Page 23 of The Monster I Loved
The alcohol clouding my judgment made that seem like a great idea.
“See you at the end!” She kissed me on the cheek and turned to the left.
I took the route to the right.
Soon, tall, dried stalks surrounded me. They were maybe seven- or eight-feet high. They blocked out the late afternoon light in a way that didn’t seem possible. It was quiet in the maze. Most adults had already brought their children during the daytime, or those without kids had come to drink and spent very little time in the maze itself.
I decided to let Lily win. There was no way I’d run around the maze like an idiot. My feet made crunching strides. I went straight ahead until I came to a fork in the road. I vaguely remembered something about always turning the same direction in order to escape a maze, but where was the fun in that?
Choices. Choices. Left. Why not?
I continued on my way, occasionally bumping into other solo travelers or groups of people eager to make their way to the finish line. I was drunk. Beer goggles had descended over my eyes. I felt unsteady but happy. I was once a capable drinker. I could drink the best of them under the table, but years of forced sobriety had ruined my alcohol tolerance. At least I wasn’t falling-down drunk.
I lost track of where I’d already explored. Each turn was a blur.
At this rate, Lily was probably already on the outside, waiting impatiently to brag about winning. Shaking my head, I hurried along; a few steps, then a turn right. A couple more steps, then left.
Ouch.
“Can’t you watch where you’re going?”
Time stood still as my stomach churned.
What were the odds?
My muscles stiffened. I would recognize that voice anywhere. The one laced in venom, that caused my ear to ring and my insides to curl.
“Summer, if you were watching where you were going, we wouldn’t have run into each other.”
She growled something under her breath before saying, “Typical of you to blame someone else. Yeah, of course this is my fault and not yours.”
Damn, was she always this annoying, or did she learn this in the last ten years? “I don’t have time for this, my sister is waiting.”
She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Fine. I don’t have time either.”
This was childish. “Were you always so immature? Thank God we never got married.”
Drunk or not, I could see the flicker of anger in her eyes. Maybe I’d gone too far, though I was just being honest. A lifetime married to Summer had once felt like something that would be the greatest honor, and now it seemed a fate worse than death.Still.
“Fuck you.”
Her hand collided with my cheek. A sudden rush of pain washed over me. I felt a storm growing inside. If I hit her back,everyone would think I was an even bigger monster than the town expected. I would not hit a fucking woman.
Glaring at Summer, I noticed a slight tremble in her hand, as if it had suddenly occurred to her she should’ve been worried about what my reaction might be. I couldn’t understand her. Every time I saw her, there was a new problem. Why did she have this burning need to act like she was the only person in the entire world who was suffering?
A group of teenagers rounded the corner, laughing. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw us. They recognized me. How could they not? I was famous.
They put their heads down and continued on their way, whispering under their breath.
Regaining my composure, I took a deep breath. “Don’t let that shit happen again. If you can’t control your temper, take your childish self back to therapy.”
A flicker of recognition. Probably wondering how I guessed she went to therapy. Not in any mood to explain further, I sidestepped her and marched away.
The slap had sobered me up enough to know it was time to walk away. I marched through the rest of the maze, deep in thought. How fucking dare she? The first time she’d touched me in years, and it was a slap. I desperately tried to convince myself that the heat growing on my cheek was from the pain and not something else.
6
TAINTED LOVE
