Page 3 of The Winning Ticket

My back seat and boot are piled high with suitcases and boxes, and I see a little bowl of water on the floor of the front passenger seat before noticing an envelope sitting on the driver’s seat.

With a shaking hand, I reach across the seats and pick up the envelope, a wave of nausea rolling through me. I lean against the side of the car, the sound of rustling paper the only thing I can hear over the sound of my heart pounding in my ears.

Brianna,

This isn’t working. I didn’t think there was any point in dragging it out anymore. You know how much I suck at goodbyes. I’ve changed the locks, and all your stuff is in the car. I’ve made sure I’ve packed everything so that it’s a clean break. I’m taking Michelle to Thailand now, seeing as it was a work trip for me anyway. I’ve paid for a couple of nights for you at a pet-friendly hotel while you work out where you’re going to live now. Michelle has emailed the info to you. I hope there are no hard feelings. This just isn’t right for either of us anymore.

Take care,

Richard

I stare at the letter while the horror of my situation fully sets in.

He’s left me.

No, correction – he’s kicked me out of his apartment – the apartment that, for four years, he has insisted was my home after convincing me to move in with him. He took that last little bit of independence I had left and pulled me entirely into his world of money and prestige – a world in which I have never felt entirely at home, but let him convince me that I belong.

I hug Maddie tightly to me while tears start rolling down my face, and I can feel my chest begin to tighten. I haven’t had a panic attack for a while, but I know the signs. I fold myself into the passenger seat while Maddie tries to comfort me, licking my cheek and pushing her head against my neck. I’m surprised she isn’t yelping with how tightly I squeeze her little white furry body. Still, she continues to cuddle in close when my hair falls over us both in a wave, and I rock back and forth in my seat, trying to ride out the dizziness and the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. I start to shake uncontrollably and feel like I can’t breathe, and I squeeze my eyes shut as colours start to dance across my vision.

Today was meant to be a good day.

“Brianna? Is everything okay?” Charity appears next to my car, her eyes wide.

She stares down at me curled up in the passenger seat, with Maddie gripped tightly to my chest.

I struggle to answer and hand her the letter, the paper flapping in my shaking hand. She scans the words, her eyebrows shooting up higher and higher. Once she finishes, she stares at me, her mouth opening and closing.

“That fucking bastard!” She finally exclaims, smacking her hand against the roof of my car, causing Maddie and I to jump. “Who the fuck does that? I swear, when I see him next, he is a dead man.”

I can’t even form a response, still just trying to get my anxiety under control, and her expression softens.

“Hey, Brianna. Look at me. I want you to tell me five things you can see.” She crouches down beside my open door.

I struggle to breathe but force myself to try and focus. “I can see… I see your blonde hair. Your car. The wall. My dashboard. That damn letter…” I nod towards the letter still gripped in her hand.

“Good. Now, take a deep breath. What are five things you can hear?” She stares at me intently, nodding when I draw in a shaky breath.

“I can hear the garage door opening. Maddie’s breathing.” I squeeze my eyes shut again but try to focus my attention on sounds outside of my own heartbeat thundering in my ears. “Water dripping… The elevator moving… And a car alarm going off.”

Charity nods again and squeezes my hand.

“I am so sorry, Bri. What can I do? Do you want to stay with us until you work out what you’re going to do? I can probably get someone in to change the locks on your apartment again - give the prick a taste of his own medicine.”

I shake my head violently and gulp down a breath of air.

“No, I’ll be okay.” I don’t even recognise my own voice.

She raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure? What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper, beginning to rock back and forth in my seat again.

She squeezes my hand again. “Bri, look at me.” I force myself to look at her. “You’re going to be okay. He is an asshole, but you are strong. You will get through this. Can I call anyone for you?”

Before now, I would never have thought Charity was capable of such compassion, and I feel bad for writing her off as shallow in the past.

I take a few deep breaths and let each one out slowly before responding. “I just need to get out of here. But thank you, Charity. Truly.”

She squeezes my hand before standing back up. She reluctantly agrees to leave me to gather myself alone, but not before insisting on giving me her number and making me promise to let her know once I’m settled somewhere. Once she heads back upstairs, I let my head drop back against the car seat and allow the tears to flow.

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