Meeting Arlo

Leah

I drove aimlessly, following the path that the navigation system in my car was guiding me down. I had never heard of Apple Grove, but I trusted Rosemary not to lead me astray. She seemed to know what she was talking about. I wasn’t sure if I trusted her on how she knew Brennan, but I knew if she was lying, it wasn’t to hurt me. Even if they had been involved, I knew they wouldn’t be now. Not with Taco in the picture.

I couldn’t help the way my thoughts raced. My mind was all over the place. I thought about everything from Rose and Brennan being together to whether or not he really cared about me and would actually miss me. I thought about Armadillo and how he would react when he found out that I was no longer in Eden. I wanted to say goodbye to him. I wanted to see him before I left, but I hadn’t wanted to hurt him. I also hadn’t wanted him to leave Eden because of me, and I knew that was exactly what he would have done.

I wanted Brennan to be able to express his feelings for me without witnesses, but it hadn’t mattered. He couldn’t even tell me that he cared enough to make me want to stay in Eden. Telling me he wanted me to stay and telling me why he wanted me to stay were two very different things. I knew he wanted me to stay. I could see it written all over his face. I didn’t need him to tell me that. It was almost funny how his actions screamed that he would hold me hostage when he held me, but yet he had still walked away without even so much as a backward glance.

“Asshole,” I grumbled as I turned into a parking lot to get gas.

Once parked beside the gas pump, I leaned over to get the money out of the glove box. Rose had told me that whenever someone left Eden, Brennan or Doc would leave money in the glove box for food, gas, and hotels for a few days just in case whoever left needed it. It was usually about $500, but according to Rose, as long as I made it to Apple Grove, I would be okay. When the glove box popped open, envelope after envelope erupted out of it, making me cry out in surprise. After pulling back a little, I stared at the thick envelopes, wondering what exactly was in them.

I picked up the first one before opening it to reveal a fat stack of $50 bills. I quickly counted it, gasping when it totaled $1,000. I put it back into the glove box before peeking into the next one. Again, it held another $1,000. I didn’t even bother counting the rest of the envelopes. I already knew what they would contain, but I did count the number of them. In total, there were 15 envelopes. I had no idea how he had managed to cram all of them inside the glove box, but he had.

I grabbed $50 out of the last envelope before climbing out to go inside to pay for my gas, also grabbing a gas station turkey and cheddar sub sandwich, a small bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, and a large bottle of water. I wasn’t sure when I would be able to eat, so I wanted to grab something now. After depositing my goodies into the car, I pumped the gas before sitting inside it, debating if I should turn around and go back to Eden or continue on my way to Apple Grove.

I wanted to go back and grovel at his feet. I wanted to beg him to take me back, to forgive me for whatever I did wrong, but then I reminded myself that I hadn’t done anything wrong. His anger was not because of me, and if I wanted to move forward with him, I had to put my foot down. He had to learn that I wasn’t going to tolerate being treated like I was the one who was wrong. He needed to respect me more. He needed to make changes. And I didn’t think he could make them if I kept letting him back in without making him suffer the consequences of his actions.

I started the car, forcing myself to continue toward Apple Grove as the doubt about myself and the need to give in to whatever my partner wanted, instilled in me by none other than my husband, Will, started to overwhelm me. I knew that I had come a long way as far as becoming more sure of myself, and I wasn’t going to let another man tear me down until I was nothing again. I may cry and be sad, but I was not going to keep living as a shadow of who I could be. I wanted to be me. I wanted to be the Leah that was sure of herself. That loved herself enough to stand up for what she deserved. And right now, Brennan couldn’t give me the things I needed. It hurt, yes, and if I had to get over him, I would. There was no other way that this played out. I was going to give him a month to get his life together, and if he didn’t, I was going to start working on forgetting he existed.

With renewed determination, I sped up. I was exhausted, and the sooner I got to Apple Grove, the sooner I could hopefully sleep. By the time I finally arrived in the sleeping city, it was almost 3 AM. It wouldn’t be right to turn up at someone’s house at this hour. I would get a hotel for the night and then try to hunt down Brennan’s family in the morning. Maybe they could shed some light on what was going on in his brain.

I yawned as I steered my car into a small inn. I could tell that it was privately owned by the loopy writing on the road sign that was almost impossible to read. Stacey’s Inn. Whoever Stacy was, I hope she liked cleanliness. Before I got out of the car, I patted Sugar’s head.

“I’ll be right back. Stay here,” I told her.

I was greeted by a pleasant young woman as I walked in. She was way too bubbly to be the nighttime desk clerk. I sighed as I stopped beside the desk.

“Good morning. I was wondering if I could rent a room for the night.”

“Of course. Just one room?” She asked.

“Yes, please. I only need it for the night. I will be checking out in the morning,” I answered.

“Yes, ma’am. Are you just passing through?”

“No.” I hesitated for a moment before deciding to mention the Morgans. “I was actually looking for the Morgans, but it’s so late that I didn’t want to just show up.”

She stiffened as she eyed me. “The Morgans? Never heard of them.”

I tilted my head as I studied her face. It was obvious she was lying, but why?

“I was told by a friend that I could find them here and that they would help me. I—”

“Which Morgan were you looking for exactly?” A man asked as he walked out of the office behind the desk.

“Well, I was hoping to either find Ramira or Madison. I—”

“Madison Morgan? What business do you have with her?” He continued to question.

“Well, you see, I was dating one of the brothers and—”

“Caleb wouldn’t like it if you were looking for his family!” The woman snapped, making my eyes widen.

Caleb? And why did she sound jealous? I shook my head. “No. I was not dating Caleb. I—”

“I know that you are not alluding to having been with Joseph. Madison won’t let you off easy if you go to her home and try to start drama,” the woman cut me off again.

Again I was shocked. “I was not dating Joseph either. Brennan—”

“Phoenix? You’re Phoenix?” The man interrupted me, making me stare at him startled.

“Ummm, yes. And you are?”

He held his hand out as he smiled widely at me. “It’s nice to finally meet you. My sister and daughter have told me so much about you. My name is Arlo. Ashley, please keep a watch over the inn for me while I take Phoenix to Madison’s and Joseph's house. And before you say it’s too late to bother them, they would be incredibly furious if you slept here instead of at their home.”

“Who’s your daughter and sister?” I asked, immediately getting an uneasy feeling.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I just got so excited. Brennan was my best friend growing up. It was so good to hear that he had fallen in love again. Rosemary is my daughter, and Doc is my sister,” he informed me.

I blinked in surprise. Rose’s dad was friends with Brennan? That was how she knew him. I let out a shaky breath as the realization that she had grown up around him hit me. They hadn’t been involved. That knowledge shouldn’t make me feel so relieved, but it did. No wonder they always treated me with so much respect and kindness. They were family. And I hoped that meant that because of my relationship with Brennan, I was family too.