Magic or Madness (The Wreck Me Duet #1)

FALLON

I wake to sounds of screaming, and something being smashed, but it’s so peaceful here that I can’t bring myself to wake up.

“That fucking son of a bitch!” I hear, and my eyes open slightly to see if Ozzy’s awake yet.

He’s not in bed, and I groan, knowing I have to handle whichever girl is having a meltdown on my own. I look around the room for my shirt, but instead, I see something resting on the pillow, and my heart drops.

It’s a note, and the pendant I bought Ozzy.

The gold chain is perched on his pillow, and I take it in my hands, remembering why I gave him this.

It’s not something he’d leave behind unless …

Frantically, I look around the room, and all his belongings are missing. The suitcase and bag that were planted by the door, right next to my things, are gone. A lump of bile forms in my throat, the harsh reality slowly setting in.

There’s no fucking way.

He can’t be gone.

My stomach is in my throat, and I feel like I could puke at any second, but first, I need to read this, before I jump to conclusions.

The chain slips between my fingers, and I lightly trace the Saint on the gold medallion.

In Ozzy’s small, chicken scratch handwriting, he wrote a few lines, signing his name at the bottom with a tiny heart.

This is my Dear John letter. This is how he chose to throw our relationship away – and leave me behind – with one single piece of paper.

It’s now or never, Fallon.

I take a deep breath and read what the love of my life thought was important enough to say before he slipped out of the darkness, like a thief in the night.

My beautiful girl, my Bambi,

I am so sorry for leaving like this.

It was the only way to protect you from Mr. A.

I’m leaving this for you, in hopes that it heals you in the ways you healed me.

Don’t ever doubt my love for you.

One day, Principessa, one day.

I love you, Ozzy.

The tears well in my eyes, making it hard to read, but I understand the gist of it.

Everything from the last few days comes flooding back, it all begins to make sense in a different light.

I knew there was something off about him, the way he was so quiet and reserved, especially regarding the plans about leaving. There was never any intention of taking me with them. His plan all along was to leave me here alone, knowing that I’d be fucking destroyed without him.

He lied to me.

He led me on.

He left me.

The realization hits me in waves, and the full-body sobs tear through me like a tornado, leaving me shaking and breathless in our bed. This is never going to stop hurting, and as I look around the room, the memories of us are already haunting me.

Our smiles in the photos framed on the wall, the his-and-hers nightstands I set up on each side of the bed, giving this place a little personal touch for both of us. The bed we used to share, with the super soft comforter we picked out in a department store, and the extra thread count sheets, opting for a little luxury in the bedroom I made into ours.

I never, ever thought I’d see it break.

The connection, the bond, and the love we grew from the ground up is broken. Smashed on the floor in bits and pieces, rendered utterly destroyed.

I never thought I’d see it.

My mind is stuck in a haze, and the tears keep falling until I run out. My cheeks are red, my eyes are puffy, and no matter how many times I try to wake myself from a sick nightmare, it doesn’t happen.

This hurts like nothing I’ve ever been through, and once again, I’m all alone.

I’ll still see him in my mind no matter what, and I’ll likely replay every memory we ever made together until I die. Ozzy is — and always will be — the loss of my life .