AllFreeNovel
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When I get back in, I unload the reusable grocery bag.
I nod to her duffel. “Were you able to pack some things?”
“No, this’s my gym bag. It was left in my car from before.”
“I picked up some essentials.”
I untie the string around the bakery box and slide it in front of her, and she peeks under the lid. “You got me scones?”
“It wasn’t selfless. I was already stopping to get myself a half-dozen muffins.”Yeah. That’s it.
“I’m not hungry.” Her shoulders slump. “But thank you for the gesture.”
“When was the last time you ate?”
“Um...” She peers at the ceiling, and her eyes dart around as if she’s mathematically calculating the answer in her head.
“You need to eat something. You barely ate anything at the fundraiser last night.” She pushed food around with her fork but never brought it to her mouth. “Food first, talk after.”
I open the lid in front of her, and she hesitates but eventually plucks a scone out of the white box and takes a bite, releasing a big exhale through her nose while she chews.
“I told him I was leaving yesterday. We got into a fight.” Her lower lip quivers. “He put my ring back on.” I steel my expression. Inside, I’m seething. I take the string from the bakery box and turn around to open my junk drawer, pulling out a paper clip. I thread the string through it and push it under the ring.
“I left work early today, so I could go home and pack some things.”
I shake my head. “Start with last night.” I wrap the string around her finger, like I did at the café, while she gives me a play-by-play.
“Yesterday, I was waiting for him when he got home. He walked through the door and says he’s sorry forwhat happened. I told him we had an appointment to split finances, and I tried to give him back his ring.”
I want this ring off her.Now.
“Then what?” Her hand trembles.Fuck.“Jordan, what happened last night?”
She looks like she’s on the verge of a breakdown. “He yelled at me and told me I needed to go to the fundraiser.”
She’s not telling me the truth, but I’m not about to force information out of her. We’ll sort it out later. I hold her hand over the counter and grab the bottle of olive oil, letting a couple drops fall on the ring. I rub it around her finger and unwind the string from the opposite side. Thank God it budges.
“I didn’t argue. But last night I walked around thefundraiser telling myself I’d leave work early today and get my things and go to a hotel or realtor office. Somewhere away from him. He came home right after I got to the condo.”
Yup, he was definitely tracking her phone. “He made me so mad, he said some things, and I yelled back. I don’t even remember everything that was said, but it escalated fast. He came at me, so I slammed the door in his face, and I think I crushed his hand. I don’t know. I didn’t see. I was scared and ran.” Her free hand tucks some loose hair behind her ear, and she stares at the countertop as she recalls the harrowing events of today. “I got to the door, and he threw an iron at me?—”
“Wait, he threw something at you?”
“I don’t know. He was probably trying to scare me into staying. I can’t be sure he was actually aimingforme.”
What’s the difference?
She stares into space, like she’s replaying it in her head. “I grabbed my purse and ran. I took the stairwell, and he followed me.” Her glazed eyes widen. “No, not follow. Hechasedme.”
I blow out a breath. The massive donation he made to Safehouse last night flashes in my mind.Motherfucker.Her eyes are wild like a frightened rabbit. I get the ring over her knuckle, and it slips off. I hold her hand out, the purple fades from her finger, save for a blotchy area around the knuckle where she’s bruised. She yanks it back and rubs the spot. Did it happen when he shoved the ring on her finger? That couldn’t have gone on smoothly.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been so scared before, but I knew at that moment there was no coming back from it. I couldn’t go back.”
That’s how it was for my mom. That’s when she knew it was time to leave too.
“Then he stopped. My feet kept moving, I couldn’t get down the stairs fast enough, but he must have left the stairwell and taken the elevator the rest of the way down.”
“So, what happened?”
