Chapter 69

I sigh and send Jake a text for when he wakes up, but part of me hopes he awakens with the vibration of his cell. I need to hear him.

“We’re going to Chicago to see my mother. I finally bit the bullet and called her. P.S. I miss you xx.”

I slide my phone onto the bedside table and lie down reluctantly. Jake won’t be awake at this time; he can fall asleep anywhere and quickly. He’ll reply when he gets up and maybe call me. I settle into the bed, trying to get comfy, toss, and turn before I finally start drifting back off.

***

I wake slightly energized, knowing Jakes’s coming home today; it thrills me in ways I never thought possible. I feel like he’s been gone forever. I jump up and shower with renewed happiness, but then the memories of last night return, and thoughts of Chicago damp it down again. I’m not regretting calling my mother, but somehow, in the light of a new day, I regret saying I’m going back there. I know Jake doesn’t quite see my mother in the