Page 31 of The Monster I Loved
I walked in the opposite direction. I wasn’t aware of Ashley and Felix following me until we reached the sidewalk.
“We didn’t mean for it to happen,” Ashley said, even though I didn’t ask. How could they do this to Henry? Seething fury shot through me. I was just as upset as Thaddeus, even if I was less inclined to punch anyone.
“I don’t want to hear it. It’s a really shitty thing to do.” I got in my car without another word, leaving them standing in my wake. As I drove home, I thought of Thaddeus. How quickly he’d jumped to his friend’s defense. That was on-brand for him. Some things never changed. He was loyal to the people he loved, except me. Thaddeus would always fight for the underdog, the little guy. So why now was he allowing his father’s company to ruin so many lives? His mom went out of her way to raise him to do the right thing. Every interaction with Thaddeus brought along conflicting feelings. Concern, fear, anger, guilt, and something deeper. Something I refused to acknowledge.
At The Rose Diner,I sat by the window with Eden as I caught her up on the Felix and Ashley drama. The scent of frying bacon and cinnamon pancakes hung in the air, mingling with the warmth of the heater kicking on near our feet.
She continued to flip through her laminated menu, which curled slightly at the corner, like I hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary. I stared at her briefly but didn’t speak because besideus a waitress in a pumpkin-orange shirt topped off the coffee of a customer. When she stepped away, I jumped back in.
“Eden. Did you hear what I said?”
“Henry cheated first,” Eden said.
My eyes bulged in disbelief. “What?”
“Yeah. There’s another woman. I heard it had been going on for years.”
“Years?” I repeated, just to make sure I’d heard correctly.
Initially, Eden didn’t speak. Instead, her eyes locked onto mine, steady and unwavering. “Years!”
I wasn’t in the habit of being surprised by the actions of men, not after Thaddeus. However, Henry surprised me. I’d hung out with the couple for years, and not once had I suspected that he was a lying piece of shit.
I looked out the large window we sat against, watching the cars zip by as I tried to process what she’d said. Our friend group would never be the same again. Well, it wouldn’t have been anyway, with the murderer coming home, but this was another nail in the coffin.
“Summer, do you want to share a stack of pancakes?”
Looking at Eden, I hesitated. “No, I’ll have my own.”
“I feel sorry for Wylie.”
Eden’s words received nothing but a nod from me. Henry hadn’t just ruined his marriage; the family Ashley wanted for Wylie was gone too. Well, it seemed she’d bounced back just fine after what I’d witnessed last night. To think I’d immediately sided with Thaddeus over Felix and Ashley. Ugh! I didn’t even let my friends explain. I owed them an apology.
Eden took a sip of wine. “I didn’t expect this from Henry.”
My eyes flashed at her. “Why not? In the end, Henry is just another disappointing man.” I took a sip from my glass. “His proximity to that piece of trash probably didn’t help matters much. Thad had to rub off on him eventually.”
Eden laughed.
During the rest of the meal, we dissected all the times we’d hung out with the couple and hadn’t known what was going on behind the scenes.Later, we hugged goodbye and promised to stay in touch, but both of us knew it probably wouldn’t happen. Henry and Ashley were the nucleus of our friend group after Thaddeus and I broke up. Now, there was too much anger and resentment, so just like at the Halloween dinner, we’d split into two. The cracks in our friendship group were structural, detrimental, not just surface-level.
On the drive home, I seethed. Men were all jerks hiding in plain sight. When I exited my car, I looked over at Henry and Ashley’s house. For a long time, I’d envied them for what they had.
Shaking my head, I walked past my underwhelming Halloween jack-o’-lanterns and tethered ghosts on the porch. I still hadn’t bought any candy. I added it to my mental to-do list.
As I shut the door behind me, an idea crept into my head.
We needed to make men pay.
Too often, they disappointed us, and then just moved on unscathed. I took Henry’s deception personally. It was almost as if Thaddeus had screwed me all over again. I wasn’t going to let the bastard win over the Starlight building. Men needed to be put in their place.
Reinvigorated, I spent hours searching the legal aid contact list for a savior. I needed somebody rich. Somebody who could save the building and allow the residents to live there safely. It was a big ask. Saving the building would cost a hell of a lot more than tearing it down, and there were no profits in that. I’d already gone through the list multiple times, but maybe there was somebody I missed. A family I didn’t notice previously, one that could stop the Fitzgeralds from winning.
Charity for the rich was often just a tax break. All I needed was one so successful they could use some losses to pay less in taxes and, in return, look like humanitarians to those who didn’t understand the complex details. I zeroed in on the Jonas family. As much as I disliked Brit, her family had the potential to be useful to me.
I placed a few phone calls in an attempt to reach Mr. Jonas, managing only to speak to his staff. Initially, I was told to get lost, politely, but I persisted. I had an in with the Jonas family, my dad once drove Mr. Jonas. He sent flowers when my dad died. I remembered the email he’d sent offering his condolences. It had been cold, I’d thought. His assistant had probably written it, but it had ended with, “Don’t be afraid to reach out if you need anything.” I was hoping he meant that.
What I needed could help both of us. I was cashing in my favor. I searched my older emails. Thankfully, I never deleted anything, so I found Mr. Jonas’s condolences after Dad died. I copied the email address. I wasn’t getting anywhere with his employees. Maybe I would have better luck if I contacted him directly. I paced my living room until I got a reply. He was interested! The newspaper reports of his company’s success were correct, and the man could use a few large tax write-offs. I did it. I found a way to save the building. And the tenants’ homes, and, the icing on the cake...
