Stomping through his house, he gathered his things before going out to the truck and throwing them in the back. Standing beside the truck, he took in angry breath before opening the door and staring at the driver’s seat. Shaking his head, he jumped into the truck, ignoring his desire to run back into the house and hide. No matter how much he wanted to blame his shaking hands on the fact he was angry, he knew it was because he was freaking out inside. No matter how angry he was, his anxiety played a major role in his life and he hated it. He hated that he couldn’t control it, that he couldn’t control the fact that his family was gone and that he couldn’t control how Audrey thought. He was so mad, so hurt but he had to drive, he had to go to the airfield, and he had to let Audrey go. He had to.

Even if doing that made him feel like he had lost everything.

Starting the truck, Tate took in three long breaths before pulling out the drive way and heading to the airfield. Once on the road he was able to calm down, get his anxiety under control again. But once his heart rate went back to normal, his fight with Audrey took over. He replayed the argument, the words she said, and the ones he said, and nothing added up. He didn’t understand how something that didn’t matter at that moment was keeping them apart. Why was she doing this? Didn’t she understand that his heart was invested with her? That he honestly felt that he could possibly fall in love with her at any moment.

Tate wanted nothing more than to turn around and go back. Convince her she was wrong, but what good would that do? She didn’t want to be happy, she didn’t want to give him a chance, or at least see where they could go. She’d rather ruin everything over something so trivial, something that had nothing to do with them right now. He understood that she was worried about their future, but could they at least get through now before they started worrying about that?

Ah, she drove him nuts!

Tate knew this was because of that asshat, Levi. He hurt her to the core and because of that, Tate was paying for his mistakes. Tate didn’t understand it, what could that ass**le say to mess her up so bad? Did he tell her that men didn’t want women who couldn’t have kids? Is that why she was so hung up on it? He wanted nothing more than to confront Levi, demand to know what he said to ruin Audrey. He then would promptly beat the shit out of him for hurting her. Why couldn’t Tate have found her eight months ago? Would it have been different? Would she know what was standing in front of her then?

Pulling into the airfield, Tate spotted Lucas standing beside his truck. He was waiting for Tate, like he did every time they had a road trip. All of a sudden, Tate became angry at Lucas and when he parked beside his good friend, he came out the car yelling.

“Why couldn’t you keep them apart!?”

Lucas looked around before looking back at Tate, “Are you talking to me?”

“Yes! Audrey and Levi, why couldn’t you have kept them apart? That ass**le hurt her! Bad, and now I am paying for his f**k ups! So thanks a f**king lot, Lucas!”

Lucas scoffed, “What the hell? I didn’t do anything!”

“That’s right! Aren’t you supposed to take care of the women in your life? Did Audrey not mean enough to you to keep her safe? To protect her heart! What kind of man are you!”

Lucas’ eyes went wide as he stared up at him. Tate was breathing hard, his hands shaking and his heart beating in overtime. He knew he was wrong for what he was saying to his best friend, but he couldn’t help it. He was f**king losing it. Audrey was driving him insane, and Tate couldn’t see this working out for him. He was too far gone with her. For her to take away what he felt could be forever, felt like she had pulled the rug out from underneath him. He hadn’t felt so unbalanced and hurt since he buried his parents. That had to mean something, but it didn’t matter! She wouldn’t see that it did!

Taking a step forward, Lucas leaned in close, his eyes narrowed and full of anger. “Let me tell you something, you little punk, I love Audrey, and I did look out for her. I can’t control her life and no matter how many times, Fallon and I told her to stay away from him, she didn’t. We knew Levi was bad for her, but Audrey thought he wasn’t. So before you start blaming people who don’t deserve the blame, find out the facts.”

Lucas shook his head as he walked away, leaving Tate to feel worse than he originally had. Watching as his best friend, or whom he hoped was still his best friend, walk away, Tate felt empty. Who else was he going to lose and how much more pain was he going to be put through? He saw the look on Audrey’s face and knew that she stood by what she felt was right, and no matter what, Tate didn’t think she would change her mind. He didn’t understand it and he felt utterly helpless. Taking in a deep breath, Tate grabbed his bags and headed for the plane. Things were falling apart around him, but he still had a plane to catch and a game to play.

This was his life.

Emptiness.

***

When Audrey’s phone rang for the tenth time, she decided that she might want to make sure it wasn’t Fallon. Peeking out from under the sheets she and Tate had made love in; she saw that it wasn’t Fallon but Piper. Clicking ‘ignore’, she saw that the other nine calls had been from Piper too. Hating that she was ignoring her best friend, Audrey shook her head and went back into hiding.

She wanted to die.

Never had something hurt her this badly. She missed Tate something serious. While part of her didn’t want to admit why it hurt, the other part knew why. Audrey had said she was scared of rejection, well she hadn’t been rejected, she’d sent him away. Why though? What the hell was she thinking? Was it because he didn’t care that she couldn’t have children when she expected him too? Or was it because she really didn’t want to be happy?