Crescendo

Chapter 25

Soundtrack for this chapter:
All Apologies—Nirvana
Bless the Broken Road—Rascal Flatts
Won't Go Home Without You—Maroon 5

25

Jules

I lost track of everything that was happening outside of my brain. There was this relentless voice inside my head chanting stupid stupid stupid; it sounded like Will.

I wasn't crying tears of sadness as Theo drove us on towards the hotel. They were angry tears, hot tears, tears that felt as if they'd been brimming under the surface for almost thirty years.

It wasn't Will's hunting trips, nor his threats, nor his duplicity to make me want to leave all of Savannah behind. It was the fact that he'd been able to bribe my attorney to work against me. That was the moment I knew I could never win in Savannah, regardless of all of the evidence I had against him; and, yet, I had no choice.

When I noticed the car had stopped moving, I picked my head up out of my lap and was met with a pitch black sky. The touch screen in the center of the car Theo had rented read 9:00 pm.

I was feeling too many things to look at him.

"How long have we been parked here?" My voice didn't sound like my voice. I'm not sure whose it was, but it sure didn't belong to Jules Calhoun.

Theo cleared his throat. "'bout thirty minutes."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were stopped."

"I know. Are you ready to go inside?"

"Mhmm." I had so many more things to apologize to him for that I wasn't quite sure how I was ever going to get the words out.

Theo got out of the car, and when I heard the trunk pop, I finally unclicked my seatbelt and joined him. He had his duffle bag slung over one shoulder and my suitcase in his hand, and I reached forward towards him.

"I can—"

"I've got it, Jules." He turned on his heel and strode into the hotel, me shuffling along behind him.

I must have been a real sorry sight. The hours I spent in hair and makeup were rendered useless after the drive from my parents' house. While Theo was checking in, I tucked myself behind him and our bags, not wanting to be in full view of anyone.

When we made it to our room, the first thing to come off were my heels. I deposited them directly into the little wastebasket in the room. As I reached around to fumble for the zipper of my dress, Theo set down our bags and circled back to me, his fingers pulling the zipper down just enough for mine to be able to grasp it.

He stood in front of me, and it was the first time I looked into his eyes, really looked into them, since he arrived. The only other time I'd seen them so unlike the eyes I'd fallen in love with was the night of his blowup with Aiden.

"I—"

"Need to eat something. Here," he grabbed the room service menu and handed it to me. "Let me know what you want, and I'll order it."

Words seemed to continue to fail me, so I just nodded in his direction. Truthfully speaking, I wasn't hungry in the least, but he was right. I glanced at the menu and settled on a fancy bowl of mac and cheese.

As Theo called down to room service, I took my bag into the bathroom, stripped out of my dress, and turned the water of the shower all the way to the left, hoping the steam would clear my head as the warmth of the water washed off more than just my makeup.

Once I'd thrown on a pair of yoga pants and my Parnassus sweatshirt, I combed through my wet hair and braided it on either side of my neck. I turned to the mirror, still opaque with steam, wiped through the fog with a washcloth and looked at the woman staring back at me. She was beginning to look familiar. Her freckles were dotted across her cheeks, and her honey-colored eyes started to regain their light. I finally felt like my soul was coming back to me.