Page 104 of A Better Place

“We left. I told Vince never to come looking for me again. That he was no longer a part of our lives. We kept driving, and something drew me to Michigan. I wanted new, and everything about this town made me feel safe, comfortable. We stayed in a hotel for a couple nights, and one day we were out for a walk, just wanted the fresh air and to see what the town had to offer. It was summer, the weather was beautiful, and we found an amazing park with basketball hoops where Jack met a few boys and struck up an instant friendship. One of the moms was really nice, and she told me about this house that was for sale by owner. I had no idea what we would be able to afford, but she told me the owner, who happened to be her mom, would do rent-to-own. She gave me the address and her mom’s phone number, and we went over right away. Turns out, Donna’s husband treated her the same as Vince did me, so she and her daughter had a pretty good idea of what happened without me telling them.”

He stands again, placing me on the couch.

I watch as his feet move back and forth across the carpet in front of me.

“You okay?” I ask him.

“Not really,” he tells me honestly. “But I need to hear this. It’s just… it’s really fucking hard to hear, Carly.” He shakes his head before looking up to the ceiling and closing his eyes. When they’re back on me he nods, so I take that as my cue to continue.

“Not even a month after getting settled, Donna got me hooked up with a lawyer, introduced me to the principal of the school to see about filling in for a first-grade teaching position of a lady who was on maternity leave, and gave us the first family we’d ever had.

“One weekend Donna watched Jack overnight so I could deliver divorce papers to Vince personally. I wanted to see him one last time, face to face. I wanted to make sure he saw the pictures that Jack took of me that we would bring to the police if he ever came after us. I also showed him the copies of the receipts that proved of his cheating. He signed, reluctantly, but he did. I came home, and Jack introduced me to Tate. I started working at the school, and it turned into full-time when the teacher decided to stay home with her baby. And that’s about it.”

“About it, huh?” he raises an eyebrow.

“Well, three years after moving here, our world shifted once again, but I think you already know that.”

He saunters over to me, lifts me off the couch and wraps his arms around my waist, resting his forehead against mine. “You’re the strongest, bravest most beautiful woman inside and out that I’ve ever met in my life. I love you. You gotta know that.”

My breath hitches, and I lean back. Without hesitation I reply, “I love you, too.”

In an instant, his mouth is on mine, and everything Vince is long forgotten.

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