POV: Savannah
I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face, thinking about all of the things that happened the night before. I stretched out my arms and opened my eyes, feeling a draft from behind. I turned my head quickly and patted the other side of the bed to find an empty space.
I reached over and picked up a sheet of paper from the night stand. It was a letter from Colin. I looked around the room in search of his luggage, but it was nowhere in sight. I rubbed my eyes and focused them downward to read the letter.
Dear Savannah,
By the time you read this, I will have already left. It's currently six in the morning, and I should probably get going. I just wanted you to know that I love you and last night was the best night of my life. I'm sorry I couldn't stay, and that I didn't wake you up to say goodbye, but I did kiss your cheek and write you this letter. We both need time to figure ourselves out, and I believe this is the best way. Besides, I need a place to spend time with Callie, and you need your own space. I hope to see you soon my love... best wishes,
I set the paper on the bed and buried my face into my hands. I didn't know what to do next. I thought about calling him, but when I picked up my phone to dial his number, I was greeted only by his voicemail. It felt like my world officially had no purpose. All of the men I had ever loved were gone from my life, and I couldn't function anymore. I picked up my phone one last time and tuned to the only person I had left. The phone rang a couple times and the line connected.
"Hey Tony, got any plans?"
"Nope... shouldn't you be in class?"
I paused for a minute and thought about school. School brought back memories of Ryan, which I then pushed out. I avoided his question and figured he wasn't in class either since he accepted my phone call.
"How do you feel about going on a vacation with me?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"I was thinking you, me, and a boat—"
"So we're going on a cruise?"
"Yeah! Why not?!"
"Ok," he laughed, "I'll pack my things!"
"Really?" I joked, "I would've thought you'd say something like, 'I already own a yacht, and I could totally hire someone to take us—"
"I do... We can do that if you'd rather—"
"Just meet at my house," I insisted.
* * *
March 15
POV: Savannah
Weeks passed and I had little to no contact with Colin. Ryan and I didn't do much talking either, and the only reason I knew Reece was still alive was because of social media.
Tony and I had been traveling for a couple of weeks, and bonded a lot since. Ryan was apparently still seeing his girlfriend, which he had vaguely mentioned to me, but instead on explaining in full detail to Tony, who I then gathered intel from later on. He seemed happy, and so did Reece. I could only assume Colin was better off without me too...
"Hey what day is it?" Tony asked, emerging from the cabin of the boat.
"Wednesday, why?"
"Because, Ryan just suggested that I hang out with him on Friday—"
"He isn't doing anything with his girlfriend or Colin?" I asked suspiciously, taking off my sunglasses to enjoy the full experience of the sunlight as it reflected off of the ocean.
"I dont know... Why would he be doing anything with them on Friday?"
"Friday is Saint Patrick's Day, and I'm pretty sure there's some Irish in his family..." I said sarcastically.
"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that... Maybe he just wanted me to tag along," Tony suggested.
I looked down at my phone as it vibrated in my lap.
"I got a text from him about Friday too... I wonder if he's trying to get us all together for some reason—"
"Maybe he's gonna propose," Tony smiled.
I shot him a look of disapproval, wiping the smile completely off of his face.
"Sorry," he insisted, "Too soon..."
I put back on my sunglasses and continued reading the newspaper.
"Are you thinking about going?" I asked curiously.
"Hey, if you go, I'll go..."
He sat next to me and gazed into the ocean.
"Sounds like a plan... I'll text him and ask where."
POV: Ryan
"Ok! Savannah, Tony, and Colin are on board! How do you feel?" I asked concernedly, shoving my phone into my pocket, "You don't have to meet them if you don't want to, I mean I know—"
"It's okay Ryan, of course I want to meet your friends and family!"
I leaned in and rested my forehead against hers, "If you say so."
She smiled sweetly and wrapped her hands around my waist.
"You're perfect," I whispered, brushing her hair back from her face, and going in for a kiss.
"EWWW!" Ella blurted, racing down the hall with Grace following behind, latching on to Courtney's leg, "Don't kiss daddy!"
Courtney smiled at Ella and squatted down to her level.
"Why don't you want me to kiss your daddy?"
"Because I want kisses!" She laughed, as Courtney tickled her under the arms and kissed her cheek.
I sat on the couch with Grace, and gave her a coloring book to complete, as I watched Ella and Courtney play together. They sat on the floor for about an hour, talking about rainbows, and whatever other pointless thing came to Ella's mind.
Ella could talk about anything. One word could spark an entire conversation, and I was so glad to have a girlfriend who would listen to it so that I didn't have to. Eventually, six o'clock rolled around, and we had to get Ella and Grace ready to go.
"C'mon girls, hurry it up! Courtney and I are gonna be late for our flight—"
"Where are you going?" Ella asked, making her way upstairs with me to find an outfit.
"Well, we're going to see grandma and grandpa with uncle Colin in—"
"Island!" Grace shouted, running down the hall, almost causing me to trip as I made it up the last step.
"It's Ireland Grace," Ella corrected, crossing her arms over her chest.
Grace frowned and looked up at me as she held onto my leg.
"That's right, we are going to Ireland—"
"See, told you," Ella taunted, sticking her tongue out.
I picked Grace up into my arms and kissed her cheek as tears filled her eyes.
"Technically speaking though... Ireland is an island," I smirked, looking over at the beaming smile on Grace's face.
Ella rolled her eyes and turned her back to me as she began walking down the hall.
"That's why we aren't ugly to people Ella," I said forcefully, raising my voice louder and louder the further away she walked, "I don't care how upset you are, next time I see that tongue out of your mouth, it's gonna get ugly. Go get dressed, your sister is one step ahead of you in all areas today..."
Ella closed her door without looking back, and I smiled at Grace and Courtney.
"You think it scared her?" I asked softly, trying to stop myself from laughing.
"It scared me for a second there," Courtney joked.
"Awe, I wasn't that harsh... She needs to watch herself though. If she keeps acting like this she's gonna end up just like me, and that can't be good—"
"I want to! I – I want—"
Grace stuttered and banged her fist into my chest, and I assumed she wanted to be put down.
"Ow Grace, what?"
"No, daddy I want..."
She trailed off, unable to think of the word she needed to use.
"What do you want to do Grace?"
"To be you..." She said slowly, unsure of her grammar.
"To be me?!" I laughed, putting my hands in my pockets, "Why would you want to be me?"
"No, like you! Why does Ella?!"
"You do NOT want to be like me Gracie baby," I insisted, "You're lucky you have another daddy. If you ended up with any of my genes... Your life would be horrible—"
"But I like you daddy!" Grace exclaimed, hooking her arms around my leg.
"Yeah, I like you too daddy!" Courtney joked, hugging me from the side.
I tried my best to come up with an appropriate reply while Grace was around, but I couldn't think of anything.
I squinted my eyes at her and a smile crept onto my face, "I'll deal with you later—"
"Hah, ok Ryan," she smirked, "Why do you say such bad things about yourself?"
"If you knew me before I moved to Seattle you'd understand. I'm a guy with a lot of buried secrets, and one day you'll realize that... It all just depends on how we deal with them when they come to light."
She lasted her head on my shoulder and looked down at Ella.
"I'm sure that's not true," she insisted, making her way down the hall, "I'm going to go help Ella."
I nodded and watched her disappear through the doorway. I stared down the hall for a few moments, and the down to Ella, thinking about everything I was hiding from Courtney. I never wanted a serious relationship, but she made me question that. Maybe it was time for me to grow up and raise my children with a female figure they could go to.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah Grace?" I questioned, snapping out of my thoughts.
"What's wrong?"
I took a long pause and thought about how to talk to her without making it too complicated.
Talking to my 2 year old daughter about my relationship problems. Unbelievable...
"Grace... Who do you love more, Courtney or Savannah?"
She made an awkward face and I smiled down at her.
"I dont know..."
"That's okay," I insisted, taking a knee to give her a hug, "I don't either sweetheart..."
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Traveling pics from Matt Trethe's Instagram (Aka Tony)