Stevie had been so determined to keep Charity in one place.
Bad had never realized how unhappy she was. How sticking on the same path was slowly killing her. This last visit, he saw the sparkle in her eyes. He had thought the sparkle was gone because of her brother.
It wasn’t that at all.
Charity wanted to travel. She had followed her brother’s advice for long enough. Stevie had never followed her advice either. He’d always done what he wanted to do.
Now, as Bad stared at the smoke, he wondered what Charity was thinking. Did she even miss him? Was last night just a bit of fun before heading on the road?
He was supposed to fuck her out of his system, but that hadn’t worked.
Sipping at his coffee, he appreciated the bitter taste.
“We’re going to be heading out today,” Colonel said.
“I’ll be right there with you.” There was nowhere else he wanted to go.
Charity … was … it was over. She had a life to live.
He didn’t know why that thought hurt his damn chest.
Chapter Six
Bad left without a word. He snuck out with no last goodbye.
No kiss. Nothing.
Charity figured it was what he’d do, so she cried her last tears in the apartment they had once shared before. She left behind a lot of memories, but she also didn’t mind. It was time to move on, and the way to do that was to carry on with her plan.
The moment her rental agreement was up, she handed in the keys, climbed into her car, and took off, heading to wherever the road took her.
For an entire week, she drove, stopping when she felt tired, hungry, or to fill up with gas. Sometimes, she slept in a hotel, other times, she crashed in the back of her car. She knew it was dangerous, but she was always careful. Always.
She had wanderlust, but she wasn’t stupid.
Each time she made a stop, she checked her cell phone to see if she had any missed calls or messages.
Nothing.
Bad really was gone, and she tried to ignore the pain.
He’d been the first guy she ever had a crush on. The first guy she ever loved. Those few hours had been a dream come true. What she couldn’t believe was the fact Bad wanted her too. He’d wanted her.
Once again, her brother had meddled in her life, and it had torn both of them apart, spending the last ten years far away from each other.
“Stop it, Charity.” She gripped the steering wheel tighter, trying to focus on the outside, the scenery, rather than the crushing pain within her chest.
Being with Bad was supposed to be cathartic. A way of ridding the feelings she’d tried to keep under wraps for years.
None of it was helping. None of it.
Damn it. She swiped at her cheek, hating the fact she was crying.
Her stomach began to growl, and she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.
Pulling off the main road, she hit some of the streets, checking the signs. She saw one for a park up ahead and quickly hit the indicator, taking her toward the park where she could go for a walk and eat something.
The park was busy, but she found a spot and pulled her car into it. She turned off the ignition and pulled down her visor to look into the mirror. Wiping at her face, she hated crying.