AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah,” I reply, managing to force down the sobs. “I’m going to take a shower, if that’s all right.”
“Okay.”
I turn the water in the shower on hot and stand under it for a long time, releasing my emotions until I’ve finally cried myself out.
It’s awful. The whole thing is awful. I never should have had sex with him. I never should have fallen for him. I never should have lied to him in the first place. But I can’t change it now. I can’t take any of it back.
I just have to leave.
I can’t take advantage of William any more than I already have.
So I turn off the shower, dry off, peek out at the bedroom and am relieved that it’s empty. It’s almost six now, so he’s probably pulled on some clothes and gone to work in his home office.
I get dressed in a pair of jeans I find at the back of Amber’s closet and a thin gray sweater. I put a few pieces of my mom’s jewelry into a bag. Nothing else here is mine, so I don’t take it.
I peer out into the hall and see that William’s office door is shut.
It’s safe then. He’s already absorbed in business. That’s what he does. He works to hide from pain.
Me, I just run away.
I hurry toward the entryway and slide on my shoes, which I left there after I came in yesterday.
I walk out, explaining to the doorman that I’m taking a stroll and don’t need the car.
It’s as easy as that. I walk out of the apartment, out of the building, out of William’s life for good.
It hurts as much as anything ever has, but I do it anyway.
The morning is brisk and cool, and—even though it’s just after six o’clock—the sidewalks and streets aren’t empty. People are already out and about, beginning their days.
It’s not the end for them like it is for me.
I walk a few blocks toward where the closest metro station is, but when I get there I can’t go down. I should. I need to take the metro to a reputable jeweler who will buy my mom’s pieces for cash. I won’t get anywhere close to what the items in my bag are worth, but I’ll get a lot more than I would from a pawnshop.
Cash in hand, I can take another metro to the big bus hub outside the city and from there go… somewhere. Preferably not a big city. A smaller area with a lower cost of living.
Anywhere other than here.
But I can’t do it. Make that final step. It’s not simply terrifying—being on my own again, no protection, at the mercy of a stalker who will never quit. Without any sort of plan for taking care of myself.
It’s also heartbreaking.
I’ll never see William again.
My legs won’t support me so I find an empty bench at the small park across the street and sit down. I’m too numb to cry anymore, so I sit in a daze for several minutes, willing myself to get up and do what I know I need to do.
Eventually a flurry of activity across the street distracts me. A man is running toward the metro station, fast enough to draw attention. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of sweats, a T-shirt, and a pair of slippers.
William.
My heart flutters, but the rest of me is too numb to react. Before he turns toward the stairs into the station, something prompts him to glance around. His eyes find me where I’m sitting on the bench.
He’s too far away for me to read his expression, but he changes course immediately. Slows down and crosses the street. He’s breathing heavily but doesn’t say anything when he reaches me.
He sits down beside me.
This is my fault. I could have been away by now—on an entirely new course for my life. I could have already left this huge, tragic mess behind me and started over.
