Page 142 of A Love That Broke Us
I’m not leaving you, I just needed space. I’m in Chicago for a few days. But I can’t do this for much longer. You NEED to get help.
Jensen
I know.
I’m packing a bag right now. Checking myself into the closest detox center.
I’m getting clean. For good this time. I can’t lose you, babe.
That’s good. I love you too. I’ll see you in a few weeks then. Call me when you can.
I haven’t heard from him since that last text an hour ago.
Maybe leaving and coming here was the right thing. Maybe he really went to the detox center. Maybe it scared him enough to take action.
Detox centers are brutal. I remember my mom taking my dadonce. He checked himself out after two days because it was hell. But if it were easy, I guess people wouldn’t be alcoholics or addicts.
I keep thinking about what Leo said—about writing myself a letter. It might actually help. I’ve done automatic writing before. I wrote a letter to my dad, back when I left and moved to New York. I never gave it to him. I ripped it up. But it felt good to get it all out, to say what I needed to say, even if no one ever heard it.
I’ve never thought about writing one to myself.
I pull a notebook and pen from my backpack, and think about what I’d need to hear if Jensen relapses again.
Dear Alley,
Chapter Forty-Five
JENSEN
THEN—TWO MONTHS AGO
JUNE
“All right,you ready? Three, two, one!” I shout, wading toward Matt in the pool with my niece, Sierra, on my shoulders—Cole, my nephew, on his.
Sierra locks hands with her brother, and they start battling it out in a chicken fight.
She’s won four of the last five rounds. She’s two years older than Cole, and I’ve gotta give Cole props—he’s not backing down without a fight.
Matt ducks under the water, then launches up fast, knocking Sierra off balance and pulling her into the pool with a splash. When she surfaces, she glares at him. “Not fair, Matt! That’s cheating!”
Matt just laughs as she scowls, and then turns to me, fire in her eyes. “C’mon, Jensen, let’s kick their ass!”
“Whoa! Language, young lady. Does your mom know you talk like that?”
She rolls her eyes. “My mom says that word all the time.”
“I bet she does,” I say, laughing as Matt and I exchange a look.
I dunk down so she can climb back onto my shoulders. She’s a sassy one. Just like Megan.
It’s Sierra’s ninth birthday, so naturally we’re having a big family party at Matt’s.
We play three more rounds before the kids are summoned for pizza. Sierra and Cole hop out of the pool and take off running. Alley sits on the edge, her feet dangling in the water, smile wide. She and Amber have been cheering the kids on.
Amber stands to go inside with the others, and I swim over to Alley, sliding between her legs in the water. “Come swim with me.”
My hands graze her thighs as I grin up at her, mischievous and playful. She presses her hands to my shoulders and slips off the edge, wrapping her legs around me as her mouth finds mine for a quick kiss.
