The Love Missing From Summer Chapter 01

The Love Missing From Summer Chapter 01

The fourth time Silas Whitcomb refused to let me stay over, I finally complained.

“Silas Whitcomb, you are seriously guarded about your place.”

It was a ninety-degree summer day, and the air conditioner in my apartment had died.

Of course, Silas had to be painfully private.

We had been together for four years. No matter how late it was, he always insisted on driving me home.

Silas gave me a helpless, coaxing look.

“Be good. We both have early mornings. I don’t want to mess up your sleep schedule.”

My heart warmed, and like always, I started telling him about all the frustrating things that had happened at work.

But he kept glancing at the time, distracted, urging me to go home.

Luckily, an HVAC tech had a last-minute opening and came over.

While I waited, I happened to see the Instagram Story from the new junior coordinator at my company.

[Got kicked out of my rental last minute. Good thing someone had my back, or I’d be sleeping on the street tonight.]

The background in the photo looked painfully familiar.

It was Silas Whitcomb’s apartment.

I stared at my phone for a long time.

Long enough that the HVAC tech finished repairing the AC and carefully lowered the temperature.

“Did the heat get to you?”

“Tell you what, ma’am. I’ll knock twenty bucks off. Just listen to an old guy for one second. There isn’t any heartbreak in this life you can’t get through…”

Only then did I realize my face was wet with tears.

I smiled at him.

“Thank you. You’re right.”

Silas Whitcomb was the heartbreak I was going to get through.

…

The photo Briar Sutton posted showed the lower half of her body and a suitcase.

She was wearing my slippers, standing inside Silas Whitcomb’s apartment.

I had just left his place.

She walked in right after.

When I left, I had sweet-talked Silas into driving me home.

He refused without the slightest hesitation.

“Tessa Calder, go home. I have urgent work to deal with in a bit.”

So there had been no urgent work.

The urgent thing had been Briar Sutton.

She was the new junior coordinator at my company, and we had not exactly been getting along.

I had mentioned that to Silas.

But he had not seemed to care. He had not even really listened.

I had no idea Silas Whitcomb knew Briar Sutton.

He had never brought her up.

But clearly, Briar Sutton was spending the night at his place.

A red dot appeared on Instagram. Briar had updated again.

[Met a soft-hearted angel at the worst possible time. Flowers for him.]

This time, Silas appeared in the picture.

He was smiling at her with helpless affection.

On the table were two plates of homemade mac and cheese.

On weekend nights, when Silas and I curled up together, that was the late-night snack he usually made for me.

Now he had made it for Briar Sutton.

A comment appeared under the Story.

Briar, showing off.

[Rent is $500, utilities included, no deposit. Best landlord ever. [Grinning Emoji]]

Landlord.

He had let Briar Sutton move in.

Pain rose in my chest until I could barely breathe.

For an easier commute, Silas rented a place near our office.

It was a nice two-bedroom apartment with a living room, $2,500 a month.

It had originally been a shared lease, but after his roommate moved out, he never found a suitable replacement.

Worried about his rent pressure, I once offered to move in and split the rent with him.

He refused.

“Tessa Calder, I need my personal space to decompress after work. Moving in together right now would just add stress.”

Apparently, I was too much stress.

Briar Sutton was an emergency.

I remembered everything clearly.

The first time I asked to stay over was when we were still deep in the honeymoon phase.

Silas turned me down with a serious face.

The second time, I had a sudden high fever. Silas still took me home.

He watched me take medicine and lie down, then he left.

The third time was the worst. Someone had been tampering with the lock on my apartment door.

I was terrified, but Silas still would not let me stay.

He booked me a hotel room.

He even contacted my landlord, a leasing agent, and movers all in one day.

The next day, I moved into a new place.

I had spent four years trying and failing to get through the door of Silas Whitcomb’s home.

Briar Sutton slipped right in.

I had to admit it.

His boundaries only applied to me.

My phone buzzed. Silas had texted.

[Good night.]

No heads-up. No explanation.

[By the way, I found a new roommate. She’s moving in tomorrow. Emergency situation.]

[Tessa, if you come over from now on, let me know in advance.]

I looked at those words and wanted to laugh.

But tears hit the screen first.

I wiped my eyes and did not reply.

Briar posted a third Instagram Story.

One photo showed her clinking glasses with Silas.

In the other selfie, their cheeks were almost touching.

[Celebrating my move into a new home. Mr. Whitcomb, try not to get sick of me too fast.]

Night. Alcohol. A guy and a girl alone. Living together.

Silas Whitcomb never drank.

Now he was drinking with her.

In that instant, whatever strength had been holding me together drained out.

I was done.