Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

and there was no sign of Sadie or Mr. Greg. Frustrated, I turned and headed to the kitchen. Maybe she’d gone in there to wait for me.
    When I got inside, Ms. Mary didn’t look up at me. She continued to wash the large pots in the sink. That was odd. She always stopped what she was doing and asked if I needed something. More important, though, was the fact Sadie wasn’t in here, either.
    “Ms. Mary? Do you know where Sadie is?”
    Ms. Mary made a “hmph” sound, then let the pot clang in the sink before looking up at me. “Marcus called and said he found her at the beach. She was fine and headed home.”
    She was gone?
Shit!
“Why did she leave?” I asked, already fearing the answer.
    Ms. Mary threw her dishcloth into the sink and put her hands on her hips before glaring at me. “You really asking me that, boy? ’Cause I don’t know how things are done up there in Hollywood, but here in the South, girls don’t know how to play your games. ’Specially sweet girls like Sadie. She don’t got no time for this funny business. You said you wouldn’t hurt her, and it took you no time to do just that. Now, Marcus is gonna be there to let her cry on his shoulder, and you go back to your girlfriend and leave poor little Sadie alone. God knows Marcus has a thing for the girl. He’d be good to her. He comes from a good family. He can take care of her too.”
    I was torn between wanting to beat the shit out of Marcus for going near her, and not being able to breathe because she was hurting. I didn’t want Sadie hurting.
    “Star isn’t my girlfriend,” I said defensively.
    “Well, the rest of the world only knows what the media tells us, and last we all heard, she was. And Sadie knows you been locked up there with her all day. She ran outta here so fast I had to let Marcus go early so he could run after her and make sure she was safe.”
    Marcus was all in my business. I didn’t like that guy. He was waiting. He wanted me to hurt her so he could move in. He lived here, and when I was gone he was planning on moving in on her. I could see it, and the red-hot jealousy from the idea of Marcus touching Sadie made me go a little mad.
    “I’m going to her house. I need to see she’s there.”
    Ms. Mary shook her head and turned back to her dishes. “Girl needs a man who can take care of her. Not a rock star.”
    She was right, but dammit, I loved her. I couldn’t give her up. Not now.
    SADIE
    I lost count of the times I’d attempted to talk myself out of returning to the Stone mansion. I kept reminding myself that we needed the money, and that I would not act like Jessica. I did
not
run away from life. I faced my problems and dealt with them. I could be stronger than a broken heart. Foolishly, I’d given my heart away to someone who didn’t need it or expect it. It was my fault, and my fault alone. Lesson learned. I’d learned a long time ago not to make the same mistake twice.
    I opened the kitchen door, and Ms. Mary turned to look at me. Relief washed over her face. She must have worried I wouldn’t come back. Her expression, and knowing that I would’ve been missed, made my returning worth it.
    “Morning, Ms. Mary.” I glanced over at the table, expecting it to be empty, and I froze in place at the sight of Jax sitting in his usual spot. A concerned frown wrinkled his forehead.
    I nodded a silent hello and forced myself to face Ms. Mary. “If it’s all the same to you, I would like to get an early start on the garden this morning. Can I come back later to help you with the food prep?”
    Ms. Mary cleared her throat. She seemed a little unsure, and finally managed to nod. “Mr. Greg will be happy to see you so early.”
    I went straight to the laundry room and changed. I couldn’t deal with Jax this morning. I needed time. Besides, I needed to work and didn’t have time to talk. My uniform would be cleaned and pressed, hanging in the closet with all the others. I sifted through until I found mine. The last time I’d been doing this exact same thing, my heart had been racing wildly, knowing Jax would be waiting on me. So much could happen in a day. My heart broke a little more, and I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I could not keep going like this. I needed to get some form of control over my emotions.
    Why was it when I finally fell in love, I had to choose a teen idol? Couldn’t I be like normal girls and fall in love with a guy from school? Or a guy from work? Take Marcus, for example.