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Yeah, we were having problems, and we’d probably married too young. I just didn’t know exactly what our issues were. Staring at our wedding photo across the room, I felt a million years older than that almost nineteen year old in the picture. A million times more lost, too. I’d been so sure of everything then. Now, I wondered if love really could conquer all if you tried hard enough.
Was that a pipe dream?
Maybe, I needed to try harder?
Maybe, we both did.
Picking up my cell again, I dialed Jared. It was early evening there so I shouldn’t be catching him in a meeting. Nothing. I went straight to voicemail without a single ring.
Brow furrowed, I did something I never did, and dialed Derek, one of the guys my husband was traveling with.
“Jared? Fucking hell, man! What the fuck?” he exclaimed.
“Um… I…” I stammered, worry edging tighter around me. Something had happened, but nobody knew. Trepidation filled me, darker than the vision I’d had the other night. But that wasn’t real. I knew it couldn’t be real.
“Oh, damn. Sorry. Who is this?” he asked.
“Jared’s wife.”
“Explains why the numbers are almost identical. Yeah. He there with you?”
“No. He’s supposed to be there,” I rasped, dark fear clawing at my chest and making it hard to breathe. Three nights ago, I’d had a horrible nightmare of Jared being attacked. Only I hadn’t been sleeping when it hit me. I’d been standing in the middle of my tiny, homey living room.
It had knocked my knees from beneath me, taking me to the ground while pain slammed through my temples. Jared had been attacked…by something. Then everything had gone dark.
“I…don’t know what to say,” Derek said.
“His things aren’t there?”
“No. I went out with some guys after we wrapped up for the day, but Jared headed back to the hotel. When I got back, all his stuff was gone.”
I heard voices in the background, then Derek told them to hang on a sec.
“Look, Avery. I’m sorry. I’m sure everything will be…um…”
“Fine,” I supplied, using my favorite word as of late. “Thanks Derek.”
I hung up, a swell of panic assailing me again. After dropping the phone, I ground my palms into my eyes and tried to think.
That dark vision hadn’t been real. It had only been a metaphor for the decimation of my marriage. I’d had weird visions all my life. Premonitions. They rarely played out as I’d seen them. At a young age, I’d learned to connect the dots and recognize symbols and keep my mouth shut about seeing things. Even Jared didn’t know about the visions. He didn’t know I saw ghostly colors around people. That I could see that some people weren’t people at all.
I never said a word about that. Everyone would think I was a raving loony.
Standing, I glanced around the apartment I’d turned into a home for us. This was over. Jared clearing out his things from the hotel room, and going God knew where, told me that.
I couldn’t stay here, clinging to this shredded sham. Yes, Jared had an awful childhood. His parents had kicked him out as soon as he’d turned eighteen—though they hadn’t treated him well before that, to tell the truth. Did that mean I needed to stay here with a husband who…? Who was what? God, I didn’t want to think he was cheating, but my mom wasn’t wrong. For six months now, we’d barely spoken, he disappeared for long hours, and now this? What else could it be? Drugs?
My gaze fell on our wedding photo again. We’d been so happy. Was I a fool to leave? Would I be a bigger fool to stay?
Shaking my head, I trudged into our bedroom. He wouldn’t be back until tomorrow, and the first place he’d look would be my parents’ house. I’d go for a week, and we could proceed from there.
In the bedroom, I pulled out one of my hard-sided suitcases. I’d gotten the set as part of a wedding gift. My half had never been used. Jared’s might as well be earning its own frequent flier miles.
Not overthinking things, I packed two days’ work clothes and enough casual wear for a week. I only worked part time as a waitress—at Jared’s insistence, since he didn’t want me to do more than that—so I’d like be spending some time job hunting, too. At that thought, I added a nice blouse, skirt and shoes then zipped up the bag.
After making sure I had my tablet and phone in my purse, I rolled my small case toward the front door. I’d call my mom on the way and hope for no “told you so” conversation.
I’d just stepped into the entry hallway when I heard a key in the lock. Freezing, I watched the knob turn. Apparently, my missing husband was home.
