Chapter 39
Abigail
The promise I made to Marceline to stay in the house seemed to look reckless and stupid the more I paced in my room. Was this how it was going to be every time? Would be swayed from important decisions I made just because Marceline asked me to reconsider?
I pressed a hand to my forehead, feeling a headache coming on. It was as if the walls of my room were closing in on me. The tension from my argument with Conrad still lingered in my head. I didn’t even want to think of what a disaster that had been, or the side of Conrad I had been shown today that I didn’t even know existed before.
Everything in me screamed for escape from the suffocating air of this house. I fished my phone from the bedside table and hesitated for only a second before texting Roxy. “Are you free to meet up?”
The words felt desperate as I hit send but the itch to leave her overpowered any guilt I felt about inconveniencing her. The memory of our earlier phone call sprang to mind just as I saw the three dots Indicating she was typing Her nephew’s birthday party. I cringed, cursing my timing, but then her reply came in almost instantly: “You’re a lifesaver. I was just plotting my escape from cleanup duty.
A laugh bubbled out of me, surprising me after the kind of day I had. Before I’d finished reading her message, another text followed: “Where should we meet?”
Grinning, I fired back: “City park for a stroll?”
Her response came with a thumbs–up emoji, and the weight in my chest eased slightly. Thrilled, I threw open my closet and rummaged for something casual among the few things I had left in there. My fingers settled on a pair of well–worn jeans, the kind that hugged in all the right places but didn’t suffocate. I paired them with a lightweight sweater with billowy sleeves that felt soft against my skin. Slipping into ankle boots, I grabbed my purse and phone and quietly made my way downstairs.
I moved like a shadow through the house, ears pricked for any sound of Conrad or Marceline. My heart hammered in my chest as I passed the study, the memory of Conrad’s menacing tone and the venom in his words flashing through my mind. The man I’d faced earlier wasn’t the one I’d once promised to spend my life with. His rage had stripped away any illusion that there was something worth saving between us.
Not
t even for Marceline, I thought, though guilt nipped at the edges of my resolve.
With one last glance over my shoulder, I slipped out the front door and hurried to my car. The air outside was cool and crisp, and I breathed it in like it was my first taste of freedom in days. Sliding into the driver’s seat, I pulled out of the driveway with the hope that neither Marceline nor Conrad would notice my absence until I was long gone.
The twenty–minute drive to the park felt longer than it should have, my thoughts spinning in endless loops. I replayed the confrontation with Conrad over and over, dissecting his words, his expressions, the cold fury in his eyes. A shiver ran through me, and I shook my head, determined to push him from my mind.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot, the familiar sight of the city park was a welcome distraction from my thoughts. Rows of oak and maple trees stretched their branches skyward, their leaves catching the golden glow of the late afternoon sun. I spotted Roxy’s car pulling in just as I parked, her bright red sedan as unmissable as he
energy.
She stepped out, her face lighting up the moment she saw me. A streak of green face paint ran across her cheek, and a smudge of glitter sparkled near her temple. She waved enthusiastically, a wide grin spreading across her.
face.
“Abigail!” she called, her voice carrying easily across the parking lot. “Thank God you texted when you did. I was
Chapter 39
about five minutes away from being roped into washing frosting off the walls.”
Het words drew a laugh from me as I climbed out of the car “That sounds eventful.”
“You have no idea,” she said, rolling her eyes with dramatic flair as she came closer. “Let’s just say I have a newfound respect for anyone who hosts a party for a horde of supir–fueled kids.”
As we fell in
25 BONUS
into step together, I couldn’t help but feel some of the tension in my shoulders ease. The park was alive with the sounds of children laughing, and the occasional back of a dog. The chaos of life inside the Remington house felt worlds away.
We walked in companionable silence for a while, letting the natural rhythm of the park surround us. I found myself stealing glances at her, at the free way she carried herself. For a moment, I envied her lightness, her ability to laugh and move on from whatever weighed her down.
Roxy wouldn’t have let Conrad dismiss her concerns so easily for so long, Roxy would have never let Susanna move into her home in the first place.
“So,” she said after a while, her tone more serious. “What’s going on with you? You seemed…off when you called earlier. And now you’ve dragged me out for an emergency park stroll. Spill.”
Her perceptiveness was both comforting and unnerving. I sighed, stuffing my hands into my pockets. “It’s Conrad,” I admitted, though even saying his name left a bitter taste in my mouth. Before I could say more, 1 shook my head, not ready to unpack everything. Not here, not now. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said, forcing a smile that felt as fragile as glass,
I didn’t know how to put how I felt into words. The way he spoke to me today…it was like I was nothing. Like I was just some…object he could control.
Roxy frowned but nodded. “Okay. But you know I’m here, right?”
“Yeah,” I said softly. “I know.‘
We walked on, and I tried to focus on the rhythm of my boots crunching against the gravel path.
“I can’t wait to get back to work on Monday,” I said after awhile, more to myself than to Roxy. “To be so
swamped with tasks that I don’t have time to think about…everything else. Just a few hours of not thinking about my life would be heaven.”
I heard Roxy’s sharp intake of breath before I saw her face. When I glanced at her, she was wearing an expression I couldn’t quite place–a mix of hesitation and pity that made my stomach drop.
“What’s that face for?” I asked, stopping in my tracks.
Roxy froze, as though she’d been caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to, “What face?”
“That face,” I said, crossing my arms. “Roxy,” I said, drawing her name out warningly. “Don’t make me stand here all day. Just tell me.”
She sighed, running a hand through her hair, smearing the faint streak of glitter still clinging to her temple. “I think…it might be better if you don’t come in to work for a while.”
Chapter 40
