"Are your bags packed and ready?"

"Yeah, they're in the linen closet and he never goes in there so they should be safe," I told Kaleb through the phone as I held it pressed against my ear as I paced through the confines of Zach and I's bathroom.

"Good. And you said he goes to sleep around ten?"

"Yeah, like clockwork."

"Then I'll be there right at 10:30. Keep your phone close and I'll text you when I'm there," Kaleb ordered, his deep voice resonating through the phone and filling my mind with ease as we talked through the event we planned out that was taking place tonight.

I was leaving Zach.

Once Kaleb and I both realized our true feelings for each other, we both deemed it was time for me to take my leave since there was literally nothing keeping me at Zach's side any longer; aside for fear.

What I had with Zach... wasn't love. It was at one point and I had been clinging to that love from years back for some time now and it had completely drained me. What Zach and I had now wasn't a relationship, it was an ownership.

Zach owned me.

Yet, as Kaleb and I talked through our plan... I knew he wouldn't own me for much longer.

"Are you sure you're okay with me staying with you for a few weeks?" I asked hesitantly, being sure to keep my voice as quiet as possible with the rushing water of the shower filling up the space around me and stealing most of the sound of my voice away from being heard to anyone outside of the bathroom.

"For the millionth time, yes. I want you here. I want you here for more than a few weeks if you would stop being so stubborn," Kaleb grumbled out on the other side of the phone, making a small smile pull up on my lips.

I would stay with Kaleb until the play was over and then look for a place of my own with the help of some money I had saved up from a few pain acting gigs I had done over the years. It wasn't much, but it would be enough to keep me going for a few months so I could look for another job.

"I thought you liked that I was stubborn?" I asked with a hint of teasing laced through my words.

"No, I like that you're feisty, Peaches but that stubborn streak in you... that shit's gonna put me in an early grave."

"Well, I'll be sure to make an appearance at your funeral," I joked, letting the lightness of the conversation seep through my mind in an attempt at calming my swirling nerves that hadn't been put fully to rest since Kaleb and I decided on this plan a couple of days ago.

I heard Kaleb let out a gentle chuckle that tickled the hairs of my ear just before we fell into a comfortable silence. It was uncanny how relaxed and content I felt just sitting in silence knowing that he was right there on the other side of the phone, probably with the same lazy smile gracing his perfect lips as was my own.

"Are you ready?" he asked suddenly, breaking my tranquil concentration and sending a spike of raw anxiety thrashing through my mind.

"I think so... I just can't stop thinking about his face when he wakes up and I'm not there..." I trailed off as the smallest sliver of guilt tore through my body.

I mean, I was in love with this man for years. Just because I had fallen out of love with him didn't mean I wanted to hurt him... even though he hadn't returned the same favor over the years.

There was a monumental difference between being in love and simply loving... and a part of me still loved Zach; just not as deeply or in the same way as I once did.

"Leah," Kaleb's voice broke through my thoughts. "You have probably the best, most kind heart out of anyone I've ever met and I love you so damn much for it but... that piece of shit doesn't deserve even an ounce of it. He put you through hell for years. He lost you. He practically shoved you out the door with how he treated you and he's gonna realize that when he wakes up tomorrow. He's going to realize that you're gone and he's alone; that he has no hold over you anymore. He's going to know what he lost... and he deserves to feel as shitty as I can imagine it would. That fucker deserves none of your sympathy so please don't give him anymore of your time than you already have."

"You're right," I sighed deeply, twisting my fingers around a soft strand of my hair as I continued on. "I know you're right. It's just hard to turn off thoughts and feelings that have been pushed on your for so long."

"And I know it is and we'll work on it. We'll work on getting you back to a good place, back to the girl that I get to see when it's just us," he said with a smile evident in his voice.

I let out an elated breath of air as my own grin quirked up on my lips.

In just a couple hours, I would be with him. I would have full access to as much Kaleb as I wanted... and I was beyond words with excitement.

This man was my rock, my own personal addiction, and by far the best thing to ever walk into my life

"I love you," I breathed out, unable to keep the words in as the feeling invaded every expanse of my heart.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Peaches," Kaleb murmured, his voice smooth and thick with adoration as it swarmed through my mind.

"So... I'll see you in a couple hours then," I muttered out as I strolled closer to the shower, preparing to shut off the water.

"A couple hours... and it will all be over."

I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

"Remember," Kaleb said suddenly. "If anything goes wrong, anything at all just flash the kitchen lights and I'll be inside. Okay?"

"Okay..."I answered hesitantly as the thoughts and fear of anything going wrong began to consume my mind.

"Nothing will go wrong but just as a precaution, okay?"

"Yeah... okay," I conceded, the dread still present in my voice.

"Everything will be okay, Peaches, I promise. I won't ever let anything happen to you..."

I clung to those words of his for the next few, miserable hours after we hung up.

I had wet my hair lightly so it would like I had been in the shower for the last 20 minutes instead of actually talking to the man I was would be leaving my boyfriend for.

Zach bought it too. Nothing was out of the ordinary as we went through our normal night routine. He worked on his computer in the living room for an hour or so while I read a book next to him on the couch. Then, as always, around 9:30 he went to the bedroom. I heard the sink running as he brushed his teeth, picked up his work clothes that he left scattered on the floor as he changed into his pajamas.

It was close to ten by the time he finally settled into bed next to me for what would be the last time ever.

"Goodnight," I mumbled out, turning myself over on the soft sheets to face him.

Zach was laid flat on his back, his head resting back against the crisp, white pillow as he let his eyes flutter close.

"Night, babe," he responded in a drawl tone, the sleep already evident in his deep voice.

And for what would be the final time, I let my eyes dance over his handsome features and take in how at peace he looked as he let slumber take him off into his dreams. His brunette hair that I used to love to run my fingers through was splayed out against his pillow in every which direction, making him appear a bit wild and unkempt, which I found looked better on him than his normal slicked back, professional hairdo.

My eyes wandered over his features, the raise of his cheekbone, the soft planes of his pink lips in which I had kissed and been kissed by an uncountable number of times now.

I would never kiss those lips again.

I would never again caress my fingers through his thin strands of hair as lovingly as I once did.

I would never see Zachary Holloway again after this very moment.

It was the end of a chapter. It was the final page in the book of Zach and I's life together, something I assumed would never come to an end. But now it had... and it was bittersweet.

Of course, it was sweeter than anything as a pair of stunning blue eyes flitted into my mind along with a kind smile all planted on a devastatingly handsome face.

Kaleb was my new start. Kaleb was a new book; a riveting, terrifying new chapter in my life and I was all too eager to dive in and see where the journey would take me.

So, with one final, lingering look towards Zach's peacefully sleeping face, I slowly and silently, crept my way out of our bed.

No, not our bed. His bed. Zach's bed was no longer and would never be my bed ever again.

With careful precision, my bare feet melded to the course carpeted floor beneath me as I shifted all of my weight from the bed to the ground.

My heart was thudding wildly in my chest and I prayed that it wasn't as loud as it seemed as it pounded in my ears, almost taunting me and making the entire walk to the bedroom door that much more agonizing.

Finally, my hand wrapped around the cool metal of the door handle and hesitantly, I turned it in my grasp. The handle turned with pure silence and for that I was grateful. Then, once the handle wouldn't turn anymore, I ever so slowly crept the bedroom door open inch by dread filled inch.

I stepped out of the bedroom and into the hallway, carefully closing the bedroom door behind me, cutting of Zach from my sight and my life for good.

Now out of the bedroom, I felt my adrenaline begin to pump with new found conviction as I tip toed my way over to my phone sitting on the kitchen counter top as it charged.

I grabbed for it and my fingers ran over the screen, the phone lighting up in my grasp and illuminating the dark space around me.

It was 10:26 and I already had a message from Kaleb.

He was here.

My veins coursed with a copious amount of unending nerves and now excitement as I knew Kaleb was right outside and waiting for me. I would drive my own car to his place of course but he insisted he be here for support and to drive behind me in case Zach somehow woke up and tried to follow.

I hadn't one qualm about it whatsoever.

I fought off a bout of nostalgia as my eyes scoured over the kitchen and all of the cups, plates, cookware that I had used and bought over the years that I would be forced to leave behind.

I gave one, last look around the apartment that I had lived in for two years now; the apartment that had been witnessed to so many of my breakdowns... so many of my beat downs.

And as I let my gaze linger over the familiar sights... I knew that I wouldn't miss any of it.

To hell with this apartment.

So, without looking back, I turned on my heel and headed for the linen closest. Quiet as a mouse, I opened it and laid eyed on the two, large, black duffle bags I had stashed in there earlier today while Zach was at work.

I had managed to get most of my clothes, under garments, books, and personal hygiene items into these two bags and the rest... the rest I would leave behind.

There simply was no other choice.

With shaking hands, I gripped onto the material of the handles and heaved the bags from their confines.

Now, I had both bags in hand, my purse hanging over my shoulder... and I was ready.

This was it.

I was really leaving.

Here we go.

I walked towards the front door, drilling the memory of each step into my mind as a step I was taking towards my freedom. I wanted to remember every single, independent step of this pivotal moment.

When I did finally reach the door, my heart was crashing around in my chest, my skin crawling with so much unfiltered energy and adrenaline, and my breath was coming out in short, anxious spurts.

Carefully setting one bag on the ground to free up a hand to set on the door handle, I took in a deep breath filled with finality and pride. I dared to let the side of my lips flinch up just the slightest into a careful smile as I set my hand on the door handle and began to turn.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"