Loving a Man Who Forgot Me Novel Chapter 88
I poured everything into it, stripping down every wall, every barrier, every ounce of pride I had.
I laid it all bare, and by the time I reached the end, I felt raw, like an exposed nerve. The audience went crazy, but it was like I was hearing it all submerged in a swimming pool or something.
It was muted and distorted because my heart was racing, my pulse pounding in my ears, and all I could do was stare at a stock-still Abbi as the last note of the song echoed into nothing. It felt like those few seconds were suspended into eternity, but then Headmaster Higgins and Aiden were walking toward the stage and I knew I was supposed to be exiting.
“Hope you all enjoyed the song. Grab the album when it comes out and have a good night everyone.” The event was over, most everyone had cleared out, and still the song played in my mind.
“You did an incredible job.” Headmaster Higgins approached. “Tonight was a major success.” Her eyes dipped briefly to the clipboard in her hand, which held the silent auction results. “I’m still blown away by these numbers.” At the end of the night, she’d announced the final total, from ticket sales, the auction, and random donations, and we’d managed to bring in seventy-six thousand dollars.
I smiled brightly, but I couldn’t quite make it meet my eyes, not with Abel’s words still echoing through my head. I clutched my things to my chest, and then out of curiosity asked, “By chance, can you tell me who won the Napa getaway?”
Her eyes skimmed over the sheet and then stopped. “Looks like bidder fifty-seven. I don’t have the names with me, but it was our biggest money maker tonight. Brought in fifteen thousand dollars.” “Wow,” my breath whooshed out of me. Way more than the measly fifteen hundred Jason and I had collectively bid.
“I know. Tonight went better than I ever could have imagined. Those McCabe boys are something else, aren’t they?” Her lips curled up at the corners in the tiniest smile, before she wiped it away and excused herself. Yeah. They were.
“Hey, you ready to go?” Jason walked over and held my coat out to me. I smiled faintly and nodded, shrugging into my jacket. “What’s that?” He jerked his chin at the small leather-bound book in my hand. I tightened my grip on it the same time I said, “Nothing.”
I followed him out to his Jeep, stopping to thank the last few stragglers for their hard work tonight. The jeep was cold, and I sat huddled in the passenger seat, waiting for the heat to kick in. It was a quiet ride from the center to my house. I was lost in thought, and it seemed Jason was too.
“Are we going to talk about it at all?” he finally broke the silence between us as we stepped inside my house. I dropped my keys on the stand and slowly turned to face him. He closed the front door behind him but didn’t come any further inside.
I struggled to find words. “You need to talk to me, Abbi. Tell me what’s going on. What’s that book really? And don’t say nothing. You’ve been holding onto it for dear life since I saw Jesse slip it to you.” I glanced down at the small, bent, and worn little leather-bound notebook in my hand. “And please don’t pretend like you weren’t affected by that song.”
The song. My heart swelled painfully inside my chest. I was feeling too many things right now. And I had a feeling this notebook was only going to blow them all up. I’d taken one peek inside and saw the words Red Door scrawled above what looked like lyrics and closed it right back up.
Because there was Jason, and how did I do this to him? He was scared. I could read it in his eyes when I lifted mine to them. See it in the grim set of his mouth.