Abandon by Stephanie Dorman Read Free Book Online Page B

anger as she could get out in hushed tones.  “You’re a real piece of work Cort McCoy.”
    Cort stood up and dusted his jeans off.  “What the hell Annalise, who said she’s my girlfriend?”
    Annalise laughed bitterly.  How like Cort.  “Let’s skip the semantics Cort, you’re sticking your dick in her and you’ll probably be sharing a room.  For all intents and purposes, as far as I’m concerned, she’s your girlfriend.”
    Cort reached into his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, offering her one.  She snatched it out of his hand and lit it up as he explained, “Yes, I brought her.  Her apartment burned down and she had nowhere to go.  What was I supposed to do?”
    Taking another drag of her cigarette she hissed at him, “Not invite me.”
    Cort looked genuinely wounded by her words, his big green eyes staring at her like she had said something that just wasn’t possible.  Cort had always had the power to make her lose her anger at him by giving her that look, and she fought the urge to reach out to him, and ease his pain.  He brought them both here.  He should feel a little pain.  Of course, Annalise was already examining her own motivations too.  Cort had never said they would be getting back together, she had just hoped it.  Maybe that was something that had been incorrect on her part.  It wasn’t like he had said anything to this point, besides the fact that he wanted her with him, that would make her assume he actually wanted to get back together.  
    Fortunately, they were interrupted by the perfect blonde yelling at Cort from the doorway about which room they were taking and where he could put her stuff.  Apparently the blonde was bossy too.  Serves Cort right, she thought as she walked away from him to her car.  She opened her trunk and grabbed the bag which had her sleeping clothes and toiletries.  Putting it over her shoulder she giggled bitterly in her head, this was also the bag that had condoms in it.  The condoms she had brought along with her because she subconsciously had thought she’d be able to use them with Cort.  Maybe she’d leave them here with Jenna and Kevin before she took off in the morning.  She walked past Cort, who was still standing against his SUV looking dumbstruck.  Flicking her cigarette into the snowbank on the side of the driveway, she stepped into the house took the bedroom immediately on the right.
    Throwing her bag in the corner by the closet, she flopped on the bed and looked around.  The room was nice, if a little small.  It was the kind of room she could stay in for a while, if Cort hadn’t brought the blonde.  Across the hall she heard the muffled tones of Cort speaking to who she assumed was the blonde.  They seemed to be fighting, or at least arguing over something.  Shoving her face in the pillow, for the first time since she and Cort had broken up months ago, she let tears flow freely from her eyes.  She cried for the man at the gas station, for the people in DC, for the fate of the nation, but mostly, she cried for herself and the fact that in the span of twenty-four hours her entire world had collapsed upon itself.
    She pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at the service bars.  Still no service, so she couldn’t call Meredith.  She was about to put it back in her pocket when she noticed the date.  December 12th, 2012.  So the Mayan’s prediction came true nine days earlier than expected.  
    “Well played Mayans,” she whispered.  “Well played.”

Chapter 8:  Cort
    Deep Creek Lake, Western Maryland
December 13, 2012
    Cort woke up early the next morning, throwing his feet over the edge of the bed and stretching quietly.  Katy was sleeping beside him and he didn’t want to wake her this early.  He had argued last night over the situation with Katy, which he had expected, and he was in no mood to resume that discussion.  Besides, he had to somehow figure out a way to handle Annalise this