I’m done fucking around.

Heading back to the closet, I grab my duffle from the floor and leave, shutting off the lights as I go. My flight leaves in two hours, and I should have plenty of time to make it to the airport as long as there’s no traffic on the highway. I pull my cell out of my front pocket and stop in the kitchen to get Chris’s number from the eraser board on the fridge, and that’s when I spot a key laying on the counter. Leaving the key where it is, I punch Chris’s number into my cell and head for the door, calling him as I get in my car.

“Hello,” he answers on the second ring, and my fingers tighten around my cell. I don’t know if he’ll be willing to help me out. He’s so close to Kim. He’s been her shoulder to lean on and her protector for a long time, and if he knows how shit went down this morning, there’s a good chance he’ll tell me to fuck off.

“I need you to text me Kim’s parents’ address.”

“You’re going after her?” he questions, sounding relieved as I start up the engine and back out then switch to drive and take off.

“Yeah.”

“Thank fuck. I told the stupid woman not to leave, but when the hell does she ever fucking listen to me?” he mutters, and I shake my head then tighten my hand on the steering wheel when he continues. “She wanted to tell you. Sh—”

“She didn’t,” I cut him off. “She should have fucking told me, but she didn’t. I came across her goddamn pills this morning by chance. I had no idea what the hell they were for, so I looked them up online. That’s how I found out. Not by her telling me, but by fucking sitting in my bathroom at five in the morning, googling the shit on my phone.”

“I’m sorry, man,” he says quietly as I flip on my turn signal and pull onto the main road off my lane.

“Me, too.”

“But you’re still going after her, right?” he asks, sounding worried now.

“I told you I was. This isn’t going to end us, and if I have my way, nothing ever will,” I state, and the phone goes quiet for a long moment before he clears his throat.

“You love her.”

“I love her,” I confirm, thinking that doesn’t come close to how I feel about her.

“I swear I’m going to kick her ass when you get her back to town,” he growls, and for the first time since this morning, I smile.

“I’ll let you know when that is,” I say, pulling onto the highway. “Don’t tell her I’m on my way. I don’t want her to take off before I can make it to her parents’ house.”

“I won’t.”

“Text me the address. My flight leaves in a little under two hours.”

“I’ll text you. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks.” I hang up. Leaning back, I shove my cell back in my pocket and drive, making it to the airport just in time to catch my flight.

Arriving in Miami at a little after 2:00 p.m., I make my way through the airport with my bag over my shoulder toward the rental car pickup, thinking I should have driven. Between the wait at the airport, flight time, extra time in the air because of a storm on the ground, and the two hours it will take me to get to Kim’s parents’ house, I could have been to her, or at least close, by now.

Turning my cell off airplane mode as I walk, I put my phone to my ear to listen to the three voice mails I got while I was in the air. Two from my mom, the first telling me that she loves me and the second telling me I’m an ass and I better make things right with Kim and bring her home. I expect the third message to be her apologizing for being harsh, but it’s not her. It’s Kim whispering she’s sorry.

Hearing the hurt in her voice, I rub the back of my neck and quicken my steps. As much as I want to call to tell her everything will be okay, I don’t. What I need to say needs to be said face-to-face, no more hiding, no more bullshit. I’ve been taking it easy and going slow for her, but that shit is done. Now that I know about her illness, I will never take a moment with her for granted, and I sure as fuck won’t allow her to, either.

Knocking on her parents’ door two and a half hours later, I wait for someone to answer. I should have grabbed her dad’s numbers off the fridge before I left, but I didn’t think about it at the time. Clenching my hands as the porch light comes on, I take a step back, not sure what to expect.

“Took you long enough,” her dad, Donald, says in greeting as he opens the door to me, and my brows draw together. “I knew you’d show up. Though, I did expect you a few hours ago, to be honest.” He steps back, letting me inside and closing the door behind me.

“I was in the mountains. I didn’t have phone service, so I had no idea she’d taken off until a few hours ago,” I tell him, and he nods.

“Figured it had to be something. When she showed up, I knew that if you were the man I thought you were, you’d be here to set her head straight.” He pats my shoulder. “Glad to see I was right about you,” he states, and my muscles that had coiled on the drive here relaxed.

I wasn’t sure what kind of situation I would be walking into, but I knew one way or another I would be talking to Kim, and it’s a relief to know I won’t be fighting with her parents to get to her.

“Thank God.” At those quiet words, I turn my head and watch Kim’s mom, Pattie, come toward me with her arms open. Giving me a hug, she leans back, patting my cheek and sighing. “I told her everything would be okay,” she says, and then her eyes narrow slightly, reminding me a lot of my mom. “Everything is okay, right?” she questions, studying me.

I nod. “It will be.”

“Good.” She shakes her head. “She’s been a mess since she got here. I probably shouldn’t tell you that, but it’s the truth. So if you go in there and she tries to play it cool, don’t let her fool you.”

“I won’t.”

“All right, go on then. Her room is at the end of the hall on the left.”

“Thanks.” I lift my chin to both her parents before heading down the hall. Reaching the room, I pause with my hand on the handle and pull in a deep breath. I turn the knob, but before I have a chance to push in, the door is pulled from my grasp.

“You’re here,” Kim squawks, right before she’s throwing herself at me and wrapping her arms around my neck. Mine instinctively wrap around her middle, hauling her tighter against me as she sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

Picking her up, I carry her farther into the room and kick the door closed behind me before searching through the dark for the bed. Seeing it across the room, I move us there then settle her sideways on my lap.

“Calm down,” I whisper, and she cries harder, clutching me as she apologizes over and over again, which kills me. I’m the one who should be apologizing for losing my shit, being a dick, and taking off. “Please, baby, calm down,” I beg as her tears rip me open one-by-one.

“I should have told you. I should have told you, but I didn’t. I… I was a-afraid that you would… wouldn’t be able to handle it a-an… and that you would leave me,” she says between sobs, and my stomach turns.

I did exactly what she thought I would do. I flipped out then took off. I didn’t tell her that we would talk about it when I had a chance to calm down, so she didn’t know I wasn’t leaving her.

“I’m sorry, baby, I shouldn’t have left things like I did. I just needed to clear my head,” I tell her, tucking my face into her neck and breathing in her warm scent.

“I… I tried to call you.”

“I went to the mountains, so I didn’t have service. I wasn’t leaving you. I just needed to think for a bit.”

“I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not.” I rub her back, and thankfully after a few minutes, her sobs quiet down. “I need to see you,” I tell her quietly, and she leans away from me. A second later, soft light fills the room, and her tear-stained face looks up at me. Using my thumb, I wipe away the tears from under her eyes and study her beautiful face. “I was scared,” I admit, and her body jolts like she’s shocked by that statement. “So, fucking scared.” I run my fingers across her soft cheek, catching a tear before it falls. “I can’t imagine a world without you in it.”