“At least we know she’s okay,” Rhys said. “Let’s let her get some sleep. She’ll feel better.”
“I need to stay with her,” Cullen said.
She felt herself stiffen, and she wanted to cry out for them both to leave, but she didn’t have the energy to fight.
“Give her a little time, man.”
“Fuck, Rhys, I can’t leave her.”
“Stay on the sofa. That way, you can keep checking on her but let you both get some rest, too.”
“Fuck,” Cullen said.
She heard them walk out and softly close the door. She rolled back when she knew it was safe and let the tears fall.
They were unlike any other tears she had ever shed. They continued to come, and she couldn’t stop them, but it was in a calm, cold way. There was no sobbing like she was prone to when she was hurt. This bout of tears felt like she was mourning a life that was dead.
They soaked the pillow underneath her head, and the tears continued even after she fell asleep.
She vaguely remembered someone coming into her room a few times, but they left.
When she woke up, her eyes were swollen, and her head ached, but that wasn’t going to keep her in the house. She was up and dressed early the next morning. She wrote a note to each man. The one she wrote for Cullen was as blunt as she could be.
Cullen,
I’m sorry that I hurt you. That’s the last thing I ever wanted. I want you to stay away from me. We’re no good for each other, and I’m sick of feeling pain. Nothing would ever come from us being together, so I want to move on with my life. I don’t love you anymore. You need to find a woman who can give you everything you ever dreamed of because I can’t.
Best wishes, Hannah.
She wrote a quick one for her brother, telling him she was fine and at work. She felt like an idiot sneaking past Cullen on the sofa and out the back door, but the thought of facing him at that moment made her nauseous.
After carefully closing it behind her, she pulled her bike from the shed out back, got on, and rode uptown. If she couldn’t drive, this was the next best thing until she could find an apartment closer to work.
On the way, a thought popped into her head that settled something in her and let her take a breath for the first time in hours. She could get away for a few days. It would allow her to think. She’d call her friend Kiera. They knew each other from summer school when they were teenagers, and she’d always said Hannah was welcome anytime.
Her friend was a few hours away, but she could take the bus there. She just needed to find her number and call her. With a plan in place, Hannah felt better. Now, she just had to make everyone understand that she was an adult and able to make her own decisions.
Chapter Thirteen
“Where the fuck is she?” Cullen said when he walked into Rhys’s office the next morning. The first thing on his mind was to see Hannah.
“She was just in her office. Did you stop there?”
“Yes. She wasn’t there. I just need to see her.”
“I texted you that I’ve talked to her. Didn’t you get it?”
Cullen pulled his phone from his pocket and then nodded. “Shit, yes. I got it.” He’d also gotten several from his partners that he needed to take care of, but she was his priority at the moment. “Is she okay?”
Rhys sighed. “Physically, she’s fine, but emotionally, something’s off. She’s polite to everyone, but there’s no warmth in her smile, and her eyes look… I don’t know how to say it. Like there’s no spark of life in them.”
Cullen wiped a hand down his face. Goddammit. He was so pissed at himself. He cursed when his phone rang, and he saw the number.
“I have to go check on something, but I’ll check in with you soon.”
Rhys nodded. “She’ll be at work for several more hours.”
Cullen sighed. “Okay, good. I’ll try to catch her later.”