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He could tell that it wasn’t. I just didn’t feel comfortable getting into the details with anyone, at least not right now.
“Everything will be fine.” I responded.
He didn’t press me any further. “You ready to go to the grocery now?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Let’s go then, my truck is parked down at the stables.”
As we walked down the path to the stables, Clint filled me in on how things had been going lately. He mentioned that some local intern had been filling in for me part time, but that it looked as if the kid might go full-time next week. I stopped in my tracks right then and there. Clint walked a few paces more before he realized that I was no longer walking beside him.
“What do you mean, ‘the kid is going full-time next week’? I’m cleared to come back now.”
“Hey,” Clint replied, “I didn’t mean to upset you Tylar. I thought you knew all about it.”
“About what?” I demanded.
“About you not coming back over to work with us.”
“Who made that decision?” I barked. It wasn’t Clint’s fault but I was livid.
“Who do you think?” he asked with a sidelong glance.
As if on cue, we saw a black stretch limo winding up the long drive to the manor. Trey was back. Clint and I jumped into his small pick-up truck and headed down the drive.
“Well,” I said sarcastically, “it appears that his majesty has returned to his castle. I think I'll be paying him a visit this evening. Perhaps he'll enlighten me as to what my new duties will be next week.” Clint gave me a look that said, “I wouldn’t fuck with him if I were you.” I didn’t care. I had options no matter what. Perhaps he simply planned on firing me; if that were the case, life would go on. Maybe he wanted to make me miserable enough to quit. He was almost there on that one.
Clint and I finished our grocery shopping. I asked him to stop at the carry-out and purchase some wine for me. He was extremely uneasy about doing this.
“Oh for Chrissake,” I whined, “In two and a half weeks, I'm turning 21.”
He finally relented after he made me promise that I'd go nowhere near the pool. It was clear Clint wasn't very comfortable being my cohort in crime. Clint walked up to my porch with me, making sure I was safely inside before leaving, reminding me to keep my cell phone near and call if I needed him.
I put my groceries away, leaving a small, frozen pizza out to microwave for dinner. The wine Clint had bought for me was chilled, so I pulled out a big plastic cup, filled it to the top, and tossed a couple of ice cubes in it for good measure. I popped the pizza into the microwave and clicked on the TV to get some noise going. The quietness of the cottage was eerie.
I sat crossways in the living room chair, flipping through the channels, finally stopping on the tail end of my favorite show, "Revenge." I sipped my iced wine, enjoying the taste of it and loving the feeling of relaxation that seeped in while watching the show.
God! Daniel is hot!
I really hoped that Emily wasn't playing him like the others. Anyone could see he was in love with her! That Emily was one complicated bitch! This brought a new fit of giggles.
Then it hit me:Daniel.The character on the show's name was Daniel, just like my old boyfriend's name wasDaniel.
I remembered what had happened after prom. Daniel had dropped me like yesterday's trash. The dream in the hospital wasn't a dream, it was my subconscious doing its job; forcing me to face the reality of what I'd witnessed yet refused to believe or acknowledge all those years ago.
The microwave beeped. I got my pizza out and refilled my cup of wine going back to watch the show while I ate. When I'd finished eating, I tossed the cardboard disk the pizza came on towards the trash can and missed. Fuck - I'll get it later Time for a refill! Uh oh, it's nearly gone! For some reason that struck me as funny, and I started giggling.
I slipped out of my clothes, tossing them into the bedroom. It was warm and I was afraid to open windows because of the stalker. I returned to the fridge and poured the rest of the chilled wine into my plastic cup and tossed the empty bottle over to the trashcan.
Missed again!
I broke into hysterical laughter as tears rolled down my cheeks. Someone was at the door of my cottage, pounding loudly. Oh no, I wonder if Clint was checking on me. It was unusual for me to be up this late on a work night. I padded over to the front door in my bare feet, wiping my face dry of the tears, still giggling.
“Clint, is that you?” I asked.
“It’s Trey,” the smooth and silky voice replied.
What?
