l good now, we have been friends for a long time.
Garrett: Will she keep our secret?
Mer: Yes, it is all okay.
Garrett: Great. I will see you tomorrow and we will pick back up where we left off.
Mer: Can’t wait.
But it was all lies. I was still upset. Tana and I weren’t okay. She wasn’t going to keep my secret and we couldn’t pick back up where we left off. The more I thought about what Tana had said, the more I saw it from her point of view. What must have entered her mind when she walked in and found me on my knees with a student’s cock in my mouth? I’d gone too far. I’d been taking risks at being caught participating in inappropriate behavior since my times with Marcus and it was time to face up to what I’d been doing.
My decision was made.
It was for the best that I left. Went somewhere else and started afresh. I had no ties to New York. Just old friendships which would never be the same after the harsh words that had been spilled. Both Tana’s and my own lives had moved in different directions. We were no longer friends. It was time to move on.
I couldn’t stand in the way of Garrett’s career. He was all set for a position in the family business. His grades had been dropping because of all the time we were spending together. Plus, he needed a relationship with someone his own age. Tana was right - no matter how much I hated that she was - I was ready for someone to settle down and have babies with. Garrett was at the beginning of intimate relationships. He needed time to see what he wanted in life. To get his career started and see where life took him. I really would be a weight dragging him down.
Dragging a case out from underneath my bed and a large backpack, I began to pack my belongings into them. I didn’t have much, it was mainly clothing I needed to take. Toiletries could be repurchased, so other than some travel sized items and a toothbrush, I emptied everything else into refuse sacks. I loaded up my car with everything that needed to come with me and then I took out a map, decided on a new location and drove. Garrett would be furious I knew, he would text me and demand to find me, but I had to stay strong. He was better off without me. I would start afresh some place else and date men my own age, looking for the guy I could settle down with. I ignored the voice in my head that kept trying to tell me that I had already found him.
Chapter 11
Garrett
I had sent her a text that night telling Meredith I loved her and she had sent one straight back that said, ‘I love you too’. That was the last I’d heard from her. There had been no answer this morning to any of my texts and I just knew something was off, my gut feeling told me that she was ending things, that Professor Geller had gotten to her.
I couldn’t ask anyone. We had been informed that Professor Geller was on sick leave, with no planned date of return. That she probably wouldn’t be back until after the birth of her baby. One student talked about a really bad morning sickness condition that often ended up in hospitalization, the student’s sister had had it, so they speculated that was why she couldn’t return.
It had given me no one to ask that day.
That evening when I had still had no response or contact from Meredith I traveled to her apartment. When I got there, I saw a cleaning crew.
“Do you know where the tenant went? Is she okay? She was a friend.” I asked, desperation evident in my tone.
A guy walked out from the bathroom. “She went last night. Gave me no notice. Just gone.” His hands gesticulated wildly. “She will get no deposit back. You know where she went?”
I shook my head, becoming angry. “Do you think I would be here asking about her if I knew where she was. Screw your deposit. Do you have a forwarding address for her?”
“She left nothing. I told you that already.”
“Screw you.” I stomped down the hallway and out into the fresh air where I punched a nearby tree. My fist stung like fuck but the pain was welcome, helping to ground my frustration. I knew what I needed right then. I needed to go to the gym, to take my anger out on the equipment while I thought of my next steps.
But there were no next steps.
Student services wouldn’t give out personal details. They wouldn’t pass a letter on.
The gym wouldn’t tell me if they had any contact details for her.
Meredith changed her cell phone number.
It took a couple weeks of no contact before I finally realized that we were done. So, I did the only thing I could think of. I studied hard to get the best grades I could, I hit the gym hard to make sure my body was in peak condition, and I partied and fucked hard to try to forget Meredith Butler.
Chapter 12
Meredith
I settled in Newport, Rhode Island. With its coastal scenery and beaches, it was a far cry from the moving and shaking of New York. I found a position as an accountant and rented a bedroom and bathroom in a colonial. The house was beautiful, with luxurious interiors and I had three roommates who had become great friends. I was mainly happy. I’d been dating and had had one semi-serious relationship. It had had the potential to go all the way, but for one problem - I couldn’t get Garrett out of my mind.
Every day I thought about him.