Callum didn’t say anything. He didn’t even look at Georgie. Instead he just held Macy tightly, trying to calm her down.
“I don’t think there is anything left to say,” Georgie said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. Giving Liam one last smile, before she turned, hurrying up the stairs to her room.
Georgie could barely breathe as she pulled her clothes from her wardrobe and shoved them into her bag. By the time she moved on to her chest of drawers, she could barely see through the tears that were burning her eyes.
“So, you’re just going to leave?” Callum said, suddenly from the doorway. Georgie stopped what she was doing for a moment, but she didn’t look in his direction. She couldn’t. Her heart was too broken.
“I think it’s for the best,” she replied, almost choking on her words as she continued to pack up her things.
“What if I said that I don’t want you to go?” Callum asked, but his words just made Georgie’s heart hurt more.
“I would say that you and I are never going to work,” Georgie replied, still refusing to look at him. She knew if she did, she would back down. But she couldn’t, not this time. He had hurt her, more than she had ever imagined he could. She just couldn’t stay anymore.
“So, you’re running again,” Callum sighed.
“Don’t you put this one me!” Georgie exclaimed as she spun around to face him finally. “Okay, I should have told you I was engaged to Shane, but I never lied to you. You knew I was with him; just like you knew why I left him. A ring didn’t change any of that. And I didn’t tell you about yesterday because you were so excited about last night, I didn’t want to ruin that. But I was always going to tell you. You just needed to trust me.”
“I do trust you,” Callum replied as he took a step further into the room.
“And yet you said what you said,” Georgie whispered, suddenly the desire to cry overwhelmed her.
“I’m sorry,” Callum replied, closing the distance between him and Georgie, but she instinctively stepped back.
“Yeah, me too,” she sighed, as tears trickled down her face. “But it’s not enough.”
“Please, Georgie,” Callum begged, but there was nothing he could say now. He had said enough already. “This is stupid. I love you, and I know you love me. We’re a family.”
“Only we’re not,” Georgie sobbed, as she wiped away the tears that were now streaming down her face. “I’m just the nanny.”
She grabbed her bag from the bed, deciding she would just send for the rest later. She couldn’t stay there any longer. She needed to get out of there as fast as she could.
“Georgie, please,” Callum begged as tears danced in his eyes too. “You’re not just the nanny; you know that. What I said was stupid, and…and…”
“Cruel,” Georgie finished his sentence for him. “You know, walking in on my fiancé fucking some bimbo didn’t hurt me as much as that comment did. I trusted you; I believed every single word you ever said. I never believed you could hurt me as he did, but I guess I was wrong.”
“Let me make this right,” Callum pleaded taking another step closer to her, but he didn’t touch her.
“You can’t,” Georgie said, looking up into his eyes, her heart completely shattered.
“But you promised you wouldn’t leave,” Callum tried to reason. “You said that this was forever.”
“Then I guess we were both wrong in the things we said,” Georgie sobbed, knowing she needed to leave before she changed her mind. “Goodbye, Callum.”
Without saying another word, Georgie stepped around him, hurrying out of the room, heading for the stairs.
When she reached the bottom, she saw Macy sitting on Liam’s lap. He and Landen were both sitting on the sofa. Georgie wished more than anything she didn’t have to do what she was about to do, but she needed to. She needed to say goodbye to Macy.
“Hey, Sweetie,” she said, forcing a smile on her face as she set her bag down on the floor. She walked across the living room to where Macy was sitting. “Are you feeling better?”
Macy nodded, but her little body shook as she took a deep breath. She reached up and wiped the tears from Georgie’s face.
“Why are you sad?” Macy whispered.
“Because I need to go now, Macy,” Georgie said, trying desperately not to fall apart. “And I have to say goodbye.”
“Can I come with you?” Macy asked, giving Georgie a pleading look. “I’ll be good this time.”
“I wish you could, Sweetie,” Georgie replied, as fresh tears filled her eyes. “But I need you to do me a big favour. Can you do that?”
Macy nodded once more.
“I need you to take care of your daddy for me,” Georgie continued. “I know you’re going to feel sad. I am too. But I need you to be my big, brave girl, and I need you to take care of Daddy.”
“But I want to go with you,” Macy said as she climbed down from Liam’s lap, then hugged Georgie tightly. “I want you.”
“I know you do, Sweetie,” Georgie sobbed softly. “But you belong here. So, I need you to promise me. Promise you’ll be a good girl for your Daddy.”
“But I want Georgie,” Macy said as once more tears danced in her eyes.
“I can’t stay, Angel,” Georgie whispered, hugging the little girl so tightly. “But you know who can?”
“Who?” Macy asked.
“Puddles,” Georgie told her. “I need you to take care of him for me too. And every time you feel sad. You hug him, and he will hug you for me.”
“Georgie,” Liam said, giving her a pleaded look. “Don’t do this.”
“I’ve got to,” Georgie sobbed, as she released Macy and smiled once more before she stood up.
“Then let me drive you somewhere,” Liam pleaded.
“I think it’s best if I just go alone,” she replied, almost choking on the knot of grief that was in her throat. “I should just go.”
She turned, walking back to her bag, as her eyes met Callum’s who was now standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“Georgie,” Callum said, but stopped before he finished his thought.
“Please don’t,” she begged, as she picked up her bag. “Don’t say anything else.”
As she turned to leave, Macy began to scream. She began to run towards Georgie, but Liam quickly scooped her up in his arms.
“I WANT GEORGIE!” She screamed over and over again as she sobbed uncontrollably. “I WANT GEORGIE!”
It took Georgie every ounce of strength she had, not to go and comfort the little girl. She knew it wasn’t her place now. Instead, she hurried down the hallway, towards the door.
As she stood and waited for the elevator to arrive, she wished she could change her mind. She wished she could turn around and walk back into that apartment and fight. But she didn’t know what she would be fighting for. She had believed that they were a little family, that her future belonged with them. But now she just didn’t know. She didn’t believe Callum would ever see her as more than just the nanny; that in the end, he would walk away, anyway. So maybe it was right to walk away now before she lost herself to him completely.
Like you haven’t already, she thought to herself miserably as a sob escaped from deep inside her.
As the doors of the elevator opened, Georgie stepped inside. She had no clue where she was going to go now. As the door closed once more, she dropped to the floor of the elevator and sobbed as her heart broke into a million pieces.
Chapter 26
It had been three days since Georgie walked out of Callum’s apartment; three days since he broke her heart; three days since his world had fallen to pieces.
As he stood there that day and watched her walk away, he knew he was making the biggest mistake of his life letting her go. He knew he should have stopped her, made her see that this was where she belonged; this was her home; this was her family. He should have shown her how much he loved her there and then.
“You can’t just let her walk away,” Liam had said to h
im, as he watched him in disbelief. Callum knew that his brother was completely right, but still, he just stood there and watched her walk away, unable to say or do anything to stop it.
The hardest part of it was dealing with Macy. She was beyond heartbroken, and while Callum knew it was his job to comfort her, he was finding it hard to do because his heart was completely broken too. He couldn’t tell her that everything would be okay because he wasn’t sure they would be.
For the last three days, the only response he got to any question he asked her was, “I want Georgie.” Callum's heart ached every time she said it because the truth was, he wanted her too.
Macy barely ate a thing since Georgie had walked out. She woke several times at night, only instead of crying for her mother, she was now crying for Georgie.
Callum knew this was all his own doing. He had made a mess of everything, and he didn’t know how to fix it.
He had completely over-reacted to the whole newspaper thing. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realised how ridiculous his behaviour had been. That was only made worse by the fact that when Landen did a little digging, he discovered that Shane hadn’t been the one behind the story. Camilla had, making Callum feel like the biggest asshole in the world. None of this was Georgie’s fault. Callum felt like such an idiot.
So, she was engaged to some asshole once upon a time. Callum knew that none of it mattered now. She loved him, of that he was certain. But he acted like an asshole, and he had hurt her with his careless words. Words he knew he could never take back.
He lay there in his bed after yet another sleepless night, wishing he could go back three days. He would do everything so differently. He would have told her that he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. He would have asked her to marry him and to be Macy’s mother.
He had it all in the tips of his fingers, but he had blown it.
Glancing over at the clock on his nightstand, he could see it was almost six a.m. He knew he was not going to get any more sleep at this stage, so he decided to get up. He glanced across at Macy, who was fast asleep on the far side of his bed and sighed. At least he had finally managed to calm her down long enough for her to get some sleep.
Then his eyes fell to the tatty bear she was holding onto tightly in her tiny, little hand, and his heart ached as his mind instantly went to Georgie once more.
He missed her so much; he could barely breathe. He wondered where she was, and if she was okay. He wondered if she missed them as much as they missed her.
Callum knew that going on without her just wasn’t an option. He just didn’t know how to fix what he had broken.
Then he thought about Carolynn; about how he had let her walk away too, almost five years before, and how that had been the biggest regret of his life.
Until now! He thought miserably as he pushed up from the bed. Letting Carolynn walk away had been one of the hardest decisions of his life, but it was nothing compared to the hurt he had inside him from losing Georgie.
Glancing back at Macy asleep in his bed, he knew he needed to fix this. He just didn’t know how.
Callum walked down the hallway towards Georgie room. He paused for a moment before pushing open the door and stepped inside. Everything was exactly how she had left it.
The smell of her perfume still lingered in the air. Breathing it in, Callum’s stomach tensed with frustration, as he longed to hold her in his arms. Then he thought about the phone call the night before, and his mood darkened more.
When his phone rang, and Georgie’s name flashed up on the screen, Callum’s heart almost burst out of his chest.
“Georgie!” He exclaimed into the phone the moment he answered it, feeling elated that she had finally called.
For the past two days, she had refused to take his call, nor had she replied to any of his text messages. But now she was ringing him, so finally he had a glimmer of hope. It didn’t last long.
“It’s not Georgie,” a strange voice said from the other end of the line. “It’s Erin; Georgie’s friend.”
“Erin, is she okay?” Callum asked, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. “Please, can I talk to her?”
“She doesn’t want to talk to you,” Erin sighed, but her voice was filled with sadness. “And honestly, no, she’s not okay. But that’s not why I’m calling. Georgie said she left some stuff, some of her belongings at your place. I was hoping; if it was convenient for you, I could collect them for her tomorrow morning.”
“Ye…Yeah,” Callum replied, a little thrown by the fact Georgie wouldn’t even talk to him. “I’ll be here all day, so anytime you want to drop by…”
“Thanks,” Erin replied, but there was something in her voice, something more. Like she wanted to say something but knew she shouldn’t.
“Can you do me a favour?” Callum asked, knowing this might be the only chance he had.
“Sure,” Erin replied, and Callum was surprised by the kindness in her voice. He was sure as Georgie’s friend; she would hate him as much as Georgie did.
Does Georgie hate me? He wondered to himself, but he knew he didn’t really want to know the answer.
“Can you tell Georgie that I’m sorry?” Callum asked the girl, hoping that somehow Georgie would listen to her if she wouldn’t listen to him. “Tell her that I love her, and I miss her more than I ever imagined possible.”
“Callum…” the girl said, sounding almost hesitant.
“Please,” Callum begged. “I just want her to know that I love her.”
“I’ll tell her,” Erin sighed once more. “I’ll call by about ten in the morning if that’s okay.”
“Okay,” Callum replied, before the girl said her goodbyes, then hung up the phone.
Callum looked around the room. He knew he needed to pack up the rest of her things, but it was just too hard.
“Mr. Murphy,” Annie said from the doorway of the bedroom. “Are you okay?”
“Not really, Annie,” Callum replied, turning to look at the lady, giving her a warm smile. When Annie called and heard that Georgie had left, she insisted on coming back to work. She assured Callum that the doctors didn’t think that her daughter would give birth for a few more days. “Georgie’s friend is coming by in a couple of hours to collect the rest of her things, so I need to pack them up for her.”
“I can do that for you,” Annie insisted as she walked further into the room.
“Thanks, Annie,” Callum replied, giving her a warm smile. “But I think it’s something I need to do myself. Who knows, maybe I’ll get some closure.”
“If you’re sure,” Annie said, giving him a sad smile before she turned and walked towards the door. She stopped when she reached it, turning back to look at Callum. “For what it’s worth, I think you and Georgie are meant to be together. I know she is angry and hurting right now, but that girl loves you. It was written all over her face.”
“Then why did she leave me?” Callum asked, giving Annie a questioning look.
“Sometimes love makes us do stupid things,” Annie shrugged. “Sometimes we hurt the ones we love the most. But if she is meant to be in your life, then love will find a way.”
“And what if she’s not?” Callum asked, hoping that Annie was right in what she said.
“You have to believe that she is,” Annie replied, smiling once more before she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Callum alone once more.
He wanted to believe that they would get past this. But for now, he needed to pack her things, and pray that it was not too late for them.
It was a little after ten when the buzzer on the intercom sounded. Callum was sitting at the breakfast table, trying desperately to get Macy to eat something.
“I’ll get it,” Annie said, wiping her hands on her apron before she headed for the door.
“Mace, please eat something,” Callum begged, knowing he was wasting his time.
“I want, Georgie,” Macy pouted, as tears danced i
n her eyes once more.
“I know you do, Sweet,” Callum sighed, giving her a sad smile. “I want her, too.”
Callum heard voices coming from the living room. He sighed, as he stood up, knowing he needed to get this over and done with as quickly as he could.
“What’s going on?” Liam asked, as Callum walked from the kitchen to the living room, and found him standing there, next to him was a pretty brunette that Callum recognised from the coffee shop.
“This is Georgie’s friend,” Callum explained. “She here to collect the rest of her stuff.”
“And you’re just going to give it to her?” Liam asked, giving him a questioning look. “So that’s it? Just like that, it’s done?”
“What else can I do, Liam?” Callum asked, wishing more than anything he could give his brother the answers he wanted. “I wish I could make her come back. I wish I could change everything that’s happened, but she won’t even talk to me.”
“You go, and you make her listen,” Liam insisted. “She doesn’t want this, neither of you do.”
Callum looked at Erin who gave him a sad smile. There was something in her eyes, something telling him that she wanted to say more, but once more she was biting her tongue.
“I guess you think I’m an asshole too,” Callum sighed, as he walked towards the stairs. He picked up the bag and the box filled with Georgie’s things from where he had left them a short while earlier.
“I don’t think you’re an asshole,” Erin replied, her voice filled with kindness. Callum turned back towards her, carrying the bag and box and smiled. “I don’t think anything.”
“Well I do,” Callum said, as he walked back towards her. “So, you wouldn’t be alone.”
She took the bag from Callum, then the box, before she gave him another smile.
“Thanks,” she said, giving him a nervous smile.
“Is she…is she okay?” Callum asked, wishing he could grab this girl, and make her tell him where Georgie was.
“No,” the girl replied honestly, and Callum's heart broke. “She said she didn’t want to talk about it, but I know she is as heartbroken as…well as you appear to be. I don’t know what happened between you two, but I know no matter what Georgie may say, she doesn’t want this either.”
Callum (The Murphy Boys Book 3) Page 25
