Chapter 65

Pearl typed a formal letter of resignation and sent it to David. She told him she would work remotely for the next two weeks and be on hand if they needed her for any transitioning of her replacement. After a day, she hadn't heard back and figured that was that.

It had been a week since she had last seen Rhys. It was the longest week of her life. She just wanted to talk to him. To have the chance to explain everything, then he could hate her forever.

Dylan was doing great. He had started out patient therapy and he and Blake were getting along so well, Blake decided to move in permanently and be his roommate.

They still hadn't heard from Jason and their dreams were becoming more and more distant. Pearl had about a thousand dollars in the bank and that was not enough to live on for long. Dylan had talked to the owner of the brewery and they agreed to let her take over covering while Dylan was off, serving there as a side job a few days a week. It wasn't enough to pay all the bills, but it would help to build up her savings after her last paycheck from work came in a few weeks.

She and John had also set up and acoustic gig there for the upcoming holiday week. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was always a busy bar night and they were grateful the brewery gave them the gig that night.

That Friday, Pearl stopped at Dylan's before beginning her first shift bartending. "Hey love, how are you feeling?" Pearl asked, dropping off some food and necessities she had picked up for him. "I'm good. Thank you for these. Also, don't screw up my bartending gig. Things get crazy on Friday nights there." Dylan teased.

"Stop it. I'm going to be working as a trainee with another dude. I can't possibly screw up that bad."

Pearl rolled her eyes. She kissed his forehead and left for work.

Dylan wasn't lying when he said it was going to be busy. She had spilled more beer on her than what she served and she seriously couldn't feel her toes about 3 hours in. "I said I wanted a flight not a pint!" One guy yelled at her. She was trying not to cry or have a panic attack as she kept her focus on one task at a time. It finally slowed down around midnight and Pearl was able to step outside for a breather. She still had a pack of smokes in her Jeep and she needed one. Stepping outside, the beer smell on her clothes hit her nostrils like brick and she knew she was a disheveled, beer drenched mess. When she got to her Jeep, she grabbed her smokes and lit one, leaning on her driver door, when she noticed something on her windshield.

She looked over and saw it was the Bukowski book, the one she left for Rhys. Her heart stopped. She picked it up and opened it.

"You've always known where to find me, you just were too afraid to look." was written inside. Her heart leapt. She ran back inside and asked what else she needed to do before she was done for the night. Her trainer told her she had done a great job and she was good to go. Pearl thanked him and ran out, and continued running to the hotel where they spent their first night together, a few blocks down the street. She went to the front desk and asked if he was staying there. After looking him up, they told her he was not. Then she remembered he sometimes used aliases. They said no one was was checked into the suite upstairs. She was devastated. Then she thought maybe he was always into his new home. She drove an hour, in the middle of the night, reeking of beer and not caring one bit.

She pulled up to the gate and hit the buzzer. The house looked dark. There were no vehicles there. No one was there. She fell to the ground, crying.

Was he messing with her? Where was he? And she drove home, feeling lost and defeated more than she ever had before.