Simple Perfection

“Did you just say propose ?”
    Jace looked up from his stance over the ball and nodded.
    “Wow,” was all I could think of to say. I hadn’t expected that.
    “I love her. She’s it for me.”
    I stood there silently as Jace hit the ball. He stepped back and glanced over at me. “She doesn’t know yet. I’m trying to think of a romantic way to do it.”
    This golf game had just gotten a lot more interesting.

    I texted Della before my three o’clock meeting but she didn’t respond before the lawyer arrived. Once my meeting was over and there was still no response, I dialed her number. I hadn’t seen her all day. Neither had anyone I asked. Something felt wrong.
    “I’m sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected . . .” I jerked my phone back and looked down to make sure I’d dialed Della’s number. I had.
    I grabbed my keys and walked past Vince without a word. My mind was running wild. Why would Della’s phone be disconnected? Had she forgotten to pay the bill? Was she okay?
    As I got to the house, every bad scenario ran through my head. The car I’d given Della when she’d come back to Rosemary with me was sitting in the drive. She hadn’t left the house today. My heart raced as I ran up the steps and swung the door open.
    It was quiet. Too quiet.
    “Della? Baby? You okay?” I called out as I walked down the hall toward the living room. I glanced into the kitchen as I passed and almost continued on when I saw a single piece of paper and a pen lying on the counter. They hadn’t been there that morning.
    “Della?” I called out again, walking on toward the living room and out onto the balcony. The bedroom was empty. It was also bare. There were no heels lying by the door or jewelry on the dresser. I stood in the doorway, afraid to walk inside and look in the closet.
    I turned and headed back to the kitchen. The note would explain this. She could have cleaned up before she went shopping with Blaire. That made sense.
    Reaching for the paper, I picked it up and began to read. With each word, my world began to slowly fall away. The small, ripped piece of notebook paper held the only words that could completely destroy me.
    I let it fall to the floor as I stood frozen. I didn’t want to touch it. I didn’t want to see it. The words were imprinted in my head. I’d never be able to make them go away. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

Della
    T ripp hadn’t said much when he came to get me. He had just asked if I was sure, and when I’d said yes he had taken my bag and put it in the compartment of his bike before handing me a helmet and a leather jacket. I put both on.
    We had been riding for about two hours when he pulled into a gas station. My legs were slightly numb. I wasn’t sure I could walk when I got off that thing. Tripp got off and then took my helmet and hung it on the bike. I didn’t ask him why he wasn’t wearing a helmet but I was glad he had one for me to wear. He then held his hand out to help me off. I managed to sling my leg over the bike and held on to both his hands as I stood up.
    “Ouch,” I said with a weak smile.
    He grinned. “Yeah, you’ll get used to it,” he told me, then nodded his head toward the store. “Go in, use the restroom, and get yourself something to eat and drink. We’ll take a little break before we go any farther.”
    I had focused on the road and the cars we passed. I’d managed to fight off any thoughts of Woods. But they were there in my head, teasing me. They wanted to haunt me. They wanted to break me. He would know soon that I was gone. “Where are we going?” I asked, trying to think of anything other than Woods.
    “Not sure. We’re just riding. I thought you might need that right now. I’m heading north. I figure we’ll find somewhere interesting by bedtime to stop at.”
    This was what I needed. I nodded. “Okay.”
    “I gotta fill up,” he told me, and I headed inside the store. I would need to call Braden now. I hadn’t told her I was leaving Woods. She wouldn’t have seen it my way. But once Woods knew I was gone he would call her first. She would be worried. I should prepare her. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and remembered I’d had it switched off. I didn’t want to be traceable. I would reactivate it in the next big city. A new number. One no one knew.
    After using the restroom I grabbed a bottle of water and some Cheetos, paid, and headed outside to sit at a picnic table that sat