Page 72 of Saltwater Memories
But not wanting that anymore, and not needing him? It was so liberating. Amanda felt like she could run out of the house, jump into Haro Strait and swim clear to Victoria.
Not that she was going to do that, of course. She had work to do, and her boss was annoyed that she’d changed her plans about coming into the office. Amanda didn’t care – she was using the spare time that she would’ve used commuting to apply to new jobs.
Rupert tried calling once more, but Amanda didn’t answer. Around noon, she got a call from an unknown number. Thinking that it might be a client, she answered it, only to find that it was Rupert. Again.
“Bet you didn’t expect that,” he said quickly.
“What? What are you talking about?”
He laughed. “There’s another man, isn’t there?”
Amanda wasn’t sure how to answer that. Technically therewasanother man, even if the man in question didn’t know it. “It doesn’t matter, does it Rupert?”
“Of course it matters. I wouldn’t have let you go out with other men if I knew that you were going to turn your back on me.”
Now it was Amanda’s turn to laugh. “Letme? You don’t own me. And just becauseyoudidn’t want to commit to me, doesn’t mean that nobody does.”
“Very smart, go ahead and just rush into a new relationship because I hurt your overly-sensitive feelings.”
Amanda let out a sigh. She was wrong to assume that Rupert would let her go easily. It seemed he still liked her – or at least, he liked having power over her. “Okay Rupert. Goodbye again.”
She set down her phone a little too hard. His comments stung, but when she took the time to examine them, his argument fell apart.
Silly Rupert seemed to think he had some claim on her – a right to keep her waiting around and hopeful. How was Jade able to see it so clearly before, while she’d totally missed it?
Jade was right, of course – Amanda had accepted that kind of treatment from him because she didn’t think that she deserved better. She never spelled it out, but it was true. Her insecurities kept her questioning herself instead of questioning him – and her entire life suffered for it.
She managed to get back into work until a bit before three when her phone rang again. Amanda let out a dramatic sigh.
Another unknown number. She wasn’t going to answer it if he was just going to berate her more.
The phone rang again and again – each time from a different number. How was he getting all of these numbers? Amanda silenced her phone, determined to ignore him.
She returned to work and after about ten minutes, Jade walked into her room.
“Hey, Amanda?”
She looked up from her laptop. “What’s up?”
“I…have a phone call for you.”
Amanda frowned. How had Rupert gotten Jade’s phone number? “Are you serious? Tell him that he needs to cool down.”
Jade raised an eyebrow. “Uh, Uncle Mike, are you still there?”
“Wait,” Amanda held up a hand. “I thought it was Rupert, sorry.”
“Rupert? No – it’s my Uncle Mike. He said it’s an emergency.”
Amanda outstretched a hand. “Sorry about that, I’ll take his call.” She cleared her throat. “Mike?”
“What’s with you not answering your phone?” he said. “I’ve been trying to call you for the last twenty minutes.”
She groaned. “I know, I’m sorry. I thought it was my ex-boyfriend.”
“Listen, Lenny is coming back to the island.”
Amanda felt a shiver. “Why? When?”
