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either. I needed to stop thinking and go to sleep for the night. Tomorrow would be a new day and beginning for me and Lily. I was going to make sure of it and get down on my hands and knees and beg her for forgiveness.

14
    Lily
     
    I booked a non-stop flight to Seattle. I packed my suitcase and, when I walked out the door, Sam was coming out of his apartment. He looked at me and then at my suitcase.
    “Hey, Lily. Where are you going?”
    “I’m flying to Seattle for a while. I have some things I need to take care of there.”
    “Ah. I see. I talked to Luke last night. He said he sent you a text message, but you never responded.”
    “I didn’t get a text message from him,” I said as I pulled out my phone and took a second look.
    “He’s at the cabin and service isn’t the best up there. Anyway, he’s coming home today and he wanted me to tell you that he needs to talk to you.”
    “Well, that’s too bad because I’m leaving. He had a chance to talk to me the day he left me sobbing hysterically in the middle of my apartment. Now he thinks that he’s had time and that it’s okay just to come back and want to talk? It doesn’t work that way, Sam. I’m hurt, distraught, and to be honest, I feel betrayed. He doesn’t just get to talk to me when it suits him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a plane to catch, and do me a favor, don’t tell him where I am. Please.”
    The sadness in his eyes bothered me. But I had no choice.
    “I won’t tell him. Have a safe trip, Lily, and I’ll see you when you get back,” he said as he leaned over, kissed my cheek, and helped me load my suitcase in the back of the Explorer.
    ****
    As I sat on the plane and stared out the window, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Sam had said. Maybe Luke wanted to talk to me to put closure on our relationship because he still blamed me for what happened. The only thing I knew at this point was that my stomach was in a permanent knot and I’d never felt so lonely in my life. The plane landed and I rented a car and drove to my mom’s house. The hardest part was going to be to have to face Brynn and possibly Hunter. I didn’t care anymore what he did because I now realized that he wasn’t my true love. But my sister, my baby sister, Brynn, was a different story. Blood doesn’t do that to each other and it was mostly my anger with her that I needed to control.
    ****
    Luke
    I pulled up to the apartment building and Lily’s Explorer wasn’t there. Instead of going to my and Sam’s apartment, I inserted the key into Lily’s lock and opened the door. I looked around. Lily had all the blinds shut. There was a blanket lying on the couch and an empty bottle of wine sitting on the coffee table. I walked straight to the bedroom and she wasn’t there. I opened the closet doors and noticed that some of her clothes were missing and her suitcase was gone. FUCK! Where the hell did she go? I pulled out my phone and texted Sam.
    “Where’s Lily?”
    “I take it you’re back. I don’t know, dude. She said she was leaving and wouldn’t tell me where she was going.”
    “What about her studio?”
    “Don’t know. She’ll be back eventually. She didn’t move for good.”
    “How the fuck do you know that?”
    “She only had one suitcase. Chill out, Luke. You left and now so did she. Give her the space she wants.”
    I threw my bag down on the floor and headed to the bar. When I walked in, I saw Cody talking to Maddie.
    “Well, look who’s back.” Maddie smiled.
    “Do you know where Lily went?”
    “No. I didn’t know she left.”
    “Her suitcase is gone and so are some of her clothes. Sam said she wouldn’t tell him where she was going.”
    “I’m not surprised, Luke. She was really broken up.”
    I shook my head and went to my office. A few moments later, Cody walked in.
    “Hey, Luke. Welcome back and I’m really sorry. If there’s anything I can do, just let me know.”
    “Thanks, Cody. Can you please shut the door on