Page 77 of Another Love, Another Time
I turn on the light and lock the door. I’ve slowed down my drinking since I need to be able to drive home. I’ve been drinking water. I know Aunt Connie would let me crash here, or Mom could take me home. I’m starting to get tired. Logan will stay here as long as I want him too, but he has an early morning.
I flush the toilet and wash my hands. I’m caught off guard when the door pushes open and closes. I go to scream, but a handcovers my mouth. My heart thunders in my chest. I look up and see that it’s Auggie.
“Shh. Don’t scream. I’ve been trying to get you alone all night, and this is the first time I’ve had a chance.”
“What the hell, Auggie? What are we, five? If you wanted to talk, all you had to do was ask.”
“Sorry. I needed to get away from Melissa to explain.”
I cross my arms in a defensive mode and steady my breathing. “I would rather not. I’m really tired, and I just want to go home.”
“Just give me five minutes. I want to explain,” he pleads.
“You want to explain how the girl everyone calls ‘psycho’ is Melissa. The girl—”
“She’s not really that bad.” He cringes after he says it.
I scoff. “I see she still has you fooled.” I shake my head, done with this conversation. I don’t want to cry in front of him. “Out of everyone, you had to choose her.” I close my eyes to stop the tears from coming. I turn around so he doesn’t see.
He grabs my arm, but there is a knock on the door. “Just let me explain,” he pleads, but he’s interrupted.
“Auggie.” It’s Melissa. “Are you in there?” She knocks.
Auggie shakes his head, eyes wide, but I ignore him. “Yeah, he’s in here.” I’m mentally exhausted. I walk around him, unlock the door, and open it to come face-to-face with Melissa.
She doesn’t look too happy to see me in here with Auggie. Still, her lips turn up in a smirk as she looks straight at me, but I know she’s speaking to Auggie when she says, “Are you ready to go home?”
I look back at Auggie and give him a “what the fuck” look, but he’s not looking at me. He’s looking down at the floor.
I glare at Melissa, “You know what? That sounds like a wonderful idea. Good night, you two.”
I have to walk away before I break down. I didn’t know what I would come back to, but Melissa and Auggie living together—being together—was not it.
I think I made a mistake. I never should have come back.
Chapter 23
River
I wake up to my phone alerting me to a message. It had been buzzing constantly when I got home, so I decided I probably should turn it off if I was going to get some sleep. I had woken up in the middle of the night and turned it back on.
I have a slight headache, even though I took some Aleve with a full glass of water when I woke up. After I got home last night, I called Baxter. Luckily, he answered my call. He pushed me into talking to Auggie about everything and to quit putting it off. He reminded me of who I am and that I’m not a coward.
I close my eyes and let out an exhale. I quickly thank God for waking me up for another day. I’m in a hazy state, but I am already feeling and smelling the consequences of not following my nightly routine. I still have the layer of makeup on, and there is crust in the corners of my eyes. I can feel the pressure of my puffy eyes from all the crying I did. Worst of all, I can smell my own breath, like something crawled up in there and died.
The events of the night before come rushing back, and I can feel myself start to tear up again. It hurts to know he’s been with her, living with her, but what did I expect? I completely cut him out of my life.
I go back and forth from being mad at him to being pissed at myself. I guess I expected him to try harder.
I knew she would sink her claws into him and the lengths she would go to. I saw it at my dad’s funeral. I should have known it then, when he neglected to support me after my dad died.
I had thought I saw something in his eyes, like he wanted to talk to me as much as I needed him to. I guess I was wrong. So. Fucking. Wrong. I came back for him to build a relationship again.
Now that I know he’s with Melissa, I can’t live in the same town as him. My mom wants me here, but I can’t be here any longer.
Another text comes through while I’m unlocking my screen. It’s Auggie. I need to talk to him, but not in this state. Shower first, and then I’ll talk to Auggie.
I roll off the bed and drop down to the floor. Anything else would require too much work. I crawl to my bathroom. I know I’m being a little dramatic, but it’s only for myself to witness, so who cares?
