Pearl looked at Rhys and saw he wasn't his normal self. David couldn't make eye contact with her.
"What are you doing here?" Pearl asked. "I told you I was coming to see you and make sure you are ok." David said. "Well you see me, and I'm ok." She was pissed. "Yeah man, sounds like he was really worried about you. Sounds like he had good reason to since you guys are sleeping together and he's in love with you." Rhys said as he stood up and walked toward the door. "I'll leave you guys to talk. Pearl, I'll be staying at a hotel for a couple of days. I need some time to think. You're free to be here as long as you need." He said as he left. "Why would you come here? Have you lost your mind? I told you to stay away from me. What did you tell Rhys?" She was beginning to feel tears coming from the rage she felt in her throat and her chest. "I called and asked for his address when I got into town. I told him I was here to make sure youPearl woke up to find herself still on the couch and no Rhys in sight. She mustered up the energy to go see Dylan at the hospital."Hey. How are you today?" She asked when she came into his room. "I'm good. I feel really good. Doc is discharging me Sunday. We set up an appointment with a specialist back home on Monday. So I'll be watched closely. Can you get flights set up for us?" He asked. "Of course I will. What time are they thinking Sunday?""I'd make sure the flight is in the evening. Never know around here." He said shrugging."How are you Pearl?" He asked, and Pearl could see in his eyes that he knew something was wrong."I'm ok. I'm fine. Will be fine. I'm just so glad you're doing so well.""Stop bullshitting me Pearl. I took a bullet for you, the least you can do is not lie to me." He said, grabbing her hand and sitting her down on his bed."There have been some dramas in my life but I don't want to burden you wi
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
She knew he was in town. He had to be to drop off the book. But he wasn't anywhere she knew him to be. It was frustrating. She checked with Frank at the bookstore, Dylan, the charity hospital. No one had heard from him. She didn't understand what the inscription meant and it was tearing her up inside.She finally heard back from David two days after she sent her resignation email."That will be fine. Thank you. And you will be paid for a full 30 days and your paid time off days. Contact HR with any questions."And that was it. She thought she should be surprised but she wasn't. How awful it was that she had wasted her time with him and lost Rhys because of it.She had known Rhys for a short time. She knew it was fast. She knew it was insanity to think about a serious future with him. But she did. Tuesday morning, she still had heard nothing from him. They had their gig at the brewery the following night and she knew she had to
"Ok, that's the last box." Pearl said, thankful the move was over. "Ha! It's final! You live here! Come here, Pearl with the pretty eyes." Rhys said, giving her a big kiss.It had been two weeks since he proposed. He stayed for her show that night, and made a huge announcement about their engagement to the crowd, but he left right after their show to get back to filming. They moved her in the day he got back into town and she hadn't had a moment alone with him since she said yes.She remembered the last time she moved, the fear and anxiety that went along with it. This time it was full of love and laughter."You can put all that in the library, it's where I'll be living." She said to the moving men. They all stopped and looked at her."Oh no....you're not living there, I'm taking you to the bedroom and locking the door." Rhys said, picking her up over his shoulder and carrying her to the main floor master suite."You think you o
"Hey. Speaking of us being partners now, I want to give you this." Rhys said, walking to his jacket. He grabbed an envelope and handed it to her. She had already assumed he would want to prenup and that's what she expected when she opened the envelope. Inside, she found two cards and some paperwork for her to sign. One card was an American Express card and the other was a bank debit card. There was also a business card "Mark Graham, CPA Entertainment Accountant"She looked at Rhys. He smiled and said, "You never have to worry about money again. These are yours. Any large purchases, over a thousand dollars, just let Mark know about ahead of time. He likes to run a tight ship.""Rhys, I don't feel comfortable with this. I don't feel right." She said, handing him back the cards."This is non-negotiable. Plus, you have a house to help decorate. I'm sure you will be getting to know Mark very well. I'm not worried about you mesmerizing him with your goddes
"Rhys we can't invite anyone here, we don't even have a couch." Pearl said, standing in the middle of the giant living room, admiring the beautiful stone fireplace."Well get your shit together and let's go. Time to get domestic all up in here. Let's go shopping.""Right now?""Yeah? They don't have furniture stores here in town?" He joked."Of course they do. I've just never been able to just 'go get furniture' before on a whim.""Well today you are." He said and shooed her into the bedroom to get ready. She heard him on the phone and when she came out, he said "I called the mover guys. They are meeting us at a place called Klingman's in three hours. They're bringing the big truck so we should be able to get enough stuff to have your friends over. Also, I want to invite my family over at Christmas so the sooner we get some things to sit on, the better.""Your family? You want me to meet your family?""Pearl...yo
"Hey! So glad you could make it!" Rhys greeted John and Janie at the door, grabbing the pizzas from their hands. John looked up to ceiling of the giant open foyer and Janie's jaw dropped looking into the living room. Rhys could tell they were a little taken aback. "It's a bit bigger than I wanted but I bought it for the library. Pearl loves books. It's how I finally won her over, chicks dig libraries." He winked, patting John's back, leading he and Janie into the kitchen."Hey there! Thanks for coming." Pearl said, hugging them."This house is amazing." Janie said. "Thank you, I'm still not used to it but I definitely am enjoying some things", Pearl said, looking out at the hot tub. Rhys choked on his beer.They gave them a tour and Rhys took Janie to see the guest house and the pool while Janie and John stayed in the library. "Jason called. They want us to come to New York in a couple of weeks again. They want to sign us." Pearl said."Wh
The rest of the week flew by and Rhys had to go back to Ontario to film again. She was going to miss him so much. She had less than a week to prepare for New York. They were flying out December 19 and coming back Christmas Eve. Rhys' family was coming into town the Saturday after Christmas. The band decided to come to their new rehearsal space every day until they left. John and Jason had set up a couple of gigs as a promotion for the record company while they were in the city for their signing and they would have to interview guitar players to replace John.Rhys sent texts and selfie and called her a few times a day. He said he only needed to reshoot a couple of scenes and would meet her at their loft in New York on the 22nd. She was already starting to understand the chaos that came with this life.The morning her plane was flying out, she received a package in the mail. She opened it and saw a Bukowski book inside. It was a copy of "The People Look Like Flow