“I just need to deal with something. I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing and start talking to me,” she demanded.
“I… I just need to go.”
“Matt. You can’t just leave me. Not just because it’s your job, but why would you walk away from me now?”
My head was spun with the news I’d just heard. I moved past her, running up the stairs, two at a time. I found my bag in the wardrobe and flung some clothes into it, along with my charger and the keys for the car before getting changed into a shirt and jeans, pulling on my socks and boots. When I got back downstairs and she was pacing backward and forward in front of the front door.
“Matt, what the hell? Tell me what’s going on. Let me help. Let me come with you.” I hated how frantic and scared her voice sounded.
“I just need to go. I need to see for myself.”
“Matt.” She placed her hand on my chest and I wanted to stop. I wanted to explain. I wanted to put her first and not push her awayagainlike I’d promised her. But I couldn’t. Instead, I shook my head.
“Frankie, I need to go.”
“You can’t leave me. Addi will sack you, and I can’t lose you. I’m coming with you. Whatever this is, I’m coming.”
“No. I need to do this. This is on me. Please,” I begged.
“Fuck you. You’re not leaving me here alone.”
“It’s raining like mad. No one will come here for you. I’m sure of it. You’ll be safe.”
Flinging her arms in the air, frustrated, she glared at me like I was missing her point. “But will you be? It’s horrible out there. It’s not safe and yet you want to drive out into the storm… for what? What can’t you tell me?”
“I love you. I’m sorry. Forgive me for running. I’ll call Addi and get Neo or Ed out here with you before you know it. I just can’t do this right now. I can’t explain.” I placed a kiss on her lips, knowing she would probably never forgive me for this, and I’d lose her forever. Grabbing my jacket, I stepped outside, the rain slamming into my body like knives.
I looked back at the cabin where I’d been happy, where I’d proposed to Frankie, where I’d fallen even more in love, knowing to the very pit of my soul that I shouldn’t be leaving her. So many things were clear to me. That I was meant to be protecting her. That I loved her too much to just walk away, but I also knew that this couldn’t wait. That I owed it to them both to see this through. I couldn’t let them down again.
I had to walk away from the woman I loved to honor the memories of the two people I’d lost.
Chapter 25
Matt
Iclimbedintothecar and threw my bag onto the back seat, pressing the button to start the engine. The rain was coming down so hard that the wipers barely made a difference and I struggled to see out of the front window. Putting the car in drive, I started to roll forward when something suddenly slammed into the front of the car. I stared through the windshield to see a familiar silhouette.
Frankie.
She moved quickly to open the passenger door, slipping inside, dripping wet, still wearing her shorts and t-shirt and a pair of trainers she’d obviously pushed on before chasing after me.
“You leave, I leave, Bear. I don’t need you to tell me what the hell is happening, but you don’t get to leave me behind. Do you hear me?”
I gripped the steering wheel, unable to speak.
Grabbing my jaw, she twisted my head to look at her. “Do you hear me, Matt? I’m not going anywhere.”
“Thank you,” I whispered before I pulled off the drive. I drove the mile journey down the single track road to the stone bridge that crossed the river. Trees littered the way; we drove through deep puddles that sent waves of water over the car. Thunder and lightning exploded in the sky, striking a tree behind us, and sending it careering to the ground, just missing the car. I grabbed Frankie’s hand, lifting it to my lips, feeling her fear.
We approached the bridge, which was the only place to get across the river to the road on the other side. The river levels were high, the water moving quickly, dragging the debris from the storm along with it. Suddenly, Frankie screamed.
“Bear, stop!”
I looked ahead, my lights on full beam, shining out into the blackness. “The bridge!”
Slamming on the brakes, I leaped from the car, trying to see if what I was seeing was real.