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“Was he physical?” I ask her. “I know June asked you before, but you never really answered her.”
“He only hit me once,” she says and meets my gaze without flinching now. “The day he kicked me out. I was so pissed. He flung the new girl in my face, said he wanted to marry her and that he had no use for me. There were a lot of hurtful words, but that wasn’t new. When I told him that I’d contest the prenup, he backhanded me. And when I wouldn’t back down, he beat the shit out of me.”
“Jesus, Sarah. You didn’t have any bruises when you got here,” June says.
“No. I didn’t want to come here like that. So, I spent a month at a shithole hotel while the bruises faded, and I came to terms with it all. It took a chunk of the money I’d squirreled away, but that was okay.”
“Why didn’t you press charges?” I demand.
“Why?” she asks. “So he could harass me more? So I could feel worse? I knew the bruises would heal and that getting away from him was what I needed. And he gave me a way out. But I really hated that he sent me out virtually penniless with only what I could fit in my suitcases. I did take the jewelry, and I still have that in case I need to sell it for more money.”
“You should have gotten a good attorney,” June mutters. “That asshole got off scot-free.”
“He won’t be happy,” Sarah says. “Because he can’t be happy. He’s always looking for the next best thing, whether that’s with women or in business. I’m surprised he hasn’t lost more money than he has because he’s just so bad at it all. I will be happy. Hell, I’m happier now than I have been for the past decade in this little apartment with my sweet cat and my best friends. I came out ahead in the long run.”
“I’m so glad you sent me holiday cards all those years,” I tell her.
“He found out once and went into a week-long rage. He didn’t know that I had the post office box. But I didn’t care, I did it anyway. I needed some kind of link to you.”
“I’m sorry I never replied,” June says with a cringe. “I should have. I’ve just been so mad at you for so long. Because I’m a stubborn ass.”
“I understand,” Sarah says. “I was mad at me, too. Scott’s so angry. I don’t know if that relationship will ever heal, but I’ll keep trying.”
“He’ll come around,” I reply with more confidence than I feel. “He just needs some time.”
“I have lots of that. I don’t plan on going anywhere.” Sarah takes a bite of her taco. “So, yay for a divorce party!”
“Yay!” we echo and clink our shot glasses before drinking.
“I can’t believe how fast this year is going. June, your grandma must be getting ready for her Halloween party,” I say to her.
“Does she still do those?” Sarah asks.
“Every year, without fail,” June confirms and scoops up some guacamole. “And, yeah, we’re less than two weeks away, so she’s already started with the decorations. I’m not allowed to help. She has a whole team of people who do it.”
“What’s the theme this year?” I ask her.
“Grimm’s Fairy Tales,” June says with a grin. “It’ll be fun to see what she does with it. We’re all going, of course.”
“Even me?” Sarah asks.
“Of course, even you,” I reply. “It’s gotten even better over the years. You’ll love it. Annabelle has made it spookier and goes way over the top. It’s awesome.”
“I can’t wait,” Sarah says. “How about you, Luna? How’s it going?”
I shrug a shoulder and eat another chip. “It’s going. I really needed this night with you guys to unwind a bit because it’s been…crazy the last few weeks.”
“How so?” June asks.
“Well, we all know about the barn situation. I’ve been digging through Rose’s stuff, which is really cool, but it also leaves me with more questions, and I don’t want to have to dig for answers. I just want to know.”
“Patience, my friend,” Sarah says with a wink.
“And then with Apollo’s health scare on top of everything, it’s just been a lot.”
“Wait, what?” June asks. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but he got the results back, and he’s fine, so now I can talk about it. He had a scare last week. You guys remember when my dad went through cancer when we were teenagers?”
“Yeah,” Sara says with a frown.
“Well, there was concern that Apollo might have had the same thing, but it turned out to be benign. He’s fine. Still, I was a wreck for a few days.”
June’s quiet, and then, without a word, she stands, marches to the door, grabs her purse, and just slams out of the apartment.
