AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrugged. “Yeah... not my proudest moment. I just... They taunted me. I was so angry. All I could see was red. They were lucky the windows were the only thing I broke.”
“I would have aimed for faces.”
“I know you would have. I’ve never wanted to put my hands on someone so bad, Avyn. I’ve never been a fighter. You know I don’t like confrontation. You know I don’t like feeling angry. At that moment, I was so mad. Mad at him, mad at her... mad at myself. I felt him loving me less and less. I should have left long before any of this happened. I kept telling myself that if I got my mind right and lost weight, everything would be okay. I was stupid, naïve, and delusional.”
“No, baby. You were a woman going through two of the worst types of grief, and you needed support from your husband. It doesn’t matter what part you tell yourself you played. He failed you as a husband. That’s exactly what I told him.”
“Please don’t tell me you went to the house.”
“Yes, I did. I went over there and cursed both of them out. I was about to pick up a brick and finish the job you started on the rest of the windows. He’s lucky the police came.”
“Please don’t go back over there. I don’t need you getting arrested on my behalf.”
She giggled. “Well, the responding officer may or may not have been my little boo, so I was okay this time. But you better believe I want all smoke behind this.”
I shook my head. “I just need to move on. I don’t want revenge. I don’t want pity. I don’t want a thing from him. This ring...” I took off the wedding ring and held it up. “This is bullshit. I don’t want anything tying me to him.”
“Well, we can sell this and get you a nice chunk of change from it.”
I grabbed her hand and placed the ring in it. “Take it. I’ll even give you half for letting me stay with you.”
“Absolutely not. Whatever comes from that is yours. You know I have a few cousins on my daddy’s side who can run in there and grab you a few things. He won’t even know they’re missing.”
“Avyn.”
“I’m sorry. I’m just trying to make you smile. You’re gonna get through this, Pasha. My granny always said God will make your enemies your footstool... of course, when she said that, she was referring to stomping a mudhole in somebody.”
I covered my mouth, attempting to hide my smile.
“You know my granny was a thug, right?”
“I remember. I loved your granny.”
“She loved you too. If she were still here, she would have pulled up right along with me, and hands definitely would have been thrown. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”
I knew that to be true. Katherine Timmons, affectionately known as Ms. Kat, was nothing to play with. She was a sweet firecracker who treated me like one of her grandchildren. She had the spirit of discernment. If she’d met Raymond, she probably could have told me what it took so long to see.
“Hey,” Avyn said, jarring me out of my thoughts. She playfully nudged me. “You’re gonna be okay, boo.”
I sighed and nodded. I had to believe that.
I couldn’t afford to believe anything else.
Chapter Six
Callum
It was Friday morning.
I’d been up since five a.m. because sleep just didn’t seem to be my friend. This wasn’t the first time it happened to me. It happened every time I had a problem I couldn’t fix. This particular problem wasn’t mine, but I couldn’t tell that to my brain. A whole week had passed since Mrs. Sinclair checked into Hugo Towers. I hadn’t been back since the day I ran into her friend.
That didn’t mean the urge wasn’t real.
Every time I drove past the hotel, I wanted to turn into the parking lot. I’d taken to pressing the gas just a little harder, purposefully missing the turn. Her friend hadn’t called me, so I assumed everything was okay. I prayed for her. I prayed for her safety, her healing, and her mind. Depression was a hell of a thing to deal with. I’d never personally dealt with it, but I knew enough to know it was no walk in the park.
Pushing the thoughts from my head, I ended my workout routine. I had time to myself since I wasn’t going into the office today. I thought about picking up my niece from day care and spending the day with her. She was such a happy child, and I could use the distraction. As I headed upstairs to my bathroom, I called my sister.
“Yes, dear brother?” she answered.
