<h4>Chapter 49: Chapter 49 : Fly Away Home</h4>


    Ba.


    Leaving James’ house the way I did was harder than I had expected it to be. There was a point in my life when I would have done anything to keep the person I loved, and I realized with Chad it wasn’t a healthy ce to be.


    With all the twisted games these people had me ying, I had finally reached a breaking point, and no matter what shit they tried to tell me, I would not do it anymore.


    Did I love him? I think I did, but is love a good enough reason to mentally exhaust myself to the point of seeking some falsified sense of security?


    To me it wasn’t, and as I found my way back to Allegra’s, I knew what I had to do.


    I had to get out of Miami and its toxic environment.


    Nothing about this ce screamed happy memories. Instead, it was nothing but utter chaos and great sex. Something I’m sure I could find anywhere else.


    Opening Allegra’s door, I walked in to find Neal standing in the entryway staring at me with wide eyes. I had forgotten he was leaving tonight, and honestly, it was kind of perfect.


    “Holy shit, Ba!” Neal dropped his bag and cleared the space between us. He lifted my chin to get a better look at me. I winced when he ran his thumb gently across my cheek. “What the f*ck happened to you?”


    “What’s themotion?” Allegra stopped in her tracks, mouth wide, as she stared at me.


    “I’m fine,” I sighed, looking at them both as I moved past Neal with a smile and headed towards the kitchen in search of something cold to put on my face.


    “You’re not fine,” she replied, cing her hands on her hips. “What happened?”


    Taking a moment, I contemted how to exin it all. “Well, do you want the long drawn out version, or do you want the short version with CliffsNotes?”


    She narrowed her eyes at me, raising a brow with an irritated look.


    “CliffsNotes it is.... Let’s see... Tally is f*cking Chad for starters, which, honestly, I had always wondered if that was the case. Um—oh, she’s getting married to him, and she’s pregnant,” I said, watching as Neal’s and Allegra’s faces went from anger to shock.


    “Holy shit. Are you serious?” Allegra asked.


    “Yep, but I found that out after I punched her in the face, and Chad attacked me, so I had to taze him–again.” I went for nonchnt as I pulled the ice pack back and gently touched my face. I’m not sure the line delivered the way I expected.


    “Wait, was he the one who did this to you?!” Neal all but roared in anger. “I’ll f*cking kill him.”


    “Whoa, whoa. Calm down, killer. This isn’t from him,” I smirked. “I love the enthusiasm, though.”


    “Well then, who the f*ck did that to you?” Allegra asked with sincere eyes.


    “Allison did... but only because she was trying to defend herself since I was beating her ass.” I wore a victorious smile before the tears flowed down my face.


    With the reactions from Allegra and Neal, I couldn’t help butugh. They both stood speechless in front of me, as if trying to process it all. However, then Neal did the one thing I wasn’t expecting.


    He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around, me pulling me into a hug. Thefort he was providing me was unexpected, but it felt right.


    “Where was this at?” Neal asked in confusion. “I mean, was she where you went to meet Tally?”


    “No,” I replied, shaking my head, thinking of James. “She was at James’ house.”


    “Excuse me? Why was she at his house?” Allegra asked in confusion.


    Remembering the kiss brought tears to my eyes. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. Neal, are you still leaving tonight?”


    “Yeah, why have you changed your mind?” he asked with a concerned nce as Allegra looked between the two of us.


    “Changed your mind about what?”


    “I’m leaving with Neal tonight for New York. I can’t stay here anymore, Allegra and I’m ready to get out of here.” Trying to make myselfugh, I pushed through my words.


    “Oh, sweetie...” she replied before wrapping her arms around me. “You do what you think is best. I will support you no matter what. Can I please ask what happened with James, though, to make you want to leave?”


    Nodding my head, I took a deep breath as she pulled back, staring at me.


    “I walked in on him and Allison kissing. Then all hell broke loose.”


    I didn’t have to exin further for her to know what I meant by that. She could see the state of me, and it was obvious after everything I had been through I was done with it all.


    It was time for a change of scenery. The Valentinos could have their drama.


    I just wouldn’t allow myself to be part of it.


    *****


    James.


    The moment Ba left, I was filled with rage. I stormed back into the house seeking blood, and when I found Allison, I lost it.


    “Get the f*ck out of my house!” I screamed at her.


    Never once had she seen this side of me, and when she didn’t move, I picked up the vase on the ent table and tossed it at the wall above her head. “I said get the f*ck out!”


    She didn’t wait for me to tell her again as she bolted towards the door and disappeared from my sight. Ba had been trying to tell me the entire time what Allison was doing, but like an idiot, I didn’t listen to her at all.


    Instead, I allowed Allison to hurt her again, and then asked her what was wrong. How could I be such a fool?


    Grabbing my car keys, I ran out the front door and jumped into my car. I had not gone after her once, and there was no way I was going to make the same mistake twice.


    Everything had fallen apart once more, and no way she was going to stay in Miami after this.


    As I drove towards the apartment building I tried to think of what I could say or do to convince her to stay, but my mind was empty of thoughts, so I pulled into the parking lotpletely unsure of what to do.


    Moments passed, and eventually, I beat on Allegra’s door.


    “Ba!” I yelled loudly until the door opened, and Allegra stood there with narrowed eyes ring at me.


    “What are you doing here?” she asked as I pushed past her and made my way into the living room, looking around for Ba.


    “Where is she?” I asked, as I turned to face her. “Where’s Ba? I have to find her.”


    “Why... so you can break her heart some more?” she snapped, mming the front door behind her.


    “You have no idea what you’re talking about, Allegra. It isn’t like that.”


    Laughter escaped her as she shook her head looking at me. “Like what, James?”


    “I didn’t break her heart!” I yelled in frustration.


    Before I knew what was happening, Allegra pped me, and I stood wide-eyed at what had just happened. “Don’t you dare take that tone with me, James Valentino! Do you hear me?”


    Nodding my head slowly, I rubbed my face and sighed. “I can’t lose her.”


    “Why was Allison at your house, James?”


    “She showed up there. I didn’t ask her toe over, and then she was talking about how she was going to go back to rehab and what not. Shit, Allegra, she f*cking apologized to me. Never in my life did I think I’d hear some shit like that.”


    Sheughed at myment and picked up her phone off the counter.


    “You’re an idiot, James. I bet you Allison and Tally set it all up.”


    “Tally? Why would you think that?” I asked, trying to understand why she would think Tally had something to do with it.


    “Yesterday, Tally sent a text to Ba, asking her to talk. Said she wanted nothing to do with her mom and she wanted to fix things with them. Ba was hesitant, but in the end, she went to hear what Tally had to say. Tally lured her there so Ba would see her f*cking Chad.”


    Everything slowly made sense, and I was at a loss for words over it.


    My daughter and my ex-wife did the only thing they could to force Ba to leave. Their selfish desires made her jump ship and run away from me.


    “That’s what she meant—” I said in realization.


    Allegra sighed at my realization with a frown on her face. “Yeah, and supposedly you’re going to be a grandpa. Congrattions. Not sure how Tally is going to mature enough to take care of a baby.”


    “Enough, Allegra. I will sort that out when the timees.”


    “I hope so, because Ba was pretty upset about everything. You need to fix things soon if there is even a chance to fix things,” Allegra replied, leaning against the wall. “She loves you, James.”


    “I know... please tell me you know where she is...” I said, hoping Allegra would break.


    There was an uneasiness in her before she shook her head and sighed, “It’s toote.”


    “Nothing is ever toote. Please, I have to find her.”


    “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, it’s toote because she is on her way to catch a flight right now headed to New York. There is no way you will get there in time.”


    “With who?” I asked, already knowing the answer to that question.


    “Neal—”


    Before she could continue her sentence, I was out the door and running for my car. I couldn’t let her leave like this, and not with him. It was nothing against him, but I didn’t want another manforting the woman I cared about.


    Thirty minutester, I pulled up to the private airfield where his ne sat on the tarmac. The lights were shing, and it was preparing for takeoff as I took off running towards it. “Wait! Stop the ne!” I yelled as it moved forward slowly, gaining speed.


    There was nothing I could do to stop the ne now, and as I stood on the tarmac, I watched the ne lift off the ground and slowly gain altitude.


    I was toote, and Ba was gone.... Sweet Reba headed to New York, and where she would go from there, I didn’t know.


    The pain that filled my chest in that moment was more than I wanted to bear, and as I ran my hand through my hair, I tried to understand where I had gone wrong.


    On more than one asion, I had failed to treat her right, and protect her.


    I allowed all of this to happen, and I wasn’t sure if there would ever be a way for her to forgive me.