The Mighty Storm (50 page)

No, it
’
s one hundred and sixty eight hours…

“
I
’
ll miss you, baby,” I said forcing my strength. “So much, but we both have to work.” I reached up on my tiptoes and kissed his lips.

“
Move in with me.”

What?!

“
What?” I leant back away from his face, resting down onto my unsteady, heeled feet, searching his expression.

“
I
’
ve spent long enough without you in my life, Tru, and I won
’
t do it again. Come and live with me in LA. Move in with me.”

I run my finger over the screen on my phone, staring at his message again.

…

“
Jake, this is crazy! We can
’
t move in together!
”

“
No, what
’
s crazy is that I
’
m
standing
in an airport saying goodbye to
you again.”

“
This isn
’
t the same as back then. We
’
re not fourteen anymore. We
’
re not going to lose each other. I
’
m yours and you're mine, and that
’
s never going to change.” I held my friendship bracelet up to him as proof of this. “I
’
m just going to work for a little while, and then we
’
ll be back together when I fly out in a week. You
’
re only asking me to move in with you as a knee jerk, because of how you feel right now about being away from me.”

He took hold of my arm and kissed my friendship bracelet.

“
No, I
’
m not. I want to live with you because I
’
m in love with you. I want to share my life with you. Just tell me you
’
ll at least think about it?
”

I closed my eyes briefly. “I
’
ll think about it.”

His hands moved around my neck, and then he was kissing my deeply.

“
You won
’
t regret it,” he murmured.

“
I haven
’
t said yes, yet.
”
I lifted my eyebrow at him.

“
No. But I
’
m just hoping on the fact you seem to have a hard time saying no to me.”

Dragging my suitcase through to my bedroom, I dump it down on the floor, then sit on the edge of my bed in the silence for a moment.

The last time I was here I was here with Will. Everything has changed so much since then.

I feel a sudden, unexpected tear trickle from my eye. I hurt Will so badly, and I
’
m never going to be able to take that back or fix it for him.

It
’
s hard, feeling happiness to the level I do with Jake, when I know it came at the price of Will
’
s pain.

It was easier to block it all out when I was still in Paris with Jake, but sitting here now, surrounded by memories of Will and the time we spent together, just makes it all so real. And it hurts that I hurt him so terribly.

I loved Will. I still do. Feeling
s
like that don
’
t just disappear overnight.

I just wish there was some way to tell him how truly sorry I am.

Never would I change choosing to be with Jake, I just wish I
’
d had the foresight to do it the right way.

But then is there ever an easy way to break the heart of the person you
’
re in a relationship with, to leave them for your soul mate.

With a sigh, I start to unpack my suitcase, and set to work on doing my laundry.

I hate washing clothes, but it helps to keep my mind occupied from sad thoughts of Will, and scary thoughts of moving in with Jake, until Simone gets home from work.

She
’
s late getting in as work was busy, but brings pizza home with her, and we sit in the living room eating and drinking wine.

Simone tells me all about Denny and what
’
s been happening with them since she got back home form Paris.

By the sounds of things, absence is definitely making the heart grow fonder in their case.

She is totally smitten. And I
’
m so happy for her.

But it
’
s making me miss Jake even more, hearing her talk about missing Denny.

I
’
ve been away from Jake for just over half a day and it
’
s already hurting like a bitch. So lasting a week just doesn
’
t feel like a physical possibility at the moment. I feel like I
’
m missing one of my limbs.

But I
’
m going to do my very best to hold out for as long as I can, because it
’
s healthy for us to have time apart.

“
So how was it leaving, Jake?” Simone asks, picking her wine up and taking a sip.

“
Horrible. Hard. Teary.”

“
You
’
re seeing him in a week though?”

“
Yes,” I nod. I take a sip of my own wine, then put my glass down and take a deep breath. “Jake has asked me to move in with him.”

She splutters on her wine. “Seriously?”

“
Seriously. He
’
s asked me to move to LA to live with him.”

“
Wow,” she says. “So are you going to?”

“
I don
’
t know,” I shrug. “It
’
s a lot to think about. I love living here with you. I love working at the magazine. I love Vicky. My folks are here in the UK. I just don
’
t know.”

“
You love him?”

I meet her eyes. “Like no one before. I always have.”

“
Then you have your answer,” she says softly.

I drag my hands through my hair, trying to compile a coherent sentence, but nothing
’
s coming, except for that she
’
s right.

Adele starts singing on the coffee table. One quick glance at my phone tells me it
’
s Jake.

I haven
’
t heard from him all day as he
’
s been on his flight back to LA. He must have just landed.

“
I was gonna go call Denny anyway,” Simone smiles, getting to her feet. “Say hi to Jake for me.”

“
Hey, baby,” I murmur, answering.

“
Come to LA. Now. Please. I
’
ll send the jet for you.”

“
A simple, ‘I miss you, Tru’, would have done.” I start to chew on my thumbnail.

“
I miss you, Tru. Too much. Now will you please come to LA? I
’
m going nuts here without you.”

“
It
’
s only been what
–
thirteen hours.”

I
’
m not going to admit to him I
’
m going nuts without him too.

“
Twelve, and you
’
re not missing me?” His voice is laced with hurt.

“
I am. Like you
’
ll never know. Worse than I did when we were kids.”

“
So why are we even doing this?”

“
Because it
’
s healthy to spend time apart.”

“
That
’
s just Cosmo bullshit. Tru … baby, please, I miss you so much, I can
’
t even begin to explain. I hate that I
’
m not with you right now,” he sighs. “Okay, that
’
s it.” He sounds suddenly alert. “I
’
m cancelling the PR stuff for the tour. If you won
’
t come to me then I
’
m coming to you.”

“
You can
’
t do that!” I exclaim. But I love that he wants to.

“
I
’
m the boss. I can do whatever I want.”

“
Jake, the tour, it
’
s important to you and the guys.”

“
Tom and Denny can do the PR rounds, which means I can be with my girl until the tour starts back up.”

“
You
’
re talking crazy,” I giggle.

“
The only crazy thing I
’
ve done was let you go earlier, at the airport. I spent twelve years away from you, Tru. No more. You won
’
t come to LA then I
’
m coming to you.”

I trace my fingertip over a groove in the coffee table. “I never said I wouldn
’
t come to LA.”

There
’
s silence down the line. I can hear his shallow breathing. “You
’
ll move in with me?” His voice is soft, tentative.

I take a deep breath. “Yes.”

“
Baby, you have no idea how happy you
’
ve just made me, or how happy I
’
m going to make you.” I can practically feel his smile down the line.

“
Jake, you already make me happy. All I need is you. I have you, I
’
m the happiest girl in the world.”

“
When will you come?”

“
Give me this week to sort things out here, and then I
’
m all yours for good. I just need to figure work stuff out with Vicky. Figure the flat stuff out with Simone, and tell my folks of course.”

“
Your dad is going to kick my ass for taking you away from him isn
’
t he?”

“
I
’
d say it
’
s quite likely,” I laugh.

“
I
’
ll take his ass-kicking if it means I get you here with me … so I just have to spend this week away from you, then your mine, for good?”

“
Yes.”

“
Okay. I can live with that … just,” he adds.

We spend the next few hours on the phone making plans, talking nonsense like Jake and I do, and I love it.

Eventually I hang up the phone with him, with much reluctance, but I need to sleep as the jetlag finally catches up with me.

I go to bed, thinking about how I
’
m going to be quitting my job and moving to LA, and also that I
’
m going to have to find a job once I
’
m out there. I
’
m not sponging off Jake. I
’
ve got some savings so they should tide me over until I can get sorted with a job. I wonder if Vicky has any magazine contacts out there? Jake will have, but I
’
m not having his influence getting me a job. I want to do this on my own.

And I fall asleep thinking of Jake, and all the amazing things we have to look forward to together.

Life doesn
’
t get any better than this, as it is right now.

I wake to the sound of Adele singing. It takes me a minute to grasp my bearings.

I
’
m in my flat. In my own bed.

I squint at the clock
–
4am.

Grabbing my phone off my nightstand, I see it
’
s Jake.

“
Baby, I miss you too, but it
’
s 4 am.”

“
Tru.”

I instantly know something is wrong by the broken sound in his voice.

“
Jake, what
’
s wrong?” I sit up in bed, concerned, my stomach tying into a thousand knots.

“
Tru, it
’
s
–
it
’
s my dad … he
’
s dead.”

My heart stops in my chest.

“
Paul?” I ask, clarifying he doesn
’
t mean his step-dad Dale.

“
Yes.”

Jake hasn
’
t seen his dad since he was nine that I know of. And their history … well it
’
s complicated, difficult, and right now I
’
m unsure which way he
’
s going to go with this.

Sadness or relief?

“
Baby, I
’
m so sorry,” I say tentatively.