Page 58 of Don't Hate Me
“I won’t.”
Her expression suddenly became more grave, more urgent. “I’m serious about this Marc. Nothing. You believe nothing, from anyone, unless I’m the one telling you it’s true.”
“Ash, what do you think I’m going to believe?” I asked.
She slumped in her chair. “The worst. I think you’re going to believe the worst.”
I lifted my chin. “Not going to happen. Now go to your function. I’ve got about a hundred books in my cell I’m looking forward to reading. I keep trying to tell myself this is just a long vacation after busting my hump for so long to get ahead.”
I hadn’t fooled her. She knew there was nothing about this experience I was enjoying. That every day was an effort to get through, but I was going to do it for another fifteen months.
She smiled, though, and the look and feel of it did something to my soul.
Fed it with some light when there had been only dark.
She stood and I stood, walking around the table we slowly, but thoughtfully, hugged each other. She clung so tight I worried for my breath for a second, but then I could feel her pulling away.
It was a sensation I didn’t like, but I had to let go.
“Be careful,” I told her.
She nodded but said nothing. She simply gathered up her things and left.
* * *
Fort Dix
6 weeks after the wedding
Marc
I sat at the table waiting. Looking up at the clock mounted on the wall, I could see it was ten minutes after two. She’d never been late before. The door leading to the area where the visitors were cleared opened, and I could see a flash of blond hair.
Instantly, I stood and waited for her to make her way toward me. Something was off, though. Her head was ducked down, and she was wearing a scarf around her face, almost covering her completely.
When she made it to me, she hugged me, pressing her face against my chest so I couldn’t see her, but I could feel how erratic her breathing was.
“Slow it down, Ash. Easy in, and out. Breathe with me.”
I showed her how to do it. Carefully taking in each breath, and releasing it until I could feel her calm down. Then I pushed her away and pulled off the scarf so I could see her face.
“That motherfucker,” I growled. I couldn’t touch her. The guards would take issue with that. Instead, I threw myself into the seat at the table, my fists pounding on the table as hard as I could.
“Calm down. It looks worse than it,” she said, sitting across from me.
It was a fucking black eye. A scratch as well, where something he must have been wearing, a ring maybe, took a chunk out of her skin.
“I’m going to kill him. When I get out of here, I’m going to find a way to do it and I’m going to end him.”
Ash shook her head. “No, you’re going to ruin him. It’s legal and much more satisfying.”
“What happened?” I wanted to know.
Again, she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I made him angry, and he reacted. It’s nothing. I thought about canceling today, but I had to see you.”
“You need to leave him. Now. Today.”
Another shake of her head.
