Page 119 of Another Love, Another Time
I push the food around with my fork. I’m hungry, but my appetite has vanished. I have a gut feeling that something is wrong. When I finally finish my food, he still hasn’t responded. Worry claws at me. Since I’ve been back, he usually responds immediately.
I decide to give him a call. It rings a couple of times, but he still doesn’t pick up. I feel like my guts are being shredded by anxiety.
Just as I hit the button to redial, I get an incoming call. It’s Mackey.
“Hey, have you seen Auggie? I’ve—”
He cuts me off, “River, he’s at the hospital.”
That’s all I hear before my phone falls from my hands.
Auggie
I can’t wait to get home to River. Home. I know she’s trying to keep her walls up, but I can see them slowly coming down. I’m earning her trust back a little bit more every day. I know she wanted to keep this professional, but with some of the voicemails Melissa’s been leaving, I don’t want River to be by herself. I’m sure she can defend herself, but I don’t want to take any chances.
River’s letting me stay in the guest room. I think she likes having me around. I get to spend my days and evenings with her. I just need to get her to trust me. Again. That will take time. I love her, and I’ll do anything for her. I’ll cut my mom out of my life if I have to.
River is cooking my favorite: enchiladas. She knows I’ll be running a little late. I have to meet my realtor over at my house. River is going to let me stay at her house until I can find another place. She’ll never step foot in my house since Melissa lived there. Keeping the house wasn’t even a question for me. I put it on the market almost immediately.
I’m hoping I can move into River’s house and never move out. I don’t want to leave.
When I pull up in the driveway, I see my realtor is already here. This house doesn’t feel like home, not like River’s. I haven’t been here much since Melissa moved out. I get out of my car and shake my realtor’s hand.
“Hey, thanks for meeting with me,” I tell him.
“No problem. That’s what I’m here for.”
“I guess so. I just need some input on staging and photos.” He nods.
“I can definitely help with that.” I walk towards the front door, and he follows close behind me. I’ve already given him a key, so he can start showing the house when needed. We go through each room and discuss the things that will need to go, what can stay, and if we will need to add anything. We talk about how easy it will be since I’m not staying here. We save the main bedroom until the end. We walk in, and I see Melissa standing there.
Melissa is lying on my bed with black lingerie on, and she looks to be sleeping. I clench my fists. “How the hell did she get in here?” I inwardly seethe. I changed the locks.
“Melissa!” I yell, not caring if she’s sleeping, but she doesn’t move. The realtor comes in, and his eyes widen. As I get closer to the bed, the scene unfolds. There is an empty pill bottle and a piece of paper in her hands.
I grip her cold shoulders and shake her. She’s not responsive. I grab my phone and dial 911. The realtor tries to leave, but I stop him, telling him he will need to stay to provide a statement.
~~
I’ve been at the hospital for at least an hour. Somehow, between calling 911 and getting in the ambulance to escort Melissa to the hospital, I lost my phone. I have no way to get hold of River. I’ve asked the doctor to contact her parents.
As soon as the ambulance arrived at the house, the paramedics checked for vitals. She had a faint pulse and made it to the hospital. A few of the guys from the department showed up before the ambulance left. I didn’t dare touch anything, including the note. I bet my left nut the letter was addressed to me.
“Who knows what she’s up to?” I wonder. “For all I know, she planned this whole thing to get my attention.”
When Melissa’s parents arrive, the nurse takes them back to her room. I don’t try to talk to them. After all, I don’t have anything to say to them. When I spoke with the nurse earlier, she told me Melissa was in stable condition. That’s all I care about. River has been working hard to build a case against her, and I want her to have her justice. It would be too easy if Melissa killed herself.
I’m about to use the phone at the nurse’s station to call River to come pick me up when Mackey and his partner walk up.
“Hey, I know it’s the last thing you want to do, but we need your statement.” Mackey stops when he reaches me. I didn’t give the guys at the house time to take my statement.
“You want to do this here, or take me down to the station?” I ask.
“I’ll see if they have a room we can use,” Mackey’s partner tells me.
A few moments later, he finds a room. Before I start heading in that direction, I turn to Mackey. “Hey, I lost my phone somewhere, and I can’t find it. I was supposed to be home already, but…” I fling my arms out to gesture at this mess.
“Look at you being all domestic and shit.” Mackey sets a fist on his hip. “I’ll give her a call to let her know where you are while you give your statement.” He dials her number and stands in the hallway. I wait with him and hear the beginning of their conversation. Then, his brow knits.
