I Agreed To Another Man After He Chose Her In The Collapse Chapter 05

I Agreed To Another Man After He Chose Her In The Collapse Chapter 05

Mom was waiting on the platform when I stepped off the train, holding a sign with my name on it.

Over the years, my parents had tried to set me up more times than I could count.

I’d turned every single one down. I was so sure that someday Nolan would stop hiding us, and we’d finally be

real.

I should’ve listened to them a long time ago.

“Mom, I’m starving.”

She smiled, grabbing my bag. Her eyes welled with tears before she could even speak.

Dad must’ve told her everything over the phone.

“Come on! Let’s splurge at the nice butcher downtown and get some beef. I’ll make your favorite pot roast!”

“Yes! Finally, a real meal!”

The train ride had taken two full days. While Mom and I were laughing over dinner, a thousand miles north,

Nolan was losing his mind.

Two days had passed, and I hadn’t come crawling back. So Nolan showed up at the hospital with a tin of expensive imported cookies from the base commissary.

He found an empty bed. I was long gone.

He went straight to my house. He didn’t even make it through the gate before Dad dumped a bucket of water

right over his head.

“Get out! What the hell are you doing on my property?”

“Doesn’t the Commander have somewhere better to be?”

Dad’s voice carried. Every neighbor on the block was listening.

“Mr. Hartwell, I’m here to see Celia. Is she feeling any better?”

He held up the tin for Dad to see.

“Just picked these up from the base commissary. Cost me half my month’s pay!”

Nolan figured Dad just needed to blow off steam. He’d just taken a bucket of water to the face. He thought

that would be enough to settle the score.

Dad sneered and slammed the door in his face.

“Wait right there. I’ve got something for you too.”

Ten minutes later, Dad came back out dragging a heavy cardboard box.

“Every piece of junk you ever gave my daughter is in here. Take it back!”

“And that includes every gift you ever brought this family. We’re done with you. Don’t ever come back.”

Nolan didn’t get a chance to explain. Dad chased him off the property.

The neighbors watched him go. The whispers started before he’d even cleared the gate.

“Can you believe it? Going after his own buddy’s daughter. No wonder the Director threw him out.”

“He always seemed like such a good guy. Guess you never really know someone.”

“Shh, keep it down. He’s still a commander. Last thing we need is him coming after us.”

Nolan’s jaw clenched so tight the color drained from his face. He made it halfway down the road before he

turned around and came back.

He stood outside my bedroom window, keeping his distance.

He was waiting for my light to come on, the way it always did, so he could toss his stones up and get me to

sneak out.

But the light never came on.

He couldn’t even see a shadow behind the curtains.

It hit him all at once. The packed bags. The empty room. I wasn’t just ignoring him. I was gone.

He called everyone I knew. Nobody could tell him where I was.

In his panic, he thought of the time capsule.

When he got there, he stopped cold.

I’d already dug it up. Every photo of the two of us had been ripped to pieces.

The only photos left intact were the ones of him and Vivian.

I met Everett Whitaker at a diner.

I’d been expecting some gruff, hardened military man. Instead, Everett looked more like a professor, and he was two years younger than Nolan.

We talked for less than an hour. By the time we left, we’d picked a wedding date.