Page 19 of Trusting Laurence
“Believe me, little one, that was my pleasure.”
With one last smile, she left the room.
7
Tahlia couldn’t remember when she’d last been this happy. If she thought back, she wasn’t even sure she ever had been. Maybe as a child, but certainly not during the long, grueling years of her marriage.
Sure, things had been fine in the beginning. But once she’d lost their son, their relationship had quickly fallen to pieces. The devastating loss of her baby had coincided with the realization that Marcus had married her for convenience – a beautiful wife he could put on display and whom he expected to provide him with a male heir.
The only light in the darkness of that hell had been her sweet Maddie and Laurence. He protected her as best as he could in his limited capacity. And when he’d been unable to keep her out of harm’s way, he’d taken care of her. The day he’d left, Tahlia had given up on life. She understood he’d left because she wasn’t willing to leave Marcus at the time, but once he was gone, she hadn’t cared that every beating could very well be her last. In fact, there’d been days she’d prayed it would be.
The kettle whistled from the kitchen, pulling her out of her reverie. She got up to make herself a cup of tea, determined not to allow the memory of those dark days to destroy the happiness she now had.
Maddie had messaged to say she’d be coming to fetch her to look at flowers. Beside herself with excitement, Tahlia said a silent prayer of thanks for the blessing of reconnecting with her daughter.
As she stood stirring sugar into her cup, her cell phone chimed. Tahlia picked the phone up to read the message, thinking it would be Maddie. But it wasn’t from her daughter. An unknown number appeared on the screen. Curious as to who it could be, she opened the message.
Ice cold fear slithered down her spine as she read it.
Unknown number: Know what we do to snitches, bitch? Stay out of shit that don’t concern you none, or you gonna find out.
She was so unnerved by the venom of the message that the phone fell from her suddenly numb fingers and clattered to the counter. She simply stood staring at it in horror. Her hands shook as she lifted one to her mouth, her breaths stuttering over her parted lips. She’d been hesitant to turn the papers in the safety deposit box over to Laurence. Not knowing what they were but somehow realizing they had significance. Now it seemed it was, indeed, coming back to bite her.
Her mind scrambled to figure out what her next move should be while trying desperately not to spiral into panic. Anxiety attacks and depression had been Tahlia’s reality for all the years she’d been with Marcus. It had taken a long time and a great deal of hard work to finally get over them. She had no intention of going back to living that way. She was stronger now, and as soon as she calmed down, she’d figure this out too.
Taking a bolstering sip of tea, Tahlia pondered her situation. As she set the cup back in the saucer, there was a knock on her door.Who on earth is that now? Maddie’s the only one who knows I’m here.
She went to answer the knock to find her hostess standing there with a florist’s box in her hands.
“Mrs. Wilson, hello.”
“Hello dear. This just arrived for you, so I thought I’d bring them up before they wilt. Seems you have an admirer.” The older lady grinned at her, a twinkle in her eye.
With a smile of her own, Tahlia took the box from the other woman. “Thank you, Mrs. Wilson. That’s very kind of you.”
“No trouble, dear. Enjoy your afternoon, and your flowers,” the woman said as she turned to leave.
Tahlia closed the door and carried the box to her tiny kitchenette. She was sure she’d seen a vase somewhere in there. Laying the it down on the counter, she checked for a card. When she found none, she lifted the lid to search inside. As the lid lifted free, the pungent smell of dead lilies hit her nose.
Inside the box was a single arum lily, long dead and smelling like it. The petals curled over at the top, edged in decaying brown. The stem was slimy where it was rotting. She simply stared in horror. Her hand clenched around the lid she still held, the edge digging into her hand in her tight grip.
When the pain of her fingers registered, she dropped the lid onto the counter, glancing over at it. That’s when she noticed the little envelope taped to the inside. Her name and address neatly typed on the front of it. With shaking hands, she pulled it free and opened it. A plain white card was tucked inside with just one sentence typed on it.
You’ve been warned.
The shaking that’d started in her hands worked its way through her whole body. Her heartbeat pounded. Goosebumps erupted over her skin. She broke out in a cold sweat. Breath sawed in and out her lungs as if she’d been running a race.
Oh god, what am I going to do? They know about the papers. But who? What have I done?
Tahlia’s legs gave out, and she sank rather gracelessly to the floor where she sat for a long time, staving off a panic attack with everything in her. She thought back to the sessions Friends of Patty had organized for her with a psychologist. The woman had taught her how to beat the fear and the anxiety back, to find her center and return to a calmer frame of mind.
She focused on her ragged breathing, working to get it under control as the hyperventilating made her lightheaded. Deepening the breaths, she inhaled to a count of five before exhaling the same way. Then she shifted her focus to her thoughts, following the technique her therapist had taught her. Tahlia battled the chaos in her mind to remember her favorite cookie recipe she’d often made for Maddie as a child.
Slowly, she got her breathing under control. No idea how long she’d been sitting on the floor, she became aware of aches and pains from having remained still. At some point, she’d curled her hands into fists, and the soft flesh of her palms hurt from where her nails had dug in. Her head ached, and she felt a million years old as she sat there on the cold tiles.
With care, Tahlia slowly got to her feet and took a moment to gather herself.
She needed a soothing cup of tea. When she took a sip, however, she found her tea was ice cold, so she threw it out before boiling water for a fresh cup. While she waited for the water to heat, her mind raced trying to figure out what her next move should be.
