Page 47 of Beneath the Midnight Sky
I didn’t bother trying to unlock the door that I knew wouldn’t be locked. Sam had a bad habit of smoking too much and forgetting that we didn’t live in the best spot in town.
I opened the door and walked in, trying not to gag over the array of smells that hit me.
“Sam?” I yelled through the apartment.
Noises from the bedroom drew my attention, and I swallowed thickly. Standing in the middle of the living room, I stared at the door in front of me. The door that went to our shared bedroom. I couldn’t breathe past the sense of doom filling my chest right now.
Doom for my relationship.
Doom for the life I was trying to build for myself.
Because I’d walked in on those sounds plenty of times with him before over the years we’d spent together. So, I just didn’t—I didn’t walk in. I stood there and waited like the dumb bitch he always called me.
Maybe I was a dumb bitch after all, because when they finally stopped making noises and the leggy blonde walked out of the bedroom, I didn’t say a word.
When Sam walked out and smiled a few minutes later, I still didn’t say a word.
I walked into the bedroom and stared at the messed-up sheets, the smell of sex and pot still heavy in the air. The sense of betrayal I should feel over this situation, gone, replaced instead by a sense of…numbness. I should care, right? I should be crying or angry or throwing things like Sam did when I said something I shouldn’t, or had a tone, or was too tired to have sex with him.
That was more than likely why the leggy blonde was even here, because I’d been so goddamn tired lately. Too tired to even notice how I made my boyfriend of five years miserable.
I turned and walked out of the room, staring at Sam. He was sitting on the couch, and I hadn’t even noticed until now that the leggy blonde wasstillhere. Sitting on the couch that I paid for, in the apartment that I paid for, using the electricity that I paid for, next to the man who didn’t pay for any of those things.
“Sam, I’m done,” I said, my voice stronger than I anticipated it being, given the current situation.
He looked up from his phone, the blonde next to him looked between us, eyes wide. “Are you two together? I thought you said she was your roommate. What the fuck, Sam!” She jumped up off my couch, grabbed what I would assume were the rest of her clothes and cell phone before leaving—the front door slammed behind her.
Sam’s face went from somewhat shocked to rage-filled in a matter of moments. “You stupid bitch! Why do you always have to make shit about you?” I went from thinking about how I was going to get my things packed and my name off the lease, to seeing stars.
I would forever be this man’s punching bag if I didn’t find a way to leave, and as I lay there on the dirty apartment floor, Ithought about which highway direction I’d take to get the fuck out of this shitty city.
Ivy pulling awayfrom the embrace she had me stuck in brought me back to the present.
“Come on, we need to call the police and then you can stay at my place while we get this shit straightened out,” she said, wiping the tears from her face. I just nodded in response as she pulled out her phone, dialing the sheriff's office.
The next hour and a half was spent answering questions.Who do you think did this? Why would he do that? When was the last time you heard from him? What brought this on? Are you seeing anyone new? Why would he come out of the blue after almost eight months?
All things I’d answered before—different sheriff's office, different officer, same questions, same responses.
I had pushed all my anxiety and feelings of dread deep down into a box and shoved the box under the bed of my subconscious. I was numb again and just gliding through the motions. Nothing mattered right now.
Let him come. Maybe he’ll finally finish the job this time.
I shook my head, trying to bring my mind away from those thoughts as Ivy drove us back to her place. I briefly heard her on the phone with Todd, telling him that no, they couldn’t hang out tonight. That she had other pressing matters.
That was me—pressing matters. Something that pulled her away from her boyfriend. Something to inconvenience him and drive an unnecessary wedge between them.
“Ivy, don’t worry about it. Don’t cancel your plans,” I said quietly.
“Aspen, you can’t stay at your place. It’s a crime scene, and it isn’t safe. You’re coming back with me,” she said, holding the still-active phone toward her shoulder.
I shook my head, deciding on a plan while I spoke. I knew I couldn’t go to her house. I couldn’t put her in that situation, not if this was how Sam was acting.
“Don’t. Just drop me off at Rowan’s,” I said calmly—detached.
She stared at me for a moment; uncertainty clear on her face. “Are you sure? I thought you two had gotten into a fi?—”
“Nope, everything is fine. Drive me over there, please. Keep your plans with Todd. It’s all good.” I looked down at my phone, sending him a quick text while Ivy told Todd she’d see him in a little bit.
