I’m not going to apologize for it. I’m glad it happened. Now I just need to make sure it keeps happening. Preferably for the rest of my life.
Xavier doesn’t take offense to my comment, letting out a scoff. “Well, now that we’ve established that you’re a shameless asshole, does that mean you’re back together?”
“No,” I say dryly. “She won’t answer my texts. I don’t even know where she is.”
“Aveena said she was crashing with Lacey for a few days.”
“And you’re just telling me this now?” It comes out as defensive, and I scold myself for taking my irritation out on him.
Xavier holds his hands up. “How the fuck was I supposed to know you were still in your stalker phase?”
“Sorry, I’m just… on edge.” I give him the short version.
The long version contains details I wouldn’t share with him even if you put a gun to my head. Like the fact that I’m so fucking miserable without Dia it’s affecting my mood.
That’s how I know I made the right decision by leaving. Yes, the timing was shitty, and yes, I could’ve handled it better, but if I’d continued to live in the same town as her and been forced to see her every day, I wouldn’t have been able to stay away long enough to sort my shit out. The changes I needed to make required time and space, and I wouldn’t have lasted a week with her nearby.
“Do you know when she’s coming back?” I embrace the stalker in me. Xavier opens his mouth to answer, only to get interrupted by the front door closing in the distance.
She’s home.
I sit up straight, my view of the front door blocked by a stupid wall, and I suddenly wish I had X-ray vision. A few seconds elapse before I hear the sound of keys jingling and footsteps heading our way. Dia turns the corner a second later, carrying her overnight bag in one hand and her purse in the other. I wince at the realization that she didn’t go to Lacey’s on a whim. She planned this and packed her bags ahead of time. She chose to get away from me.
“Hey, guys.” She addresses us both but only looks at Xavier as she speaks, careful not to make eye contact with me.
Then she ambles down the hall and disappears inside her bedroom. Just like that, she’s gone again. She thinks she can pretend I don’t exist after I had her naked and moaning my name on the bathroom vanity. She thinks I’m going to give up on us.
She’s wrong.
Xavier calls it a night and joins Aveena an hour and a half later. He’s barely left the room when I grab my phone and text Dia for the millionth time.
Finn:Meet me on the balcony in ten minutes.
I hear her phone chime down the hall. Five painful minutes elapse before I see three moving dots pop up on my screen.
Holy shit.
This is not a drill.
She’s actually answering me.
My phone chimes with her response shortly after.
Dia: And if I refuse?
I type a reply.
Finn: Then I’ll throw you over my fucking shoulder and carry you out.
She answers as quickly as I did.
Dia:Not buying it.
Finn:Try me.
I assume from her lack of an answer that she’s weighing her options.
Dia: You have two minutes.