AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Time was almost up for me in the apartment—only a few hours left—so I zipped up my suitcase and propped it by the door next to the bags Daniel had packed for me. When I looked at one of the particularly large pieces of luggage, I felt a stab of pain in my chest. Daniel had put all the photographs of us in it—some in frames, most of them loose. As if him telling me it was over wasn’t enough, he had to emphasize that he didn’t want any reminders of us.
He’d disappeared for the entire week. I had slept in our bed along with Muriella, who refused to leave me on my own, used our room as if I still belonged there, and left my mark anywhere I could. I put little mementos in the pockets of his suit pants, jeans, shirts, jackets, in the bathroom drawers, the nightstand, on his pillow. Buttons from clothes we’d ripped off of one another, ticket stubs from concerts we’d seen, the touristy magnets we’d collected from places around the world, my favorite lip gloss that I always made him hold for me.
And the photos…I separated the duplicate copies for myself. The remaining pictures I stuffed in drawers, books, between seat cushions, even in the refrigerator. The framed ones I placed more strategically. Setting them out in the open would have been too obvious, so I put one in the pantry behind his favorite bag of chips. Buried another in his underwear drawer. Hid one in the top of the closet behind the box where he kept important papers. I set up one in the safe, nestled against the most significant piece of jewelry he’d ever given me. I layered the memories—some of them would assault him right away, others would show up later when he wasn’t expecting it.
The only photo I left out in plain sight was one that was taken on our first date. It had had pride of place on his desk for nearly eight years. It hurt the most that he didn’t want it any more. I placed it front and center on the desk in his study, along with the keys to our homes all over the world. They were all on one ring. I knew what each of them went to except one. I’d asked, but he’d never told me, promising that when the time was right, I’d find the lock it fit.
One last touch was necessary before I left. I went to the stereo nestled among the books on the built-in shelves of the study. It only took a moment to find what I was looking for. “Borderline” by Madonna showed up on the touch screen display, and I pressed play, set the repeat function, and turned up the volume so loud it rattled the windows. He had a love/hate relationship with this song, but I knew it would have its intended effect. I might be gone in a few minutes, but I sure as hell wasn’t leaving.
Suitcase in hand,I left the apartment as if I was going on a trip, not like it was the last time I’d ever see it. Our residence took up the entire top floor of the building. Muriella’s apartment was spread out on the one below. I stopped by, and she threw open the door when I rang the bell, flinging her arms around my neck. I let her hug me as long as she wanted, returning the embrace after I abandoned my suitcase.
“Why are you ringing the bell?” she asked.
“I left all my keys upstairs,” I explained, and her face crumpled in pain.
“Don’t go.” Her dark eyes filled with tears as she begged me, and I put on a brave smile.
“I left everything exactly where it was in the foyer. Let him deal with it.” I brushed the errant tear that slid down her cheek when she nodded. “Don’t do that. You’re going to make me cry.”
“You stay here with me. I miss you already,” Muriella choked out between sobs.
I missed her already too. She was the main reason I was holding up as well as I was.
“Now why are you doing a thing like that?” I said as I wiped another tear from her face. “Do you think I would ever give you up? I don’t give a fuck what he says. Just because he thinks he’s God doesn’t make it so. He won’t take you away from me,” I said, hugging her fiercely.
She lifted her head from my chest, her long, dark lashes wet as she blinked up at me. “Watch your mouth,” she chided, and we both grinned.
“If you make me cry, you’re going to hear some serious swearing,” I warned, scrunching my nose to combat the sting in my eyes.
“Who is going to keep you in line, V?”
“You are. You’re going to have to travel a little to do it, but I know you’re up for the task. I can’t make it easy on you, now can I?” I kissed her forehead and wiped away more of her tears.
“This is the first time I’ve ever hated him,” Muriella confessed softly.
I took both her hands in mine. “What do you mean?” The only thing Muriella loved more than Daniel was God. She couldn’t hate him.
“He’s making me choose between you. I hate him for that.” My heart ripped at the pain in her voice. She of all people didn’t deserve to be a casualty of this mess Daniel had created. “You don’t have to choose. You have both of us. I don’t want you to hate him.” I thought I could do that enough for both of us, but it wasn’t as easy as I had assumed. The truth was I didn’t hate him at all, only his ridiculous behavior over the past week.
She smiled solemnly and took my face in her warm hands. “That’s why you’re the angel. I never told you this, but I prayed for you every single day to come to him. God had already answered my prayers once by saving me. I didn’t have the right to ask for anything else, but I did anyway. One night when Daniel came home, I knew God had answered my prayer. There was a spark in his eyes I’d never seen. When I asked him who he’d met, he said he wasn’t sure if it was the devil or an angel. But I knew. He acted like it didn’t matter, so I prayed harder until finally you came to us. The angel. I’m sorry God denied my pleas that you could stay forever.”
I was at a loss for words. This woman had been through unspeakable hell, yet she was the finest person I’d ever known. I had taken for granted having her around every day for many years. I wouldn’t make that mistake any longer.
“I can’t choose between you. I love you both too much.” She cried again in earnest, her grip on my face tightening.
“That’s why you’re going to stay here and look after him. He needs you. I need you to do this for me,” I pleaded. “There is no choice. Do you understand? We are a family, and nothing will change that. This thing we have is bigger than whatever crap is going on right now.”
Muriella straightened her spine, and our strength fed off each other. “I’ll bring you plenty to eat tomorrow. We’ll have lunch.”
“Let me give you a key. You remember the old place?” She scowled, but said nothing as we detached from one another long enough for me to dig out the extra key. “Oh, and M?”
“What is it, V?”
“I left Madonna playing on the stereo upstairs. Please leave it on until he comes back.”
She flashed me a wicked grin. “That will be a nice welcome home for him.” Daniel was always stuck with our choice in music, but his protests were mostly for show.
“Come over to my new place whenever you want,” I said, squeezing her again.
