Page 57 of You Were Invited
Annie pleaded as a line of waiters stretched across the restaurant and bellied up the bar; they passed forward tumbler after neat tumbler of Jack. Bar patrons turned to gawk. The older man sharing her table drank like he was a camel at an oasis. Slithers of liquor ran down his fleshy chin from the corners of his mouth. He licked it up with his thick tongue, eyes rolling in his head, before he grabbed the light beer she’d ordered for herself and threw it back in one gulp.
“Daddy! Stop, please!” The older man didn’t specifically look like her father, but it washim.
“You tellin’ Daddy he can’t have just one more?” belched the man. His body began to quiver and grow as if his flesh was that of a water balloon. Liquid sloshed beneath his skin.
“You’re killing yourself!”
“Beer chasers! Keep it comin’!”
Bar patrons shrieked and tripped over each other. Annie tumbled off her chair. She cowered. With each round, her father’s bodyand hands widened and fattened. Soon, the foaming mugs were proportioned like shot glasses. His girth swelled in the chair beneath him. With a loud crunch, its legs snapped.
Annie blinked. Now the roof itself could no longer contain her father. His legs stretched out, rushing across the floor. Fear filled her veins – hot and stinging. She crawled backwards, arm up to shield her face. “Stop!” Her muscles were sluggish. His foot slammed into her body, pinning her to the bar wall–
“Fuck!”
Cursing, Annie woke up. A groan escaped her. She heaved a breath, rolled onto her back, and rested the crook of her elbow over her forehead. Her pillow and face were damp with tears. She swallowed thickly. The sour taste in her cotton-filled mouth made her sick to her stomach.
She hadn’t dreamed of her father in over a year. Hot tears ran down her cheeks and she let out a sob.
She’d wanted Julian. Talked herself into givingthema chance.
Despite the odds that faced them.
It was as if they had been strolling along in a park, arm in arm, only to have a fanged snake launch itself at her ankle. She thought she’d put the pain of her childhood behind her, but her wounds were still too tender.
That damn confession…
She'd felt sick asking him to leave, but was she going to break down and rage at him? Hell no. It angered her that he’d held his past back from her. Part of her understood why he’d neglected to tell her such a thing; however, the other half, the half that yearned for him, had slipped into a deep channel, churning with hatred, disappointment, and sadness.
With Chris, she was overwhelmingly stupid for ignoring the warning signs for so long– the binge drinking, him missingwork, letting his health go down the shitter, ignoring her pleas to cut back– but she was glad she’d finally seen ‘em and left. Was she a straight-up magnet for alcoholics?I hope not. I’ll move to a cave in the mountains if I attract another one.Albeit... Julian had conquered his biggest demon. But she could never trust that he’d beaten it for good.
Early dawn light came in through the window of the bedroom. Too distraught to go back to sleep, Annie washed her face and grabbed a bowl of leftover pasta for breakfast. She nibbled on a few penne before setting the bowl aside.
And what little of an appetite did she have vanished when an email popped up on her work computer. It was from Christopher. She growled and opened it. Luckily, it was short.
To: Annie Turner
From: [email protected]
Subject: Come get your stuff
When are u coming to get your stuff?? I can’t look at it anymore.
Her heart ached, and a bit of uneasiness threatened to trigger another panic attack. She couldn’t run from reality forever. She had nothing to fear from Chris, but she knew a better person would’ve broken up with him in person, instead of from two hours away after sneaking out in the middle of the night. It had been over a week. He had a right to be angry with her.
From: Annie Turner
Subject: I’ll come get mystuff
Chris,
I’ll get my things this weekend. I’ll text you when. I’d appreciate it if you weren’t home when I’m there, so please make a plan to be out for a few hours.
Annie
After a few minutes, he responded.
