Page 143 of Every Broken Promise
My weekend from hell was another unsavory learning experience. There were many things I could have done differently, but I had woken up in what should’ve been the safety of my room with a stranger in my room, so excuse me if I didn’t think rationally.
When the cops came, I listened to hear if there were any women on the staff, but when they told me none were available, I refused to come out. I wasn’t about to trust men I didn’t know. I didn’t care if they had a badge, not after I heard Ronnie joke that women were very emotional, and a few laughed.
That’s all I needed to know; my life was not safe in their hands. I’d rather be overdramatic and alive than too trusting and dead.
Tyler texting me to let me know he was coming and to stay locked inside was all the encouragement I needed.
I was so grateful to him. When he told me he believed me, and trusted me, it made me fall even more in love with him, which was something I didn’t think could be possible since I had been filling my “I love Tyler Kane” jar since kindergarten.
I loved him so much I wasn’t too pissed at him for getting arrested right after getting me out of the bathroom. It was gratifying to see the shiner that started to form on Ronnie’s face. Luckily, Max was able to persuade Ronnie that pressing charges wouldn’t be in his favor. And by persuasion, I mean threats were heavily implied.
As for Ronnie, he got a slap on the wrist. There was a lot of ‘he said, she said,’ but, ultimately, not much could be done. He broke into my room but didn’t harm me, so what could they do? That made me so fucking angry, because what was he supposed to do then? Assault me physically or sexually for me to be taken seriously? The legal system failed women, and I was nothing more than a statistic.
The only justice I got was that he got fired fromThe Willow Grove Herald. We had a replacement editor, and Orianna was made junior editor, which was amazing, especially since she was supportive of my “Around Town with Hart” column.
Orianna was also the one to break the story on Ronnie, along with a retraction of the smear article that came out about the Kanes. I wasn’t mentioned, but it was implied that he had been jealous of one of his coworkers being romantically involved with a Kane brother.
After being fired from his job and then exposed for being anonymous, Ronnie no longer had a place in the county. Not having to see him anymore brought me peace, and I could live with that.
By the time I arrived in town, I was out of breath.
Before going to see Lupe atDelicia’s, I headed straight to Divine Corner so I could greet Simone. Before going in, I looked at the tarot card of the day just for fun. The card depicted a naked woman wrapped in cloth, with four zodiac symbols at each corner.The World.
Next to it, the description read:You have now come full circle. You have accomplished your goals, and everything has come together.
Okay, sure, why not? I’ll take it.
I opened the door and headed straight for the counter, shouting Simone’s name. It shouldn’t have been a shock to see Collin there talking to her, they were siblings after all. He immediately stiffened upon seeing me.
I tentatively waved at him.
“Hey, Astrid…um…how are you? I’m sorry about what happened,” he stammered. “Did Ty tell you?”
Okay, this was as awkward for him as it was for me.
“Yeah, I can do coffee maybe tomorrow?”
He seemed relieved by this.
Simone, bless her heart, didn’t comment on anything.
“Came to finally let me do your tarot reading?”
“That’s my cue to leave.” Collin knocked on the counter and said his goodbyes.
As he walked away, I told Simone a reading wouldn’t be needed.
“I’m not too worried about the future. Whatever happens, I know it’s going to be good,” I told her.
Apparently, I was the only one who felt that way about life because a few seconds later, Luna came barreling inside, yelling.
“You told me my luck would be changing this week, and quite the opposite has happened.”
Simone laughed as we both turned to look at a distraught Luna.
After shootingthe shit with them for a while, Luna dropped me off at my house. Which I didn’t mind, as I had done my walking for the day. When I saw the moving company outside of Rachel’s house, I immediately felt sad.
When she told me she would be moving, I pushed it to the back of my mind, deciding to deal with it when the time came—and here we were, and I had not dealt with it. The paperwork she had given me was still on top of my drawer untouched.
