-Heather's POV-
Joey and I were at a local cafe in god knows what city. He was at the counter, getting him and me a late-night coffee. I was sitting at a table by the window, looking at my phone. On my screen was a picture of Anthony and me on the morning of his first day on the job. A single tear fell from my eye as I remembered that day and how happy we were.
"Here," Joey's voice sounded. I looked up and saw him standing at the end of the table with two cups of coffee in his hands. He set one down in front of me and slipped into the chair across from me, putting his cup up to his lips and taking a sip of the steaming hot beverage.
"Thanks," I mumbled, setting my phone to the side and picking up the paper cup.
The two of us sat in silence for a little before he cleared his throat and said, "So, um, I have a guest bedroom you could sleep in at my apartment." I looked up at him. "You won't have to pay me rent or anything. You can just...stay there."
"Are you sure?" I asked him softly.
"Yeah! Of course. It's the least I can do." The corner of his lip curled up. I smirked and looked down at my drink. I wasn't really thirsty for it and set it back down on the table. Joey gave me a concerned look before saying, "You know, this coffee isn't really all that great anyways," He set his cup of coffee down too and stood up. "I think we should just keep driving, H. We can stop for breakfast in the morning if you're up for it."
"Can we just sit here for a little bit longer?" I begged softly, looking up at him, "I need a little break from the road..." I looked out the window and out of the corner of my eye, I watched him sit back down in his chair. He pulled out his phone and started playing some game. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned my head.
The two of us sat there without saying a word to each other for a good thirty minutes before I told him I thought I was ready to hit the road again. I had convinced him to let me drive, in an attempt to distract me from the constant What if...? thoughts that were in my head.
As I was driving down the dark road, rarely seeing a car pass by, Joey had dozed off, eventually falling asleep. Snoring and drooling, the whole spiel. I looked over at him and I grinned. He looked so cute when he was sleeping. Even with the drool trailing from the corner of his mouth. I returned my attention to the road and made it another mile before my phone started going off in my pocket.
I took my hand off of the wheel, leaving one on there, and dug my hand into my pocket, fishing for my phone. I didn't want the ringing to wake up Joey. I grabbed onto my phone and pressed the answer button, not even seeing who was calling me before putting the phone up to my ear.
"Hello?" I asked in a whisper.
"Heather!" Ian's voice sounded on the other end of the line.
"Ian?" I asked, pinning the cellphone between my shoulder and my ear, putting my hand back on the wheel, "Why are you calling me so late?"
"Where are you?" He inquired, completely ignoring my question.
"I don't know," I answered, looking at my surroundings. There were no signs indicating where I was. There was just trees, the road ahead of me, and the star-filled night sky above, the moon shining brightly. "I really don't know."
"Is that Joey guy with you?" He questioned.
I glanced over at Joey and then back out at the road. "Yes...? Why does it matter, Ian?"
"I'm coming for you," He told me. My eyes widened and I instinctively slammed down on the brakes, jerking Joey and I forward. For some weird reason, he remained asleep.
"You're what!?!" I whispered angrily into the speaker of the phone, "No, Ian! Don't! Turn around! I don't want to come back!"
"But you need to!" He argued with me, "You can't just leave your problems behind, Heather. That's not how it works. Your problems will follow you everywhere you go. You went to college, you're smart, shouldn't you know that?"
I swallowed hard before replying to him, "Ian, I am smart. And that's why I'm going back home. I never should've came back with Anthony. That was a mistake on my part. And...there's nothing you can say or do to change my mind. I'm going home and I don't want to see you again. I don't want to see Anthony and I don't want to see that fiance of his. I just want to go home and see my family and my true friends. I'm sorry."
-Anthony's POV-
"...I don't want to see you again. I don't want to see Anthony and I don't want to see that fiance of his. I just want to go home and see my family and my true friends. I'm sorry." Heather's voice echoed throughout the small car Kalel, Ian, and I were sitting in. We were pulled into a gas station, parked beside a gas pump, and the car was turned off. Ian had called Heather and put her on speaker phone, requesting that Kalel and I remain silent so that Heather wouldn't get any more upset than she most likely already was.
"Are you sure that's what you want Heather?" Ian asked her, "To never see us again?"
There was a long pause of silence before she said the one word I didn't want to hear, "Yes."
I closed my eyes and rested my head back on the head rest. My grip on the steering wheel tightened, turning my knuckles white. It hurt. Hearing she never wanted to see me again. It hurt a lot. A whole fucking lot.
"Heather, come on..." Ian tried to persuade her.
"No, Ian, I meant what I said. I appreciate you trying to get me to stay, but...I never should've come to California. I should've just gone back home after college, to D.C. At least then I wouldn't have caused so much trouble."
It getting harder and harder for me to remain silent. All I wanted to do was grab that phone from Ian's hand and tell Heather I made a mistake. That I loved her and that she should come back. But Kalel was sitting right next to me and I know it would hurt for her to hear that. So I kept my mouth shut as Ian replied to her, "Although I highly disagree with you, Heather, I understand. I won't come after you."
"Thank you," Heather retorted softly.
"So I guess this is goodbye?"
"Yes. Goodbye, Ian."
Ian ended the call and heaved a sigh, sitting back.
"So that's it?" I questioned, looking at my friend through the rear view mirror, "We're just going to head back home? Forget about going after her?"
"It's what she wants, Anthony," He told me.
"So!?! She's upset, she doesn't know what she wants!"
"She said she never wanted to see you again, Anthony," Kalel interjected, glancing over at me, "Let her go back home. If she means what she says, she'll stay there and never talk to you again. If she doesn't mean what she says, she'll eventually break down and call you. Tell you she made a mistake going back. But from the sounds of it, I think she means what she means. That she never wants to-"
"We have to go after her," I muttered, trying to hold back the tears that wanted to stream down my cheeks, "I can't let her do this."
"Anthony, she-" Kalel was about to scream at me when I cut her off.
"I know what she said, Kalel. But I know Heather. I know she doesn't mean what she says. But it's going to take more than a phone call from a guy she barely knows to make her realize it." I turned the car back on and sighed, "I'm going to drop you guys off at the house and then I'm going to hop on the next flight to D.C."
"Anthony!" Kalel cried.
I looked over at her with the most serious expression I think I've ever had in my whole life, "Ian will take good care of you while I'm gone. Won't you Ian?" I looked back at him briefly as he nodded his head yes before looking back at Kalel, "And before you know it, I'll be back."
"No, Anthony, I'm not letting you do this!"
"This isn't your decision to make, Kalel," I told her before pulling out of the gas station parking lot and getting back on the road, speeding towards my house.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for such the long wait =( I hope you liked this chapter and hopefully the next update will be up soon! Thanks for reading and don't forget to tell me what you thought! -rac06h10ael