Oblivion Series Book 2

London

Watching Paisley walk on stage after Zeke’s beautiful song filled me with love. Yet, there was no denying the jealousy that pulsed through my body.

Memories of everything the two of them went through together played in my mind as I watched them from the sidelines. I was witnessing my best friend getting her happily ever after.

I knew it was a total bitch move to not be happy for a friend who’d had more drama than the local soap opera.

The whole stadium was so quiet, a pin could be heard if one had been dropped.

Jay was hopping back and forth, reminding me of a rampant rabbit that had been left vibrating on the bed. That thought alone had me giggling like some schoolgirl.

Caleb had the biggest smile on his face; he really was beautiful. He should have that smile more often.

As for Blake? God, that man makes me feel…everything. My right hand moved to comfort my slightly protruding stomach as I felt the first kick of our unborn child.

Blake must have sensed me watching him. His eyes flickered and collided with my own, sending my body into oblivion. Now, I understood why the band was called what it was.

If I were hooked up to a heart rate monitor right now, there would be no hiding what he did to me. Those readings would be sky-high and would cause concern.

Although my heart screamed hell yes, my head told me to run away—and at one hell of a pace.

I’d read the tabloids; it wasn’t like you could escape them. Then, of course, there were all the punters who came into the bar and gossiped like they had nothing better to do, sharing everything about Blake’s latest conquest.

One of the main problems with living in a small town was that you couldn’t have any secrets around these folks. I just couldn’t take it, knowing I was nothing but a notch on his bedpost.

Frowning, I give one final look at Blake, allowing my heart to break just one last time. Hopefully.

“Mommy has you, little one. We’ll be okay…I promise,” I whispered as I walked away from the one person who had made me actually feel anything in my life.

I held back my tears, and with blurry vision, continued on my mission to get away from Blake Johnson. Once that first tear broke free, the rest were sure to follow in an unbroken stream.

Breathing a sigh of relief at the blurred view of my rental, I quickly folded my body into the driver’s side in the hope no one saw me.

Bending forward, I pressed my palms into the steering wheel, allowing me to give in to every emotion demanding to be freed; every single image, every moment we had shared together, in only a small space of time.

I allowed myself to feel nothing but the anguish of pain. I cried with the force of a person vomiting on all fours, my heart aching with every gut-wrenching sob, my body shaking from the velocity of the tears that finally left my stinging eyes.

“Why did you do this to me? Why could you not have been some random guy I’d never have to see again? Why…God, why did you allow this to happen?” I screamed out to no one and wiped the full-on snot bubbles.

My chest heaved as I tried to bring myself under control. Threading my fingers into my hair, I pulled at my long locks. My voice was raw with every ounce of pain, my face blotchy from tear-stricken cheeks.

My soul was empty of any emotion, apart from the love for my unborn little one, who moved to show they were right there with me.

“I loved you a lottle… It meant little, but a lot. You had my heart, Blake, from the first moment you gave me shit in the bar.

“Now, look where we are. I can never allow myself to let you have power over me or our child ever again. You were my biggest mistake, and I’m done crying over you.”

I’m not sure how long I sat there staring into space when there was a sudden knock on the window. I wiped my cheeks quickly before rolling the window down.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Are you leaving the venue early? Do you need any assistance?”

I shook my head whilst turning the ignition, securing my belt into place, and selecting drive. I took one final deep breath before releasing the brake.

My heart was still pounding with each yard I drove away from it all, heading back to my hotel, not expecting Paisley to be back tonight after she’d accepted Zeke’s wedding proposal.

***

I sat outside the hotel. The heavens had opened at some point in my journey, though it was hard to pinpoint the exact moment it began.

Perhaps it was when I admitted how I felt about Blake? Maybe when I allowed myself to cry one final time over a love I never really had to begin with? Either way, here I was now, walking into an empty room.

Locking the door behind me, I stripped down to my underwear before falling onto my back on the bed. My hands instinctively caressed my stomach, enjoying the butterflies swarming within. My mom’s voice came to mind.

“Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, and who will stay awake just to watch you sleep…

“Wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you’re in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends…who thinks you’re just as pretty without makeup on.

“Find a guy who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have YOU… The one who turns to his friends and says, ‘That’s her…that’s my girl’.”

“Sorry, Mom…I thought I did wait for that guy…I was so wrong.”

I closed my eyes and hoped the stress of the day would wash away as I lost myself in slumber.

***

I wasn’t sure when I first started hearing the birds chirping or the persistent knocking on my hotel door which seemed to be in sync with the throbbing head I had going on.

I was exhausted, and I didn’t want to be near anyone today. All I wanted was a hot bath, then I wanted to collect my shit and get the hell out of town.

And all this would have been perfectly orchestrated if the loon who was happily adding a fresh dent to the hotel sleaze would just go away and leave me the heck alone.

“Dammit, London, open the damn door.”

“I’m not home,” I moaned into my pillow, folding the two ends up around my ears.

“If you don’t willingly open the door for me, I’ll quite happily make my way through them, regardless of how you’re dressed.”

It was the authoritative tone of the one and only Caleb Jacobs. Why on earth was he here escaped me. I had no intention of opening the door; I just wanted to wallow little more.

“Piss off,” I shouted, wincing as I did.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I didn’t even have time to react. All I managed to do was throw the comforter over my face before I heard wood splintering and a body came crashing through the door.

“Oh my God,” I screamed, scrambling to sit up and look at what the big ape had done. “I’m not paying for that. Did your mama not teach you any manners?”

He had a stupid smile on his face and shrugged—yes, shrugged—his damn shoulders like it was no big deal.

“Where’s Blake?” Caleb asked.

And there we had it, ladies and gentlemen—two words I never wanted to hear on the morning I was getting my shit together.

“How am I supposed to know? Last I saw him was when y’all were on stage.”

Caleb picked the broken pieces of the door up and stacked them against the wall, before picking up a shirt I’d left on the chair and throwing it at me.

Rolling my eyes, I covered my top half and let the comforter pool at my waist.

Caleb sat in the chair, with his right ankle over his left knee, and just stared at me for what felt like an eternity.

“He didn’t come here?”

“Does it look like he was here?” I spat out. I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation—and all before I’d had coffee.

“No.”

No shit, Sherlock. The silence fell between us again. I could feel my blood starting to boil from this whole situation.

“I’m sorry to have bothered you.” He stood and tried to leave.

“Now, you just wait right there, bucko. Why was I just put through a rude awakening for you to just leave?” Count to ten. Count. To. Ten. I ground my teeth together. “You’ve got some explaining to do, and I want my answers.”

“You know, you’re hot when you get mad. No wonder Blake is all…pussy-whipped.” Caleb laughed.

I sat there, mouth open wide. What the fuck? Had I entered the twilight zone or something?

Caleb continued, “Blake stormed off stage and said he was going to find you. He never came back. Thought I’d give him the night before I busted his balls—hence why I’m here now. Is that good enough?”

I nodded my head, unable to speak. Caleb’s words were spinning in my mind. Blake came looking for me? Stormed off stage? But he wasn’t here… I never saw him.

By the time I could finally feel again and could ask another question, Caleb was gone, and I was once more left alone with my thoughts.