Chasing Leah

Armadillo

It had been three days since I saw Leah. She had told me that she wanted to respect me and my feelings by staying away, but I missed her. A lot. I had let her have space to think about things, but now I wanted to see her. I was going to see her. If she told me to leave, I would, but I was still going to try. I carried my bowl to the sink before finishing off my coffee. I hadn’t wanted to eat. I just wanted to see her, but I had forced myself to eat. As quick as it was, it was delicious.

As I walked out of the house, I told myself that I was going to have to clean my house when I got back. I had dishes in the sink, dirty clothes filled my hamper, and my kitchen floor was sticky from a can of soda I spilled the night before. I hurried down the street before bounding up the stairs to her house, stopping in front of the door seconds before I knocked eagerly.

“Phoenix?” I called out. “Can we talk?”

When I didn’t get a response, I frowned deeply. Sugar didn’t even bark, which was extremely weird. Leah never took Sugar exploring the community. She always kept her at home or in the yard when they played and she used the bathroom. ‘Or when she stayed with R. H. M.,’ a voice whispered in my head, making me grimace as I looked over my shoulder toward his office. Had she made up with him? Was she back at his office with him? And if she was, why hadn’t she told me? As I turned around to go to his office to see if she was there, I saw Rose standing at Leah’s gate watching me. I nervously licked my lips as I walked over to her.

“Hey, Rosemary,” I greeted her. “How are you?”

“I’m well. How are you?” She repeated back to me.

“I’m okay. Looking for Phoenix. Have you seen her?” I asked.

“Ummm, she left Eden three days ago,” she answered honestly, making my mouth drop open.
“She did what?”

“She left Eden. There was too much going on between her and R. H. M., so she decided to leave instead of waiting around for him to make a decision,” she told me.

My heart sank as she continued to speak. Leah had left Eden and hadn’t told me? Did she really care so little about me that she hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye? Rose put her hand on my arm.

“She didn’t want to say goodbye to you, Armadillo. She didn’t want to leave. She hoped that he would step up so she wouldn’t have to. She knew that you would want to go with her if she told you. She didn’t want you to make that decision because of her. She wanted you to leave Eden because you wanted to leave Eden. She didn’t want to disrupt your life.”

I looked down at her hand on my arm before meeting her eyes. “Do you know where she is?”

“I do.”

“Will you tell me?” I asked.

“If you want to know.”
“I do,” I told her. “I don’t want to be here if she’s not. If she’s out there all alone, I want to be there for her.”

“She’s not alone, but I understand. I sent her to Apple Grove. She has friends there. They will protect her,” Rose said.

“Apple Grove? That’s where Doc sent me to go get R. H. M….”

“Yes. His family is there. I know they will help her.”

“How are you so sure? If they’re his family—”

She removed her hand from my arm before holding it up to stop me from interrupting her. “They are amazing people. They will protect her. Trust me. I’ve known them my entire life.”

I sighed. “Alright. How do I find her when I get there?”

“Ask around for Joseph Morgan. Tell them you’re looking for his house guest. Depending on who you ask, you might get led straight to them. If not, ask someone else,” she suggested.

I nodded. “Thank you, Rosemary.”

“A word of advice, Armadillo.”

“Yes, Rosemary?”

“Don’t push her for a relationship. She is hurting. Give her time. She needs a friend right now. Not another man who has the potential to crush her soul.”

I nodded. “I promise that I won’t push her. I want her to want to choose me. Even if she never chooses me, I want to be in her life. She is an amazing woman, and I think I can be exactly what she needs. Even if it’s not what I want. She is important to me. I don’t just want to sleep with her, Rose. You should know me better than that.”

“I do, but I also know her and R. H. M. as well. I know that they both want to be together,” she told me as she took my hand. “I absolutely adore you, Armadillo, and I don’t want to see you hurt. And I’m afraid that if you go after her, that you will be.”

I gave her a sad smile. “I’m afraid of that too, but I have to try.”

She nodded. “I understand that.” She hugged me before kissing my cheek. “Good luck, Armadillo.”

“Good luck?”

“Yeah. Good luck. I’m telling you now because I’m sure that I won’t see you before you leave,” she laughed.

“Thanks.”

As I rushed back to my house, I lifted my watch to my mouth to tell R. H. M. that I wanted to leave. I knew he would know exactly why I was leaving, but it really wasn’t any of his business. I wasn’t going to answer him if he did ask. I didn’t have to. Nowhere in the rules did it say that I had to tell him why I wanted to leave. I quickly packed a bag before practically sprinting to the gate where my car was already waiting for me. R. H. M. stood beside it, pacing frustratedly, only stopping when I reached him. He held the keys out to me, watching me with hooded eyes.

“Listen to me, Armadillo, I know why you’re leaving, and I understand. Just do something for me. Make sure she’s okay. I don’t know where she is, but I know you do. I know that’s where you’re going. Tell her…” He took a deep breath. “Tell her that I’m sorry. And that I’m trying.”

I narrowed my eyes at him as I thought about what he was saying. I shook my head as I took the keys from him. “No, R. H. M. I won’t be telling her anything that you say. If you want her to know something, you should be the one to tell her. Not me. But I will make sure she’s okay.”

He sighed. “Alright. That’s— well, it’s not really enough, but if it’s all I’m going to get from you, it will have to be enough.”

“It is all you’re getting. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m ready to go.”

He nodded as he took a step back. “Goodbye, Armadillo.”

“Goodbye, R. H. M.”

I got in the car, driving through the gate before stopping to put the doctor’s address in again. I rolled my shoulders back before starting the drive. I knew it was going to be a long one. I hated long drives, but at least this one, there was a woman I loved at the end of it. I cranked my music up, singing along enthusiastically to maintain focus. I drove until I only had 17 miles in my gas tank before pulling over to get gas. As I fueled up, I stretched out my back. I was exhausted and ready to get out of the car. I groaned as I got back in the car. 45 minutes later, I was pulling up in front of the doctor’s house, where I knocked on the door, anxiously shifting my weight back and forth while I waited for someone to answer the door.

“Armadillo? Are you okay?” She asked when she answered the door.

“Yes. I was looking for Phoenix. Do you know where she is? Rose told me that she told Phoenix to come to Apple Grove.” I told her, not missing the way her partner hovered protectively behind her, as if he was waiting for me to try something.

“Yes, I do. She’s at a group therapy session. I’ll get you the address, but you can’t interrupt them. You have to wait outside the building until they are done. I will be letting Carly know to make sure you follow my instructions,” she said as she pulled a receipt and a pen out of her pocket to scrawl an address on it. “Here. Just a word of advice: Caleb runs that meeting. And Madison is there. Neither of them will tolerate any bullshit, so tread carefully.”

I shivered upon hearing that Madison was going to be there. She scared me a little. Well, more than a little. She seemed to be the kind of female who wouldn’t hesitate to punch someone, and having already been through that with my ex- wife, I wasn’t in a hurry to be around someone else like that again.

“I understand. I will stay in the car until I see Phoenix.”

“Oh, and one more thing. If Phoenix doesn’t want you to be around, you have to respect her wishes,” the doctor told me.

I nodded. “I didn’t come here to disrupt her life. I just want to be there for her.”

“Alright. Go on. Group will be over in about 45 minutes.”

I waved at the man behind her before getting back in my car. In no time at all, I was pulling up outside of a small office building across the street from a bar, where I could see a few bikers were watching me. I shuddered at the implied threat they exuded. I was not trying to get my ass beat. About 20 minutes after I arrived, women started coming out of the building. I waited until I saw Leah and Madison walk out arm in arm before getting out of the car. I walked up to them hesitantly, a little worried about how Leah would react. I stopped behind her.

“Hey, Phoenix,” I said softly.

She spun around, her face lighting up immediately. “Kaden?”