All of Me by Tiffany Patterson

Chapter 30

Gabe

“Bro, I only agreed to this because you’ve been unfocused at work all day,” Preston said, irritation lacing his voice as we stood in the middle of the jewelry store.

“You’re doing this because you’re my best friend,” I countered. “And like it or not, you have a better eye for jewelry than I do,” I admitted.

Yes, we were in the middle of a jewelry store after ending our last meeting at three-thirty with another newly signed athlete. I was looking for engagement rings.

The morning after my birthday, I opened my eyes with Lena by my side and knew it was time I finally bought the ring. More than nine months earlier, at Micah’s wedding, I declared that Lena would be my wife. It was time to make that declaration a fact.

“How about this one?” Preston asked as we stood over the glass counter, pointing at one of the rings in the case.

I stepped next to him.

“Ah, that is a beautiful ring,” the owner of the store announced, stepping behind the counter.

But I shook my head. “It’s cool, but it’s not Lena. It’s too gaudy.”

Preston nodded, staring down at the rings. “You’re right.” He looked up at me. “For a superstar, she’s pretty down-to-earth. She wouldn’t want something that big on her hand.”

I chuckled. Though she was precisely as Preston described her, Lena wouldn’t dare call herself a superstar. She was to me, though, which was why I wanted this ring to be unique.

I swallowed as I thought back to that morning. Lena had been somewhat strange and distant the past few days. When I asked about it, she told me it was nothing. She was feeling some stress as she came to the end of writing the songs for her album.

Shit. Maybe it was me who was the one acting strange, and I was projecting. For days, I looked in different jewelry stores, trying to pick out the right ring to ask her to marry me. Finally, that day, I broke down and asked Preston for his help. I would’ve asked Jodi, but she was ready to pop, and Micah didn’t want her on her feet.

I didn’t feel like putting up with his questioning ass, so Preston it was.

“You said her middle name is Jade, right? Like the stone?” Preston asked.

“Yeah. It means protection.”

He gave me a look.

“Yes, I looked it up. Say something, and I’ll knock you the hell out.”

Chuckling, he shook his head. “I’m trying to help him, and he’s threatening me,” he said to the owner. “Anyway, do you have any diamond rings that pair well with jade?”

“I don’t have any on hand, but I can design one.”

I looked at my friend and back to the jeweler. “He is good for something.”

We spent the next half an hour designing the perfect engagement ring for Lena. I walked out of that store feeling lighter than I had in a while. Within the month, I’d have the ring.

“I’m thinking of taking her on another hot air balloon ride to pop the question,” I told Preston as we stood in between our cars in the parking lot.

He shook his head. “Didn’t you say she freaked out the last time?”

“No, she almost freaked out. But she loved it by the end.” I shrugged. “I’m heading home,” I told him before getting in my car.

I headed in the direction of home, feeling anxious. The ring wouldn’t be ready for a few weeks, so I needed to be patient. I’d have to bide my time until I could propose to her the right way.

In the meantime, I would work my damnedest to convince her to move in with me permanently by either selling or renting out her Los Angeles home.

As I pulled into the driveway, I wondered where Lena’s rental car was. It usually remained in the driveway, just outside of the garage, until I got home.

When I got out of the car, an eerie feeling passed through me. Something didn’t feel right. When I entered the front door, the unease in my chest increased. There was a stillness about the house that told me she wasn’t there. She could’ve went to the store or out to an early dinner with Jodi.

But Lena often texted me when she was going out to eat with Jodi. She hadn’t texted me all day. She also hadn’t responded to a text I’d sent her earlier, asking if she’d eaten breakfast.

At first, I didn’t think much of it since she often got absorbed in her work, writing and producing for hours, losing track of time.

“Lena,” I called as I took the stairs two at a time. “Cin,” I yelled when my first call didn’t get an answer.

I pushed through the partially closed bedroom door and found it empty. The bed was made, and everything was neat and orderly. That was off because Lena never made her side of the bed.

On a hunch, I yanked open one of the drawers of my dresser that I’d cleared out months ago for Lena to use. My heart almost stopped beating when I saw that it was empty.

“Lena,” I yelled again, knowing I’d get no answer but not knowing what else to do.

When I turned around, I saw a piece of notebook paper on the bed. It was the same notebook paper from the book she wrote her songs in.

I snatched the paper, and again, my heart almost gave out.

Gabe,

I’ve decided to return to Los Angeles. Permanently. Please don’t come looking for me. It’s better this way.

Lena.

“Fuck that!” I growled, crumpling the paper and tossing it to the floor.

I bounded down the stairs and was out of the door within minutes of entering it. I had one destination in mind. I doubted Lena could have gotten all of her belongings out of my place by herself. Plus, she still had a few things left at Jodi’s house.

I hoped that I wasn’t too late and that she wasn’t on a damn plane already flying back to LA.

When I pulled into the driveway, a piece of my heart swelled to see Lena’s rental still there.

I hopped out of the car and ran past her rental, spotting the two suitcases leaning against the trunk. I didn’t even think about the small moving truck that sat in the driveway on the opposite side.

“Lena,” I called as I ran up the porch.

At the same time my foot hit the top stair, the door opened. Out came a guy I didn’t recognize at first.

“Who the hell are you?” I demanded.

His eyes widened. “Name’s Gus.”

I blinked, remembering him. He was one of the guys who helped move Lena into this place when she first got into town.

I didn’t have time to ask why he was there.

“Move,” I said bulldozing my way past him.

“Gabe, stop,” Lena said behind him.

Another man emerged from behind Gus, carrying a large cardboard box. I stared him down as Lena tried to pass right by me.

I caught her by the arm. “What the hell are you doing?” Instinctively, I reached for the suitcase in her other hand, snatching it from her grasp.

“I’m leaving.” She yanked her arm from me, and it felt like she ripped my heart out of my chest.

I remembered the pain of betrayal from my first girlfriend. That moment in the driveway, staring at Lena as she callously informed me that she was moving back to California, the pain was unlike any other.

“Why?” I asked, hating the weakness in my voice.

She stared down at the ground.

“Look at me!” I yelled, feeling so angry that my teeth chattered. My fists clenched. My entire life felt as if someone threw it up in the air with little care for how everything landed.

“Don’t make a scene,” she said, keeping her voice low. “Please.”

“Fuck a scene. Why the fuck did you leave me a note saying you were leaving?”

“Hey, buddy, calm down,” Gus said, grabbing my shoulder.

“Get the fuck off of me before I break your damn face,” I growled.

“Stop it, Gabriel,” Lena scolded.

I turned back to face her, my heart beating wildly in my chest. It felt like the ground was pulled out from underneath me.

“I didn’t want to do it this way,” she said.

“What? Look me in my face as you tore my heart out?”

She looked away.

“Answer me,” I yelled. I felt another guy come up behind me and place his hand on my shoulder. I shook it off. “Don’t touch me,” I said through gritted teeth, but kept piercing Lena with my gaze.

“It’s over, okay, Gabe? My album is almost done, and I need to get back to my real life.”

When I’d lost my mother I knew my world would be turned upside down. She was dying. But the decision wasn’t hers. She’d wanted to live. This hurt worse because Lena was making this choice to leave Harlington. To leave me after I’d opened up to her.

I allowed her not only into my home but into my heart. I’d shared things with her that no one else knew about me.

“You used me,” I said, finally. “You used me to write your fucking album, and now you’re walking away.”

She straightened her back and lifted her chin to look at me. “There’s no way you could’ve thought this was going to work out long-term. We’re from two different worlds. I have a career, a life to get back to in LA. You’re the one who offered to be my muse,” she reminded me. “Well, your job is done.”

She abruptly turned. Her back facing me is what sent me over the edge.

“Argh,” I yelled and grunted as I tossed the suitcase in my hand as hard as I could. It bounced against the moving truck, splitting open. The contents of the suitcase, clothes, spilled out onto the dirt and gravel.

“Fuck,” Gus yelled. “That’s going to leave a dent.” He sounded angry, but I didn’t bother looking at him.

I started for Lena, who was by her rental car.

“No,” the other guy with Gus said, grabbing me again.

I shook him off but didn’t continue after Lena as she stopped by her car.

“You’re selfish and a liar!” I yelled at Lena.

She blinked before quickly getting in the car.

I watched, helplessly, as she maneuvered around my car to pull out of the driveway. My knees buckled and I stumbled forward a few steps.

I heard one of the moving guys mumble something about being sorry. A few seconds after Lena, they pulled off, too, rocks and pebbles spitting in the air as their tires carried it away.

I remained planted in place, unsure of what to do. What do you do when the life you dreamed of walks away?

It took me too long to realize that the buzzing sound in my head was actually my phone in my pocket.

I pulled it out on the hopes that it was Lena calling to say she made a mistake, or better yet, this was some sick joke she was playing.

It was neither.

Instead, it was a text from Micah, telling me that Jodi had gone into labor.

I gave the end of the driveway one final look before stumbling over to my car. “Fuck her,” I mumbled while I started my engine and hit the gas to peel out toward the hospital.