THE SPACE BETWEEN

Chapter 26

Trigger Warning(s): Explicit Language

(Shannon's POV)

I was pissed at Jared for interrupting my privacy. It wasn't any of his business what I did in my spare time. What did it matter if I was messing around on the internet? It wasn't like I was actually fucking someone. It was a private site and given what I was paying I didn't think there'd be any issues. If there were, I'd sue.

What good had it done telling Missi how I felt? She had no reaction and had left me all alone. She could have at least acted like she was jealous and maybe change her mind about putting out a little. At the very least she should want to protect her territory. Why couldn't she read between the lines?

She'd seen me doing coke, big deal. I wouldn't have turned to old habits if she treated me better. She loved to fuck before...why had that changed so drastically? Maybe she was just like all the rest, it just took her longer to show her true colors. Whatever—she'd pay if she didn't get her shit together pretty soon.

I grabbed a bottle of Green Fairy out of the liquor cabinet, hoping that it and some weed would lull me to sleep. I felt sure Missi would be back in the morning. Maybe I'd round up a few chicks and have a pool party or rent a boat and document it on Instagram to see how she'd like seeing that. Scantily clothed babes would probably be a little too tempting, especially the way they loved throwing themselves at me. Bless the young naïve ones. They were especially fun, but not much of a challenge.

The weed and the booze were doing the trick and I was beyond mellow now. I turned the television off and reached for Missi. I wanted her to be there.

'Miss...' I whispered into the darkness.

Everything was so confusing lately. I grabbed her pillow and inhaled its scent. 

'Baby, where are you? Come home.'

***

I woke up gasping for air and it felt like my tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth. I felt like shit and was in dire need of coffee. I glanced over my shoulder expecting Missi to be there, but she wasn't. I knew she'd be home today though. She needed me just as much as I needed her—she just needed time to figure that out.

My coffee was brewing, and I was heading upstairs to shower when I noticed I'd left my phone downstairs. I must have set it down before I grabbed the booze. Amazingly enough there were only three voicemail messages. Of course two were from Jared and the other one I didn't recognize. Was I in the mood yet to hear a lecture? Nah, there would be plenty of time for that later. None of the calls or texts were from Missi. She must have been really pissed. It isn't like I had to guess she was with Chelsea.

After my second cup of coffee I begrudgingly listened to my voicemail. Jared had called to let me know why there were pictures of he and Missi together from yesterday. They had stopped at a juice bar after taking her car to the shop and he didn't want me flying off the handle if I came across it.

His tone was different on the second message and he was tripping. He'd seen a video of Missi being confronted last night inside a store by some hardcore chicks that knew who she was. They'd figured out that she wasn't pregnant anymore and they'd been rude about it. Jared felt bad about her having to face that on her own. He wanted me to try reaching her, since she hadn't answered his calls. 

The last message was cryptic, and I had to rewind it to hear it—let alone make sense of it. When I did I knew I had to reach Missi. I returned the call to the bitchy nurse at the hospital, but all she would tell me was that Missi didn't have any life-threatening injuries and was released.