Page 7 of Brandishing Betrayals

I glanced up when he stopped in front of me. He was looking down at me… for the first time in months, he met my gaze. I couldn’t decipher the emotion on his face. Gone was the blank mask or his blatant annoyance when I was around, instead there was a questioning look and a slight frown on his face…like he was trying to figure me out.

I kept my features neutral and waited for him to speak up. He opened his mouth to say something, but then there was a buzz from his pocket—his cellphone vibrating.

Whatever peaceful calm that had settled over him while in my home had vanished the moment the phone buzzed. He turned away from me and shook his head. He reached into his pocket as he headed for his boots by the front door. “Yeah,” he answered his phone with a grunt.

I watched him slid his feet into his unlaced boots, not bothering to lace them.

“I’ll be right there.” He didn’t even bother to turn back or acknowledge me, he just turned for the front door and walked out, quietly shutting it behind him.

I glared at the door. Somedays I really hated him. He treated me like I wasn’t there. It drove me crazy. I didn’t know what to do…if there was anything Icoulddo.

I shook my head and stood up and walked to the front door. I flipped the deadbolt, letting the snick and click of the bolt sliding home echo through my soul. A finality.

I lefthim. I needed to remind myself of that fact. I left him for a damn good reason, and that reason was sleeping down the hallway. I would have to harden my heart and get over my feelings when he was around. He would be around a lot moving forward.

It was the only way I would survive, the only way I had been surviving the last ten years. I pushed back my shoulders and steeled my spine. I could do this, I had already come so far, I could keep my walls up and keep moving.

Maya

The yellow carnation was tucked under the wiper blade of my beat up Honda Civic. One simple, beautiful flower in a happy shade of yellow. It looked friendly and nonthreatening…but I knew better.

The sight alone, chilled the blood in my veins. Ice trailed down my spine as I froze in my tracks. My heart pounded in my chest as my breaths came out in short pants.

This wasn’t happening…This cannot be happening.

“Mom?” Luke asked from beside me, his voice cutting through my alarmed distress.

Startled, I shrieked and flinched away from his voice.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Luke asked, turning to face me. The nine-year-old boy was immediately on alert.

My hand flew to my chest and I gasped for breath as I turned toward my son. He looked worried, scared even. Lucas reached for my hand and I pulled him toward me. “Come on, let’s go,” I ordered, my voice sharp.

I looked around the main street frantically, searching for any sign of anyone watching—any sign ofhimwatching. I pushed Luke toward the car all while pulling my keys out of my pocket and scanning the street.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Luke questioned, clearly frightened and picking up on my distress.

“Get in the car, Luke. Now,” I ordered, pushing him toward the vehicle.

He moved quickly and climbed in the backseat without another word. I tossed my bags in the passenger seat and quickly climb in the beat-up old car. I glanced around the busy main street again, before I pulled out of the parallel space and onto the street.

“Mom, you’re scaring me,” Luke said softly from the back seat. “Why is there a flower on the windshield?”

I hadn’t removed it. I had left it there and drove off as quickly as I could. Now, driving down the street with a stupid yellow carnation under my wiper blade, I knew I couldn’t stop. I had to get out of there, get far away from Mourningside as I could…only I couldn’t.

I had my parents to take care of—the whole reason I moved back to Mourningside in the first place. I had hoped after ten years he wouldn’t care about me any longer, not since I kept my mouth shut all this time. I had done what he asked.

I’d proven at this point that I wouldn’t talk… why was he harassing me again?

I didn’t stop driving until I pulled into the long driveway of my parents’ house. My knuckles were white on the steering wheel and I was barely breathing when I shut the engine off.

“Mom?” Luke asked softly from the backseat.

“Yeah, baby?” I asked, hanging my head. I finally released the steering while and took a deep breath.

“What’s going on?”

I took another deep breath and let it out slowly. I leaned back in my seat and forced myself to relax. No one had followed us, I hadn’t seen anyone in the street, I was relatively safe at the moment. “I’m sorry I startled you honey. The flower was just a surprise…from an old friend. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” I put a brave smile on my face before I turned to face him.

---