- 5.
く
I let out a laugh, it was full of self–mockery. I
thought I’d seen a flicker of love in his
actions.
He pulled a box from his pocket. Inside was
an earring.
“I got this with my advance to give to you.
“I remember you used to wear this really
pretty one.”
وو
I stared into his eyes, exhausted. I closed my
mouth and didn’t say anything.
He finally lost his cool and threw the paper
cranes on the floor.
“Enough! How long are you going to stay
mad?”
I looked up at him. “I never got my ears
pierced.
وو
He froze, embarrassed, then just said, “Think
about what you’ve done.”
He stormed out.
Three days later, at 3 AM, he came home
drunk.
I knew Ashley’s husband was back, so he
didn’t need to hang around her anymore.
He grabbed my throat, his breath reeking of
booze. “I love her more than anyone! Why
can’t she be with me?”
く
I was suffocating, my lips turning blue, unable
to scream.
Something fell to the floor, and the noise
seemed to snap him out of it.
We had a cold war after that. He left early
and came home late, and I was happy to have
the peace and quiet.
The house was shown to potential buyers,
and a contract was signed.
It was like I was erasing all traces of my
existence in the US.
I went to my studio and opened the closet.
“Perfect, that’s exactly what I wanted.”
<
That evening, I came home to find Cody
trailing behind Ashley, carrying her slippers.
“The floor’s cold, honey. Wear your slippers.
He didn’t even pretend when he saw me come
- in. “Make us some dinner, Sarah. Ashley
wants shrimp.”
Even though he knew I was allergic. He didn’t
care.
I swallowed my bitterness and went to the
kitchen.
“Eww, that’s disgusting.”
A rash started to spread on my face.
Cody’s face showed a flicker of concern, and
Then he pulled away suddenly, his expression
uncontrolled.
He was disgusted by the oil and the rash on
my face.
I quickly finished eating, and Cody came over
with the allergy pills.
“This is for your own good. Just deal with it.”
I was expressionless, nodding coldly.
That night, I had another nightmare about
being locked up, and woke up screaming.
He mumbled something and pulled me close.
But my eyes were filling with tears.
The closer I got to leaving, the better I felt.
Cody wasn’t home much. At first, he made
excuses.
Then he just stopped calling.
“Sarah, I’ve got a surprise for you. Let’s go.
camping in the mountains.”
I felt a wave of unease, but I still agreed to
- go.
When we got to the top of the mountain, I
saw two tents.
“Ashley was feeling down, so she’s joining
us.”
Someone mentioned that there was a swamp
Г
While we were drinking that night, they both
seemed relieved that my glass was empty.
I lay in the tent, pretending to be sleepy and
wanting to go to bed.
After a while, Cody nudged me, but I didn’t
respond.
He got up and went outside. I heard noises
coming from the tent next door, all the way
into the night.
I bit my lip until it bled, covering my mouth
and shaking.
In the morning, Ashley was glowing, and came
over to me, her skin radiant.
6612
“”
<
“Your boyfriend’s really great.
“He’s going to propose to you, but I’ll never
let you be happy.”
Ashley backed me closer and closer to the
swamp. I kept my cool, refusing to move
back.
But then she broke down. “Why were you
always the rich girl, and I was just the nanny’s
daughter?”
“You didn’t know, but I slept with your dad.”
“Why did you get everything handed to you? I
wanted to destroy you, one step at a time.”
“What’s next?”
く
She took a step into the swamp, and pushed
me in.
I used my survival skills, grabbing a piece of
wood to slow my descent.
Cody came running over. He didn’t look to
see that I was sinking, he just started yelling.
“Ashley has a thing about being clean, why
are you making her upset?”
He went over and pulled her out. I was losing
my grip.
“Cody, help me!”
He came closer, grabbing the wood.
A flicker of hope crossed my mind.
But then his face changed, and he grabbed
the wood from me.
“I told you, my bottom line is that Ashley
can’t get hurt.”
