The Wildflower (Completed) (Southern Nights)

Chapter 5

“The Heart of the Wildflower”

2012 Copyright All Rights Reserved

Chapter 5

Elizabeth quickly slid into the driver seat of her car and slammed the door closed behind her.  All she wanted to do was get as far away from this place as possible before the river of  promised tears started flowing because she knew that once they started, there would be no stopping them.

Warring with the flood of emotions coming down on her, she stabbed angrily at the ignition but her trembling fingers proved to be a problem.  Frustrated, she fisted her hands around the keys and slammed her hand against the steering wheel.

Why?  Why did she let him get to her like that?  For years she had told no one of what happened that night and the events that followed; but two conversations with Zeb Crooker and she almost spilled her most guarded secret.

“Damn that man!” she cursed aloud.  “Damn him and the horse that he rode in on.”  At eighteen years old she had trusted him.  She believed all of the lies that he whispered in her ear while he so callously stole her innocence.  She had stupidly believed that he actually cared for her and in the end she was the one that looked like the fool.  Never again, she told herself.  Never again would she allow herself to be that vulnerable.  She learned her lesson well the first time round.

The yet to be shed tears were dangerously threatening to be her undoing.  Elizabeth sniffed them back and taking the key in her hand once again, she jabbed it into the ignition.  Thankfully this time it went it on the first try.  Turning her hand, the small car started up and Elizabeth wasted no time in putting it into gear and driving away from town.

Elizabeth had only made it a half of a mile before she was forced to pull off to the side of the road.  The unwanted tears blurred her vision and her chest ached from the emptiness that she has struggled with for so long.

Who was she trying to kid?  She had fallen head over heels in love Zeb six years ago.  She had unfortunately given him her whole heart on that ill-fated night; and even though it didn’t mean a thing to him then, she still loved him.  She would probably love him for as long as she had breath in her body.

Her head slumped against the steering wheel, and for the first time since the night that she had to let their son go, she gave into the wave of torrential sobs that poured from her soul. She let herself grieve for all that could have been between her, Zeb and their son and she grieved for all that she had irrevocably lost.  It hurt;  the truth of the matter splintered her soul and she was left struggling just to catch her breath.  She had asked God why, tried to tell herself that he had his reasons but to this day she couldn’t think of a one of them.

Zeb pulled up behind Lizzie’s car and parked.  He remembered that day at the airport and he knew what she saw but it wasn’t what she thought.  He met Nicole Spelling at a club when he went to visit his Uncle for a few weeks in Atlanta the summer before.  They had a fling and when it was time to go, he had told her that they were done.  It was nice while it lasted but he never wanted to get seriously involved, not with a girl like her.  He already had eyes for someone else.  A certain someone with big blue-grey eyes and a mane of dark springy curls that he couldn’t wait to run his fingers though.  He knew way back then that he wanted Elizabeth Lowry; she just wasn’t ready for him at the time- not until that unforgettable night after graduation.    

But even then Nicole didn’t seem to get the hint.  She bordered stalker behavior with her thousands of texts and phone calls.  She hacked his facebook and continually showed up when he least expected it.  Finally Zeb put his foot down and told her it had to stop.  He warned her that if she showed up again that he would take out a restraining order on her.  She pouted and threw a tantrum but when she left, he didn’t see her again for six months.  Not until Nicole had decided to surprise him at the airport talking about marriage and kids.  Before he could stop her, she attacked him with a kiss and it took a good two minutes to peel her off of him.  He told her then that they were done and when she refused to leave him, he had security escort her away.