Page 36 of Don't Leave Me
“I’m going to go,” I announced, feeling like I was on the precipice of something large. Like some internal explosion that would alter the substance of my organs. Reshape them, to make more room inside me.
“Okay,” she said quickly, standing as I did. She walked me to my truck, and, once I was behind the wheel, she asked. “So, you’ll call? Or something?”
“Or something,” I told her.
I started my truck and pulled out of the driveway, looking at her the entire time. Her hands were clasped together, and her pixie blond hair was tucked behind her ears. She didn’t look old enough to be someone’s mother.
I knew differently. She was my son’s mother.
* * *
Marc
“We’ve got a nice little rental on Pear Street,” Molly said, tapping on her computer. After leaving Ash, I’d found a real estate agency in the area who handled rentals. Molly, an older woman with glaring red lipstick, introduced herself, and here I was, looking at properties on a second monitor.
“How close is that to this address?” I asked, showing her Ashleigh’s address on my phone.
“Just around the corner. You’ll basically be neighbors.”
“When is the place available?”
“I’ll call the owner, but my guess is, he can have it ready for you by tomorrow. It’s been sitting for a bit, and he’s anxious to rent it. I’ll draw up the paperwork for you. How long are you looking for?”
“Month to month,” I said.
“That’s fine, it just comes with a two-month deposit in that case. Is that okay?”
“Yes, no problem.”
“Excellent. Let me make a quick call.”
I got up from the seat and let her do her thing. I still had money from my construction work that would get me through a few months of rent, and by that time, I would have another job that paid.
I’d already put a call in to Stan to see if he had some side work available, and he did. A couple divorcées who wanted their ex-spouses followed. Not exactly what I thought I’d be doing with my Princeton degree, but it didn’t matter, as long as I had a roof over my head and food to eat.
It occurred to me, the enormity of what Ash had faced when she left Evan. No résumé, no job experience, no college courses, just a semester at a finishing school, of all things. Add to that, she was pregnant, alone. In order to escape, she’d had to leave everyone in her life behind her, permanently.
“How fucking brave was she?” I muttered, as I tried to put myself in her situation. I’d spent so much time wanting to save Ash, needing to save Ash.
Ash had saved herself, and she’d done it in ruthless fashion.
“Excuse me, Mr. Campbell? What was that?”
I turned to find Molly standing behind me. She had a folded contract in her hand. “Nothing. What did the owner say?”
“Exactly what I thought. He’s going to get a cleaning crew in there tonight, and you can move in tomorrow. I have both the contract for you to sign, and the key.”
“I brought a check,” I said, pulling out my wallet.
“Perfect. Have you told your friend you’re going to be her new neighbor?”
“No,” I answered. “I want it to be a surprise.”
* * *
Later that night
Marc
