
Maybe I was.
I put my hand on my stomach. "We're fine," I said softly. "We're going to be fine."
The baby did not respond, of course, but there was still a glimmer of hope.
I didn't feel bad about leaving Damien. I felt bad about the pain, but not about the choice itself. I needed some space. Liberty. I could breathe without being afraid that his intensity would eat me alive.
I didn't have the strength to love him without losing myself.
One last bar of signal came up on my phone.
My chest got tight.
I completely turned it off.
Not that I didn't want to hear him talk.
But I wanted too much.
The hazy sky outside revealed the first signs of dawn.
The woman sitting across from me leaned over. "Are you getting off at Northbridge too?"
I nodded.
"Is this your first time?" she asked politely.
"Yes."
"Well, it's quiet," she said with a laugh. "It's the best place to go if you want to disappear."
A fake smile crossed my lips. "That's what I'm hoping for."
Her face softened, but she didn't ask. Just this made me want to cry.
I went back to the window.
As the bus moved on, dawn softly lit up the area. For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I wasn't sure where I was going.
A new start.
I envisioned a life that would be safer.
A future where my child can grow up without fear.
But that hope came with the fear that I had worked so hard to hide:
Damien saw that I was gone.
When he found out I was pregnant with his child, he knew the truth.
He would come.
He always came to get what he wanted.
My breath fogged up the cold glass.
I would soon have to deal with both freedom and the storm I had left behind.
A storm that has Damien Blackwell's name on it.