Chapter 12
Weston
Wherethehellis Rory? She isn't in her room or anyplace in the building. No one has seen her. I have to know she is okay.
I screwed up big time, and I now not only risk losing my best friend but also the love of my life. That Christmas senior year, I knew she was someone special, but fuck two weeks? And now I know I want to marry this girl and spend the rest of my life with her.
I need to find her and tell her that. I knew it tonight. Nothing else matters but her. I don't care about Nate, her parents, or my parents. I just need her. We can make new friends, or we’ll start our own family, but if she walks away, she takes my heart and soul with her.
In a last-ditch attempt to find her, I start checking the ladies' bathrooms. When I still can find her, I send her another text message.
West:Baby girl, please tell me you're okay.
I check the back porch again, and this is where Nate finds me. I'm so not in the mood to do this. Whereas last night I was ready to let him punch me and get it over with, tonight I'm ready to punch him. So, for his benefit, I start talking before he does.
"Listen, I started falling for her that Christmas senior year of college. I haven't been with anyone since. Not to date and not to sleep with. I just knew she was it, but I didn't see it happening, so I kept waiting for someone better, but there never was. Until this trip, which was, by the way, your idea, I didn't touch her." I throw it back at him because he isn't completely at fault in this.
He opens his mouth to talk, and I stop him.
"I love her. I love her so damn much that this is killing me. You‘re pissed at me and weren't talking to me before now, I can deal with that. But she's pissed and not talking to me and that I can't handle. If I have to pick, then I pick her. I'm sorry, man, but I can’t lose her. As soon as I can get her to forgive me, I'm going to marry her. I hope you’ll forgive me, but if not, then so be it."
Staring him down, I wait to see what his next move is.
"I want to punch you so bad, but Mandy would kill me for ruining the wedding photos. So, when I get back from my honeymoon, be ready. I'm not going easy on you. You cheat on her, and it will be the last thing you ever do. Best friend or not, I got people who will dump your body so far offshore it will never be found."
I nod because I don't doubt that he would just do it himself. If I hurt her like that, I'd gladly offer myself up for anything he dishes out.
"Now go find her and make this right so I can get married." He punches me in the shoulder hard enough to make me stumble back a foot.
"I'm trying to find her, but I'm out of places to look."
He just gives me a pointed glare and walks off.
After I do another sweep of the building, but I still can't find her. She isn't replying to my messages or calls. Then I sit in the lobby and think. I know she wouldn't leave, mostly because she doesn't have a car.
When she was younger, and she would get upset about something, she'd go for a walk. But I saw her come toward the building. She wouldn't have stayed outside when that's where everyone else was.
Resting my elbow on my knees, I put my head in my hands and stare at the ground and think. My brain is empty until someone sits down next to me. I look up to find Rory's dad.
"Men build too many walls and not enough bridges. Joseph Newton said that, and it couldn't be truer. Go build a bridge, son." He pats my shoulder and then stands with a wink at me and goes upstairs.
Well, I never thought I'd see the day the old man finally lost his marbles. I get that he's being philosophical and all, but how does that help me find...
Then I remember Nate saying something about photos being taken on the other bridge tomorrow. After rushing up to the front desk and asking about the bridge not being used by the wedding, I get directed to the side of the building.
As I follow the path, I’m hoping maybe her dad was giving me a hint without betraying his daughter's trust. Sure enough, when I walk around the curve there is a bridge going over a small creek, and on it stands Rory,
I almost collapse in relief that she's okay and that I found her. Her dad I owe big time for this. Standing still for a moment, I simply watch her. She is looking at her phone, and I'm sure seeing all the missed calls and texts for the first time. The light on her phone hits her face, and even from here, I can see the tears on her face.
Tears I put there. It feels like someone is trying to rip out my heart. Anything I can do to stop the tears, to make sure she doesn't cry again for as long as I live, I’ll do. She shuts her phone off and puts it away. When she turns towards me to head back to the winery, that's when she sees me.
She stops, not even off the bridge yet, and we both stare at each other.
I slowly start walking toward her, never once taking my eyes from her. She watches my every move, and it isn't long until I'm standing right in front of her.
This is it. It's make or break time.
Rory