Page 60 of Skid
Grace
Pierce Lake was beautiful, and Pierce Bluff seemed like the kind of town you wanted to raise a family in. Sadie and I were enjoying the peaceful view, talking, and getting to know each other when a man approached us. The woman with him was stunningly beautiful, and when he spoke to Sadie, I recognized who he was from Dalton’s explanation.
James Callahan and his wife, Amaya, were nice people who seemed to be madly in love with each other. We visited for a few minutes, and before we separated, Amaya made an offer that, at face value, seemed nice.
“We’d love for you and Skid to join us for dinner sometime. We can invite Devlin and Elise, and maybe Hayden can take a night off so he and James’s sister, Aubrey, can make it too.” she said, and I smiled at her.
A couples dinner party sounded nice, and I replied, “That would be great. Just let Dalton know, and I’ll make dessert.”
“She makes amazing pies. I had one this morning, and I’ve been begging all day for the recipe,” Sadie joked, and James looked at me with a smile.
“If Sadie says it’s delicious, I need to try it. I’ll make the arrangements with Skid,” he remarked before he led Amaya down the path toward the front of the lake entrance.
Sadie and I were leaving the park a little while later, and as we walked up the path, I began to think about something Amaya said, something that kept scratching at my memories. The more we walked, the more it scratched until finally, it all clicked. The need to throw up hit me in the face, and I ran behind a tree, not wanting anyone to see me get sick.
Sadie checked on me, and I played it off as an impending migraine, when in reality, my past was crashing down around me, and I felt like I’d been set up. I couldn’t figure out why or how, but something wasn’t connecting. The closer we got to Dalton’s house, the more my head pounded until I felt like it would explode.
I wanted to yell and scream. I wanted to find out what I was missing, but I couldn’t do anything other than let the memories overwhelm me, pushing more and more pain into my heart and head. Feeling Dalton kiss me after he tucked me into bed almost broke me, but I rolled over, letting sleep drag me under.
I woke up in the middle of the night and rolled over to find I was alone in bed. Sitting up, I looked around and saw I was alone in the room, so I silently slipped from the bed and walked into the living room. Dalton was asleep on the couch with a blanket pulled up to his stomach, leaving his chest full of tattoos exposed.
Watching him sleep, I thought about what happened yesterday, looking to connect everything before I confronted him. I don’t know if he lied or not, and until I had a better idea, I wouldn’t go on the defensive. Eddie taught me through the years not to immediately fly off the handle, so I took a few deep cleansing breaths and turned away from the living room.
My eyes tracked upstairs, and with deliberate steps, I climbed to the second floor. The closer I got to the closed office door, the more my heart pounded against my chest. If I was wrong, I could potentially destroy the relationship I had with Dalton over my lack of trust, but if I was right, it was already over. If it was even real to begin with.
Reaching my hand out to the knob, I listened to see if he had woken up before testing the handle to see if it was locked. I closed my eyes and turned, finding the door unlocked and the office empty. Walking inside, I closed the door behind me and turned on the light on the desk. The room was mostly dark, and I didn’t want to draw attention to my snooping.
I sat down at the large desk and looked at the bank of monitors, hanging silently on the wall. The computer on the desk was turned off, and I pressed the button, waiting for it to come alive. There was a security question that I didn’t know the answer to, and I grew frustrated. He worked cyber security, and I barely knew how to use computers, so the chances of me cracking the code were slim.
I opened the desk drawer and reached around inside, hoping to find a password or hint. A noise from downstairs halted my movements, and I listened for footsteps approaching. After a few minutes of tense silence, I reached deeper, not knowing what I was looking for. My gut was saying there was more to this, to us, than I was led to believe.
Looking through scraps of paper, I went through each drawer and began to think I was going crazy. When my hand brushed against something small in the back, I grasped it and discovered an envelope containing an old thumb drive. It was outdated and out of place in the state-of-the-art office, and I held it up, wondering what could be on it. I couldn’t find anything to help me unlock the computer, and I questioned if the thumb drive would even open without the password.
Worried I was about to blow up the best relationship that I would ever have, I pushed it into the side of the computer, waiting for it to load. The computer made some small noises as I stood from the chair. I rubbed my eyes as my feet moved me back and forth across the office with the silent monitors taunting me.
The memories of Kevin and the twisted games he played filled me with warring emotions, and I started looking for ways I was sabotaging my relationship with Dalton. Was I looking for something wrong so I could push him away before he hurt me? Were the mind games from my past ruining my chance at a future? Shame and anger filled me, and I couldn’t process what was real and what wasn’t.
A small ding from the computer sounded into the silent room, sounding much louder than it actually was. I peeked out the office door and heard no movement from Dalton, so I closed the door and walked back to the desk. Closing my eyes briefly, I debated on not looking at whatever was on the drive.
Not being able to push that nagging feeling away and letting the little voices in my head win, I opened my eyes and looked at the screen. The drive was open and had six files inside. Moving the cursor to the first file, I double clicked and waited for it to open.
My hands trembled the moment I saw what was on it, and when I heard his voice coming through the small speaker, I threw up in the trash can as tears rolled down my face.
“Is that how Tiffany taught you to say thank you?”
I didn’t need to see what else was on the thumb drive, having lived through those exact words and knowing what came next. Yanking it from the computer, the images stopped playing, and I was once again alone in silence. I couldn’t stop the pain and sheer betrayal that filled me when I realized how everything connected.
I was a fool for ever trusting Dalton, and now realized he never cared about me. He only cared about the secrets I held inside. Why would he make me fall in love with him when his intentions obviously weren’t pure?
Taking the thumb drive, I placed it back in the envelope before tucking it back into the desk. Sitting in the empty office, the tears dried up as my eyes lifted to the closed door. I needed to get out of here and back to my real life of solitude. It will take years for me ever to trust anyone again, and I learned my lesson.
Women like me never find happiness. We were meant to be by ourselves.
I closed the computer and let myself out of the office, the anger inside building higher with every step I took. Seeing him sleeping so soundly, knowing he used me, killed a piece of me that no one would ever touch again. As quiet as I could, I descended the stairs and walked back into the bedroom. The unmade bed taunted me, and I turned away from the memories of him holding me, chasing the nightmares away. It was another ploy to somehow hurt me, and I refused to let his words deter me from leaving.
It was better to be alone, than to live without knowing if someone’s love for you was real or another manipulation.
My duffle bag was on the floor of the closet, and I grabbed it, being as quiet as possible while I gathered the few items of clothes I had brought. I should have known I was meant to be temporary and was happy I didn’t bring too much with me. I would have to walk out of here until I could get an Uber to take me to the nearest airport.
