With My Heart Wide Open

Chapter 19

Pulling into her driveway, Audrey turned off the car. She had a terrible headache. It was probably from the two bottles of wine that she and Macy had drank the night before. Well, she had consumed most of it and then proceeded to cry for hours. Macy was there telling her it would be alright and that she had to do what made her happy, no matter who she hurt in the process. Macy had even cried with her. She missed Karim and Audrey wasn't used to seeing her best friend so attached to a man before. It was kind of cute. 

Exiting the car, she collected the purchases she had made while out and about. She walked into the house and set them down. Opening her junk drawer, she dug through it until she found what she was looking for.

Walking back out into the driveway, she walked up to her car. Taping the ""For Sale" sign to the back window, she took a step back, looking at it. It will be much easier to sell it now and worry about purchasing another, than trying to get it to Spain, she thought to herself. Turning and seeing that the realtor had been by to place the "For Sale" sign in the front yard, brought tears to her eyes all over again. This was the house she had grown up in. Leaving it behind was the closure she needed to come to terms with her mother's death and move forward, but she couldn't help but feel like it was the last piece of her mother that she really had left. It was also the last piece that was holding her back. 

The Real Madrid Foundation wanted her to start her new job on July 1st. That was a little over a month and a half from now. She had to try to get everything here sorted out before she left for Madrid next week. That would give her enough time to find a decent apartment and get somewhat settled before she started her new job. The salary agreement had came with a sizable sign-on bonus, so she was confident that she would be able to survive until she received her first pay check. The salary they had offered her had far exceeded her expectations. She would do well for herself in Madrid, that she was sure of. 

Jake had not taken the news that she wouldn't be joining him in California well. Actually, that was putting it mildly. He had been livid. All of the horrible things he had said before, were said again. He even threw some new ones in the mix this time. There was even a brief moment that Audrey had thought that he might physically harm her. That only solidified in Audrey's mind that she was making the right decision. She hadn't told him that she was taking a job and moving to Madrid, though. It wasn't any of his business. He had gotten on a plane and returned to Los Angeles this morning, much to Audrey's relief. 

Macy had decided that if her best friend was moving to Spain, then she was too. It made Audrey laugh. She had a feeling that if she had decided to go in the other direction, Macy still would have relocated to Madrid. She was talking about moving in with Karim directly. Whether the two of them had actually discussed that, she didn't know. She wouldn't mind being roommates with Macy. They had been roommates for years when they were younger.  

There was one more thing on her to-do list though. Probably the most important thing. She needed to tell Sergio. She hadn't spoken to him much at all and she hoped that he could forgive her for being so distant. She was sure that he was thinking the worst. Audrey knew that she would be if the roles were reversed. She didn't plan on telling him about the situation with Jake or how she had actually, seriously considered going with what she was so familiar and moving to California instead. She hoped that he would be happy when she told him the news. 

Picking up her phone, she dialed Sergio's number, hoping that he wasn't in practice so that she could hear his voice and tell him that she was coming back, to stay.