was taking Blaire home tonight.
The last text I received from Blaire was five hours ago. Where was she? I dialed her number and it
went straight to voicemail. Was she in the hospital? No, no, she couldn’t be in the hospital. She had to be okay. Our baby had to be okay. I dialed Harlow’s number.
“Hello.”
“It’s Rush, how’s Blaire, where’s Blaire? I didn’t have my phone. God, tell me she’s okay. Please,” I
rambled into the phone as I ran out the door of the hotel to my car.
“She’s okay. I think she’s worried about you and maybe... hurt,” Harlow replied.
A lump formed in my throat and it was hard to swallow. “I’m on my way. Please tell her I’m on my
way. Nan took a shitload of painkillers and I’ve been at that hospital with her. They had to pump her
stomach,” I explained. I didn’t want Blaire mad at me but more importantly, I didn’t want her hurting.
“Oh. I’m sorry,” Harlow simply replied.
“Please tell Blaire. I’m on my way there now,” I repeated.
“She didn’t come down to dinner. I knocked on her door to take a plate but she didn’t answer. I don’t
want to go in there in case she’s sleeping. She’s had a long day.”
She wasn’t eating. She wasn’t answering her door. The fear of something happening to her, of finding
her like I found Nan terrified me.
“Please, go open the door and check on her. Make sure she’s okay,” I begged.
“Okay,” Harlow replied after a pause.
I hung up and threw the phone on the other seat as I sped down Sunset Drive.
When I opened the front door of the house and found Harlow standing in the foyer with my dad I
froze. “What?” I asked, afraid to move.
“She’s gone. Her bags are gone. She’s not in another room I checked,” Harlow replied.
I shook my head and walked inside. “Gone? She can’t be gone! Where would she go?”
“Probably somewhere so she doesn’t have to deal with Nan’s shit and her fiancé running off and
leaving her and not answering her damn calls. That’d be my guess. You’re a stupid fucker, just like
me son,” Dean said with disgust in his voice before walking away.
“I had to tell him why I was running around from room to room checking inside. He caught me,”
Harlow whispered.
“Did she leave a note?” I asked, dialing her number again only to get her voicemail.
Harlow shook her head.
I stalked past her and took the steps two at a time before breaking into a run yet again. This day had
gone from bad to fucking disastrous. Jerking open the bedroom door the silence that met me was knee
buckling. I could see the small imprint on the bed from where she’d laid down earlier today. Harlow
was right. She was gone. Every little trace of Blaire was gone. She’d needed me. Our baby had
needed me and I’d been with Nan, again. I deserve to be left.
I closed the door behind me before leaning against the wall and sliding down to the floor to weep.
The fear of losing Nan had been terrifying but the idea of losing Blaire and my baby was unbearable.
I didn’t deserve Blaire. I had promised her I’d always be there yet my family kept pulling me away. It
was time I stopped letting that happen. But what if I was too late?
I shook my head and wiped the tears from my face. I’d find her and I’d beg. I’d grovel. Whatever I
needed to do I would do it. Then I’d never leave her again. For anyone.
BLAIRE
“Here it is. Ain’t much but it’s mine,” my dad said as he stepped onto a boat with a small cabin that I
was sure only had one bed. I was hoping there was a sofa of some kind in there too.
I had been so relieved when I’d stepped off the plane at the small airport to find Abe already there
waiting on me. I had worried that I’d spent the last of my savings on airplane tickets to see a man who
wouldn’t show up. This time he had come through for me.
“Good news is, it’s got two bunks and a full size bed. I’ll take a bunk and you can have the
The last text I received from Blaire was five hours ago. Where was she? I dialed her number and it
went straight to voicemail. Was she in the hospital? No, no, she couldn’t be in the hospital. She had to be okay. Our baby had to be okay. I dialed Harlow’s number.
“Hello.”
“It’s Rush, how’s Blaire, where’s Blaire? I didn’t have my phone. God, tell me she’s okay. Please,” I
rambled into the phone as I ran out the door of the hotel to my car.
“She’s okay. I think she’s worried about you and maybe... hurt,” Harlow replied.
A lump formed in my throat and it was hard to swallow. “I’m on my way. Please tell her I’m on my
way. Nan took a shitload of painkillers and I’ve been at that hospital with her. They had to pump her
stomach,” I explained. I didn’t want Blaire mad at me but more importantly, I didn’t want her hurting.
“Oh. I’m sorry,” Harlow simply replied.
“Please tell Blaire. I’m on my way there now,” I repeated.
“She didn’t come down to dinner. I knocked on her door to take a plate but she didn’t answer. I don’t
want to go in there in case she’s sleeping. She’s had a long day.”
She wasn’t eating. She wasn’t answering her door. The fear of something happening to her, of finding
her like I found Nan terrified me.
“Please, go open the door and check on her. Make sure she’s okay,” I begged.
“Okay,” Harlow replied after a pause.
I hung up and threw the phone on the other seat as I sped down Sunset Drive.
When I opened the front door of the house and found Harlow standing in the foyer with my dad I
froze. “What?” I asked, afraid to move.
“She’s gone. Her bags are gone. She’s not in another room I checked,” Harlow replied.
I shook my head and walked inside. “Gone? She can’t be gone! Where would she go?”
“Probably somewhere so she doesn’t have to deal with Nan’s shit and her fiancé running off and
leaving her and not answering her damn calls. That’d be my guess. You’re a stupid fucker, just like
me son,” Dean said with disgust in his voice before walking away.
“I had to tell him why I was running around from room to room checking inside. He caught me,”
Harlow whispered.
“Did she leave a note?” I asked, dialing her number again only to get her voicemail.
Harlow shook her head.
I stalked past her and took the steps two at a time before breaking into a run yet again. This day had
gone from bad to fucking disastrous. Jerking open the bedroom door the silence that met me was knee
buckling. I could see the small imprint on the bed from where she’d laid down earlier today. Harlow
was right. She was gone. Every little trace of Blaire was gone. She’d needed me. Our baby had
needed me and I’d been with Nan, again. I deserve to be left.
I closed the door behind me before leaning against the wall and sliding down to the floor to weep.
The fear of losing Nan had been terrifying but the idea of losing Blaire and my baby was unbearable.
I didn’t deserve Blaire. I had promised her I’d always be there yet my family kept pulling me away. It
was time I stopped letting that happen. But what if I was too late?
I shook my head and wiped the tears from my face. I’d find her and I’d beg. I’d grovel. Whatever I
needed to do I would do it. Then I’d never leave her again. For anyone.
BLAIRE
“Here it is. Ain’t much but it’s mine,” my dad said as he stepped onto a boat with a small cabin that I
was sure only had one bed. I was hoping there was a sofa of some kind in there too.
I had been so relieved when I’d stepped off the plane at the small airport to find Abe already there
waiting on me. I had worried that I’d spent the last of my savings on airplane tickets to see a man who
wouldn’t show up. This time he had come through for me.
“Good news is, it’s got two bunks and a full size bed. I’ll take a bunk and you can have the
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