“Name one nice hotel in Coleville,” he laughed. “Go.”
“Good point,” she said before pausing for a couple seconds. “Of course you can stay with me.”
“You’re a sweet girl, Stormy,” he said. “Thank you.”
Ryder still hadn’t answered her question about what his plans were. It seemed he just wanted to hang around her for whatever reason.
“Does your mom, I mean Misty, know you’re in town right now?” she asked as they made their way inside.
“Nope,” he said as he turned to face her in all seriousness. “And it better stay that way.”
“Got it.” She was slightly insulted by his remark. He should’ve realized by now that she was more or less estranged from that crazy woman.
Stormy tossed her purse and house keys on the kitchen table and kicked off her shoes.
“So what are your plans for today?” Stormy asked yet again. “Anything in particular you need to do?”
“A few things,” he said. “I’ll probably take off for a bit. You going to be around most of the day?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here,” she said. She was dying to know where he was going though.
Although she’d only just met him, he had given her a bit of a reprieve from crying. He had distracted her from her grief, made her feel like she was with a familiar face, and even got a few laughs out of her. No one else could do that, she was sure of it. The thought of Ryder leaving for a bit and leaving her all alone with her sad thoughts sent her instantly into a blurry mess of tears. She turned her face so he wouldn’t see.
Ryder sent a few text messages on his phone before looking up at Stormy and smiling.
“I better get going,” he said. “I’ll be back later. Maybe late afternoon or early evening.”
“Okay,” Stormy said as she smiled through teary eyes.
“You going to be okay?” he asked with one raised eyebrow. “I can stick around if you want. I don’t want to leave if you’re going to start bawling the moment I walk out of here.”
Stormy’s lip trembled, but she forced a smile. “There’s nothing wrong with crying.”
“I suppose you’re right,” he said. “But seriously, I’ll stay if you need me to.”
“No, go,” she said as she shooed him towards the door. “Do what you need to do. I’ll see you later.”
Ryder stared at her saddened face for a moment and hesitated before walking outside and climbing onto his bike and backing out of the driveway. Stormy watched out the curtains and waited for him to ride off before shuffling back to her bedroom, throwing herself onto her bed, and burying herself under the thick covers.
CHAPTER 3
As Stormy spent the day alone, she couldn’t help but reflect about how crazy the week had been. It was only Thursday, but in the last four days her life had been chewed up, swallowed, and spit back out. Nothing was the same anymore, and it was never going to be the same ever again.
Her mind wandered all over the place as she wallowed in grief and self-pity. Was her life worth living anymore? How could she ever find someone to love her the way Jett did, and how would she ever find someone she’d love the way she loved him?
As Stormy drifted deeper and deeper into the darkest parts of her mind, her thoughts only became blacker and more disturbed. She knew Jett would’ve been furious to know the kinds of thoughts she was having, but she couldn’t help the way she felt. All that hope she’d had just less than a week ago had faded into sheer nothingness. Any excitement she had for the future had flown out the window the moment she found Jett lying unconscious and bleeding on the floor of their kitchen and saw the front door was wide open. She knew she would never in a million years be able to get that image out of her head.
The minutes ticked on and the hours passed as Stormy stayed cemented under the covers of her bed. She didn’t want to move. She didn’t want to turn on the T.V. or read a book. Her appetite was non-existent. Most of the time she stared up at the ceiling. Between bouts of crying, her eyes would tire out. She would fall asleep only to wake up and find it had only been twenty minutes or so. They day couldn’t have moved any slower, and time seemed to stand still, locking her into a living nightmare.
Welcome to the rest of my life, Stormy lamented to herself.
She wondered how she was ever going to be happy again, and how she’d ever be able to move on without Jett. She wondered if he was around her at all, watching her cry and wanting to hold her. She was sure he was, but then again, she knew it was probably just wishful thinking on her part. There were times, though, that she could have sworn she could smell his woodsy cologne or feel him around.