Page 27 of Sweet Escape

“That’s what you keep saying.” I stroll down the street, heading toward the Firehouse but without any real direction. “I personally don’t think it’s ridiculous to ignore someone’s calls after catching them cheatingin my own fucking bed.”

Theo sighs. “It didn’t mean anything, okay? Besides, we hadn’t had sex in months.”

“Didn’tmeananything? She’s your ex. Ofcourseit meant something. And the fact we hadn’t slept together in months is irrelevant. Every couple goes through periods like that, and you know what helps? Time together. Date nights.Notsleeping with your ex.”

“It was familiar, Vi. That’s all. You know how I feel about you.”

“Do I? Because I thought you loved me. I thought we were in a committed relationship. And clearly, I was wrong on both counts.” I chuck my barely touched coffee into a trash can, needing the release of throwing something.

“Come on, baby. Come home. We can talk about this. You and me ... We’re meant to be together.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it, Theo. ‘You and me’ were over the second you decided that it was okay to put your dick into someone else.”

He groans. “Look, tell me where to meet you so we can talk, okay? Or at least tell me when you’ll be home.”

“I’ve gone on vacation for two weeks, Theo, so let it go. Your stuff is with the super. Just collect it and let’s be done.”

“Two weeks?”

“And please stop calling and texting me. I’m not going to pick up, and I’m not going to respond. We’re over.”

I hang up the phone, my heart pounding angrily in my chest.

Not just in my chest. I can feel it thumping everywhere. In my fingers and at my neck. In my knees, even.

I wasn’t expecting to be so enraged after speaking with him. At hearing his voice.

And at the same time, I knew I would be.

I’ve spent years hearing that voice. Listening to the words that came out of that mouth. Laughing at the stories that rolled off that tongue.

Too bad it was forked in two.

Too bad it belonged to a snake.

Too fucking bad I didn’t know it until after I’d already been bit.

Most of the day goes by in a blur, and I don’t write a single word.

I don’t even take notes.

After that messed-up phone call to Theo, I sat outside to people watch, but inspiration failed me.

Then I got lunch at The Carlisle—a chicken pesto panini that should have rocked my world but didn’t because I was too distracted to appreciate it.

Finally, I went on a drive. That’s what finally pulled me out of my funk.

When you’re a kid growing up in LA, going on a drive means sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. So when I finally discovered the magic of road trips in areas where there wasn’t a constant Carmageddon, I was hooked.

Road trips became my jam.

Today, it cleansed something as I listened to an angry playlist I found on Spotify. I rocked out with the music on blast, drove with the windows down, and sang at the top of my lungs. I didn’t know half of the songs, many of them having been made popular when I was still in diapers. But the vibes were right, and I knew at least some of the lyrics. Like always, it fed something in my soul.

And even though I’m still plagued with questions—about my breakup, about the future, about the next chapter of my life—something that was sitting on my chest after I got off the phone has finally been purged.

Which is why I’m able to take a shower, do my hair and my makeup, and head to The Standard for a drink as the day comes to an end, with a promise to myself that I willnothave another hangover tomorrow.

Murphy talked about this bar all the time back in LA, to the point that it feels familiar when I walk inside. There’s nothing particularly special about it. There’s a pinball machine, a pool table, and a dart board to the left, and a handful of booths and open tables to the right. A bar stretches along most of the back wall. It’s the kind of town centerpiece that you see in TV shows and movies, and the perfect place to spend an evening.

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