Starting over

Chapter 6: Starting Over

The morning sun poured through the bare windows, harsh and unfiltered.

No curtains.

No furniture.

No sense of comfort.

Diane stirred, wincing slightly as the light hit her face too early, too bright. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes before slowly sitting up.

For a moment, she forgot.

Then it all came rushing back.

The boat.

Matthew.

Dave.

The empty apartment.

Her chest tightened.

Diane walked to the sink and splashed cold water on her face, trying to ground herself. The reflection staring back at her looked tired… and different.

Like something had shifted.

Like she had.

Without letting herself think too long, she grabbed her phone and called Dave.

⸻

Dave stared at the screen as her name lit up.

A slow, amused smirk spread across his face.

He considered letting it go to voicemail.

But no… he wanted to hear her.

Wanted to hear if she sounded broken.

He answered.

“Diane,” he said coolly. “Did you enjoy your weekend with the western madman?”

Her stomach turned at his tone.

“Were you at my apartment?”

A pause.

Then a quiet, mocking chuckle.

“You mean our apartment?”

Diane’s jaw clenched. “I need my stuff back.”

“Oh, your stuff?” he shot back. “Funny. When you kicked me out—and slapped me, by the way—I figured I’d take what I was owed.”

Her anger flared instantly. “You had no right—”

“I had every right,” Dave snapped, his voice rising. “I came to talk to you. To tell you what I’ve been building.”

“And what?” she fired back. “Sabotaging other businesses? Selling alcohol like it’s some kind of empire?”

There was a brief silence.

Then—

“So Matthew told you something,” Dave said slowly. “Figures.”

Diane’s heart skipped.

“What you think you know,” he continued, “is barely the surface.”

His voice dropped, colder now.

“You don’t understand the world you’ve stepped into. And trust me… you don’t want to.”

“Underworld?” Diane said, disbelief mixing with anger. “Dave, this isn’t some game.”

“Yeah,” he replied flatly. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to tell you.”

Her grip tightened on the phone.

“Whatever you’re doing,” she said, her voice shaking despite her effort to stay steady, “stay out of my life.”

A short, humorless laugh came from his end.

“After what you pulled?” he said. “We’re done, Diane. I don’t want to see you again.”

“We were already done.”

Click.

The line went dead.

⸻

Diane slowly lowered the phone.

The silence that followed felt heavier than the conversation itself.

She sank down onto the floor, her back against the wall, staring at nothing.

She didn’t love Dave.

Not anymore.

But hearing him like that… cold, distant, almost unrecognizable—

It still hurt.

And worse…

None of it made sense.

He hadn’t worked.

Hadn’t taken her money.

So how had he built something like this?

And why take her parents’ furniture?

Just to hurt her?

Her chest tightened again.

Diane closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe.

“Stop,” she whispered. “Just… stop.”

⸻

After a while, she reached for her phone again and called her boss, Terri.

“Diane?” Terri answered, immediately concerned. “Everything okay?”

Diane hesitated, choosing her words carefully.

“Not really,” she admitted. “I had a… rough weekend. And when I got home… most of my furniture was gone.”

There was a long pause.

“Gone?” Terri repeated. “Diane, you need to call the police.”

“I don’t want to deal with that right now,” Diane said quickly. “I just… need a reset.”

Terri sighed. “Okay. I’m off tomorrow. Take another day—I’ll approve it. Why don’t you stay at a hotel tonight? Tomorrow we’ll go shopping. Get everything you need.”

A small smile touched Diane’s lips.

“Thank you.”

“And Diane?” Terri added. “You don’t have to handle this alone.”

That part lingered.

“I know,” Diane said softly. “Maybe drinks tomorrow?”

“Definitely,” Terri replied. “And maybe pepper spray too.”

That earned a quiet laugh from Diane.

⸻

After hanging up, the silence returned.

And with it…

Matthew.

The memory of him slipped back in without permission.

The way he looked at her.

The way he touched her.

The way he made her feel…

Safe.

And not safe at all.

“I shouldn’t,” she murmured.

She barely knew him.

His world was dangerous.

Complicated.

But something about him…

Pulled.

Hard.

⸻

“I don’t need anyone,” she reminded herself.

She had rebuilt her life once before.

After her parents.

After everything.

She could do it again.

But this time…

The thought felt heavier.

Lonelier.

⸻

Diane packed what little she had left, moving through the empty apartment one last time.

It didn’t feel like home anymore.

Just a shell.

A reminder.

She grabbed her bag and left without looking back.

⸻

The hotel was quiet.

Clean.

Temporary.

Exactly what she needed.

After checking in, Diane stood in the middle of the room for a moment, letting the stillness settle around her.

A fresh start.

Even if it was only for a night.

⸻

Later, needing to clear her head, she changed into a red swimsuit and made her way to the hotel’s hot tub.

The warm water wrapped around her, easing tension she didn’t realize she had been holding.

For the first time all day…

She relaxed.

Just a little.

⸻

Then she saw him.

A familiar figure approaching.

Confident. Calm. Unmistakable.

Matthew.

Her breath caught.

Of all places…

Of all times…

He stepped into the hot tub beside her like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Diane turned toward him, her emotions instantly colliding—relief, anger, confusion… something deeper.

“You have a habit of showing up,” she said, her voice steady despite the storm underneath.

Matthew met her gaze, a faint smile playing at his lips.

“I could say the same about you.”

She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Did you follow me?”

“No,” he said calmly. “I made sure you were safe.”

That answer didn’t help.

It made her pulse quicken.

“Those are two very different things,” she said.

“Not to me.”

The heat between them had nothing to do with the water.

⸻

Diane studied him, searching for answers in his expression.

“Did you know?” she asked quietly. “About my apartment?”

Matthew’s face shifted—subtle, but real.

“I had a feeling something like that might happen,” he admitted.

Her chest tightened. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want to scare you more than I already had.”

“That’s not your decision to make.”

“No,” he agreed. “But it’s my responsibility to fix it.”

Diane let out a breath, shaking her head.

“You don’t get to fix everything.”

“Watch me,” he said softly.

⸻

Silence settled between them again.

But it wasn’t empty.

It was charged.

Alive.

Dangerous.

⸻

“I should be angry at you,” Diane said after a moment.

“You probably should.”

“But I’m not.”

Matthew didn’t respond.

He just watched her.

Waiting.

⸻

“I don’t understand you,” she admitted.

“That makes two of us,” he said quietly.

Despite everything…

She smiled.

And that scared her more than anything else.

⸻

“You’re trouble,” she said.

Matthew’s gaze softened.

“I know.”

“And yet…” she hesitated.

“Yet?” he prompted.

Diane met his eyes.

“I’m still here.”

Something flickered between them—stronger this time.

Undeniable.

⸻

Matthew shifted slightly closer, not touching her… but close enough that she felt it.

Felt him.

“If you stay near me,” he said quietly, “your life is going to get more complicated.”

Diane’s heart pounded.

“It already is.”

That was all the answer he needed.

⸻

For the first time since everything fell apart…

Diane didn’t feel alone.

And that might have been the most dangerous part of all.