Page 2 of Staying for You

“You’re going to get control of your life.”

I scoff. “Right. And how do you suggest I do that?”

“Well, for starters, you’re going to kick yourex-husband out of the house. He was the one who wanted the divorce. The papers are signed. The house is yours. He’s just being a fucker who doesn’t want to leave. He’s like a squatter.”

I can’t deny that. Looking around the kitchen, I see his crap everywhere. When he came to me and said he wanted a divorce, I was shocked for about four minutes. Then the last two years came back to me and I remembered all the late nights, the secret phone calls, the fact that I could walk naked in front of him and he wouldn’t even spare me a glance. He’d been cheating on me ever since the we got back from our honeymoon eight years ago, but in the last two, he really kicked it up a notch.

Anger and resentment over the situation he put me in settles over me and it makes my blood boil. “He really is a fucker, isn’t he?”

“There’s my girl. Get pissed. But use that emotion in your writing.”

“Why was I such an idiot?”

“Wrong direction, my friend. Don’t get pissed at yourself!” she cries out. “He’s the ass in this situation. You supported him for years. Years! All while he claimed to be your ‘marketing professional’. Which, let’s face it, he did not do. He spent his days pretending to give a shit but really only cared about himself.”

The tea kettle starts whistling on the stove so I move it off the burner, drop my tea bag into the mug and fill it with hot water. “He…”

“Don’t even think about defending him or I’ll Cam-Cam the shit out of you.”

I giggle, blowing on my hot tea. “I wasn’t going to defend him. I was going to say, before you so rudely interrupted me, that he’s a selfish prick. Period.”

“Oh. Okay then. Never mind. I have an idea, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Pull a Cameron Diaz inThe Holiday.Get away. Find a place that you can escape to. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your muse.”

“Where would I go?”

“I don’t know. The beach? The mountains? Anywhere that can help you relax and get back to the Cami I love because, honey, we’ve lost you.”

I sigh, knowing she’s right. And it’s not an awful idea. I’m sick of these walls. It’s my home, but everywhere I look, I’m reminded of Scott. Of our failed marriage. Of the fact that I sit in this house every day, typing away some seriously boring stories.

I hear the back door open and slam shut and my stomach immediately knots. I don’t want to see Scott.

“I think Scott’s here,” I tell her and lean back in my chair so I can see if he’s about to come into the kitchen, which is his usual first stop. A beer in the fridge, a bag of chips, and then he’s off to the guest room.

“Kick his ass out of there.”

“I know. Iknow.It’s just…”

“You’re too nice of a person and he claims he would be homeless.”

He comes into the kitchen and tosses me a grin which makes my stomach turn. “Right.”

“Let him sleep on the streets. Or… better yet, with whoever he’s been screwing all these years.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Really?” She sounds like she doesn’t believe me one bit.

“Really. I gotta go.”

“Call me later,” she says right before I hang up.

“I will.”

I hang up and slide my phone into the front pocket of my hoodie. As crazy as it sounds, if Scott has access to my phone, he’ll go through it like he has any right to be nosey about my life. In reality, I should have been doing the same thing to him.

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