Tears ran down her face until she could barely see the road in front of her. Fuck. She wiped furiously at her cheeks. She couldn’t keep driving; she was going to cause an accident. She had to pull over. She saw an exit coming up and took it, ending up in a small town. She pulled into the parking lot of the first motel she came across.
“I think we better get a room, Daisy. I’m not up to driving to Haven. Not tonight.” When she got there, she knew there’d be questions she didn’t feel like answering right now, like why the hell she’d run from the man she loved.
She wasn’t running away, she reassured herself. Yes, she’d taken off while he was away on a job. But she’d left him a note that told him where she was going. Just not why, exactly.
She’d lied to him, the one thing he’d asked her not to do, because she couldn’t figure out how to tell him the truth.
“You’re a wimp, Jenna. Leaving a note is such a cowardly thing to do.”
She just needed some time to think.
And you couldn’t do that in Dallas?
Curt had left two days ago on an out-of-town job, she’d had plenty of time to think. Thinking wasn’t the problem. Talking was. How could she look at him while she explained that she could never have his child? How could she stand the disappointment on his face?
She swiped at her eyes, trying to calm down before she went into the office.
“Oh, Daisy, what have I done?”
Truth was, she missed Haven, and her friends so she’d left Curt a note telling him she was going back to Haven to pack up her stuff and that she needed some time to herself.
He was going to be furious.
After securing a room, she went back to the car and grabbed Daisy and her suitcase. Luckily, this motel allowed dogs to stay in the rooms. Although, as she looked around she could see there wasn’t much a dog could do to make the place any worse.
Oh, well. It wasn’t like she planned on staying longer than one night. She just needed time to regroup before she arrived in Haven. Maybe she’d manage to get some sleep. She snorted. She couldn’t really see that happening.
She laid out some food for Daisy and put her bed on the floor, although she’d probably just sleep with her. She took a quick shower and climbed into some track pants and a T-shirt before laying back on the bed.
***
A ringing woke her. Feeling disorientated and still half asleep, she searched around for her phone. She held it up to her face, blinking to clear her vision. Melody.
With a yawn, she answered the call.
“Hello? Jenna?”
“Here,” she replied, looking around with a bit of confusion. Where was she? This wasn’t Curt’s bedroom. She stood and looked out the curtains. A parking lot. The motel. She was on her way to Haven. Away from Curt.
She dropped the curtain. It was getting dark; she must have slept for a few hours.
“Did I wake you?”
“Um, yeah. I haven’t been sleeping that well and I laid down for a minute and fell asleep.”
She didn’t tell her where she was. She glanced over at Daisy then grabbed her leash. The poor dog was probably desperate. She wagged her tail excitedly.
“Are you okay? You sound funny.”
“Actually, I’m not. I think I’ve been really stupid.”
“Where are you? Has Curt hurt you? Are you somewhere safe? Do you need me to come get you?” With each question, Melody’s voice rose, her agitation clear.
“Woah, okay, hold on. One question at a time. I’m all right. And, no, Curt certainly hasn’t hurt me. I’m just a total wimp.”
“What do you mean?”
“I took off,” she said softly.