Page 61 of The Monster I Loved
After my mother’s death, Summer had consoled me in the same way. Her words had brought me some comfort. In truth, without them, I don’t know what I would have done. I’d hung on to them for dear life. I’d believed that as long as I had Summer, I could get through anything.
Perhaps some things were destined not to change. Beneath all the anger, the old Summer I used to love still existed.
My body tightened. Summer had been there for me even after what her dad did. Now, another question made my chest tighten. Did she have anyone to console her the same way she did for me when I killed Clive?
“I want to go home,” Wylie whispered, and I finally found my voice.
“Your parents are on the way.”
As the words fell from my lips, Ashley screeched, “Wylie!”
“Over here,” I yelled.
Together, she and Henry sprinted toward us at full speed. Ashley scooped up her son and hugged him tightly, tears streaming from her eyes, and Henry waited his turn with trembling hands and shaky breaths. Their lips moved about a mile a minute, but I couldn’t hear a word either said as another train pulled into the station. The sound of the horn and the screech from the brakes were overpowering. The platform shook beneath my feet.
Summer and I stepped back to let the family reunite. Hundreds of people exited the train, most unaware of the disaster we’d averted. One of them was Felix, who walked right into the reunion, relief written all over his face. “Thank God you found him. I was so worried. I had to wait for the next train to get here, and it felt like forever.”
Like a vulture, he hovered nearby as Ashley and Henry spoke to Wylie. I was just about to tell him to give them some room when Summer grabbed my arm. “Don’t.”
Don’t what?
It seemed she could read my mind. “Start a fight with Felix. He cares just as much as you do.”
Yeah, about different people, but she was right.
“I wasn’t,” I lied.
Summer raised a brow at me. “Don’t forget, I know you.”
As I replayed her words in my mind, the reunion ended. Henry held Wylie and thanked us all, while Ashley filled Felix in on what he missed.
Minutes later, I watched Henry and his broken family drive away up the hill. I looked over at Summer, who jumped into Felix’s car, which he parked at the station daily and caught the train. The crisis was over, so, like boxers, we returned to our assigned corners of the ring. Tomorrow, or any day after, a bell would ring, and we’d come out swinging once again.
I shrugged and crawled my way up the hill, which hadn’t felt this difficult going down. At the midway point, I paused, partly to regain my breath, but mostly to take a moment to marvel at the miracle that Summer and I had put our differences aside to help when it mattered. It was something at least.
I wasn’t certain what, but even I had to admit to being pleasantly surprised.
As expected,things went back to normal the next day. I gave Henry a quick call to check in on him after the terrors of yesterday, and they’d all calmed right down. Sometimes it felt lonely eating breakfast alone in a big house. So, I decided to goon a jog, which, thanks to the hills in Tarrytown, would burn enough calories to earn me a bagel and cream cheese from the coffee shop. While locked in prison, I’d worked out twice a day. There was nothing else to do. Since I’d been home, other than sex and or a morning swim, I didn’t go out of my way to exercise. Walking slowly back up the hill, I enjoyed my bagel and observed all the decorations displayed on the front of every house. The neighborhood looked different on foot than when driving past in a hurry. Especially now, when all the houses were decked out for Halloween. Cloth ghosts hung from trees, while bats swung from porch lights. I smiled at the skeletons that stuck out from behind the hedges. An idea for one of my Halloween costumes came to me. As I continued toward my house, I waved at a few of my neighbors and returned my attention to the spooky outdoor décor. The carved pumpkins on every single porch during my walk seemed to be the one must-have item of the season. Some jack-o’-lanterns were smiling; others looked frightening, each with its plastic candles still on, competing with the sunlight. Further down the driveway, I noticed Melissa’s sports car and sighed. Deep down, I knew what I had to do, but I was dragging my feet. I considered jogging back down the hill, away from my house. But I couldn’t hide from the woman forever. I braced myself and pushed the door open. When I walked in, I followed the sound of the television, knowing that was where I’d find her. The news reporters were discussing the upcoming Tarrytown Halloween parade, and Melissa shook her head in disgust.
“What are you doing here?” I asked weakly.
She turned around and turned off the television. “Well, you’ve been avoiding me, but I want to pin you down so we can talk. The wedding planner?—”
“Be serious, Mimi. You must know by now I’m not marrying you.” It probably came out a little sharper than I meant it to.
Best to rip the Band-Aid off in one quick pull.
Rising to her feet, Mimi faked shock. “You’d rather pass on a million-dollar inheritance than marry me?”
“I’ll get what’s mine. I just don’t need you.”
A vein popped in Melissa’s forehead. She clenched both hands into fists. “I knew it from the very beginning.”
“Yes. You did. I never told you any lies about loving you.”
Mimi’s face softened. “Your father won’t agree. He wants us to get married.”
“Melissa, go marry my father, then. I’m not interested.”
