Page 107 of Surviving Slater

He tilted his head up to the ceiling, taking in a breath before he set off into action.

While I watched, he grabbed his shirt. He sat down on the bed and shoved his feet into his boots.

"I need to speak to Connor," he said when he stood up.

I nodded my head and went to get my phone. I dialed Connor and gave the phone to Slater.

"It's Slater," he said a few moments later. I listened to the one-sided conversation, trying to figure out what was being said.

"Where is she?" he asked, pacing the room. "Are you sure?…I'll be there as soon as I can…sure…okay."

He went to his closet and got a duffel bag. While he talked, he threw some clothes in before he walked into his bathroom.

When he walked back into the room, he ended the call and handed me my phone back.

"I'm leaving," he said, his tone precise and angry.

Even though I had expected this, and perhaps worse, it was still hard to cope with the pain I felt.

I was at a loss for what to say. He strode to the door of the bedroom. As he reached the doorway he stopped and looked back at me over his shoulder.

"I don't want you here when I get back." With one last intense look from him, he left.

His words cut right through me. The pain in my chest grew and it became even harder to breathe.

Hurt, I sat down on his bed. My hands touched the sheets where we had shared each other one last time.

The silence was only broken by the sound of the front door slamming closed. A few minutes later I heard his car start up.

I had no one to blame but myself. I had to take responsibility for my actions. I reminded myself that if I hadn't done what I had, he would have continued to believe his sister was dead and would have lived with the guilt of that forever.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Isat therefor a good couple of hours, just staring into the distance. The silence was only broken by the sounds of the birds chirping as the sun rose.

Feeling tired and unsteady, I picked up my clothes and then called for a taxi. Going to Taylor wasn't an option for me. I wasn't ready to open up about what had happened between Slater and me. It would entail revealing I went digging into his background and it wasn't something I was proud of.

Besides, I didn't know if Slater wanted anyone else to know. It wasn't my story to tell.

While I waited for the taxi, I got dressed and walked downstairs.

There were so many memories of us in his place. I ran my fingers over the counter briefly before I picked up my duffel bag where Slater had put it the night before. I gazed around one last time, allowing myself to remember everything before I left.

When I closed the door behind me, I leaned against it briefly, overwhelmed by my heartache, but I managed to hold back the tears.

One day rolledinto the next. To everyone around me, I pretended everything was fine even when Levi threw me disbelieving looks. Taylor wasn't convinced either. They were all watching me like I was going to flip out at any minute.

But I didn't. I put one foot in front of the other. I carried on, I went to classes, did my homework.

My curiosity was driving me nuts but I refused to call Connor to find out what was happening.

The couple of times I had spoken to him I hadn't mentioned Slater, and he didn't say anything about what was happening with Slater and Shannon.

It had been a month and Slater was still gone. I had no idea if he was ever going to return. It was probably for the best, since seeing him would make the pain worse. I didn't know how I would cope if I saw him with another girl.

The few times I saw Sin, I had been tempted to ask about Slater but I stopped myself. I never asked and Sin never offered, so I had no idea what was going on.

I could have called Connor to find out but I felt I had lost the right when Slater had ended things between us. He had made it clear he didn't want me in his life so his wellbeing wasn't any of my business. I doubted we would even be able to be friends.