Chapter 26
Too tired to turn on the TV, I’ve been lying around in sloth-like fashion all day. I’m staving off a hangover by pouring packet after packet of electrolyte powder in bottles of water and guzzling them down like a fish in a desert.
Thankfully, my mother insisted I pack them.
I dozed off a little, but I’m still beat. My thoughts are in angry overdrive. Matt’s stupid texts. His pointless mind games. I thought I let him go, but I didn’t let him go enough.
Until now.
I reposition myself, sliding my back against the comfy pillows and headboard. I grab my phone off the nightstand and swipe it awake.
Fury consumes me as I re-read his messages. The gall of this asshole. I have no desire to have him in my life. I don’t want to hear from him or ever see him again. He’s nothing to me. A mistake crammed with terrible memories.
I tap on the message bubble, prepared to rage text in spectacular fashion. The f-bombs are about to fly as I express four months’ worth of screams I swallowed down.
Talk to you? Fuck off. I don’t want to live on the same planet as you. Forget you know me. You’re trash. An insignificant nobody I wish I never met. There aren’t enough apologies in the world to make me hate you any less.
You used to say you were my ride or die. Remember that? Bullshit. I’m my ride or die. Me. I deserve better than an unfaithful coward who crawls back by text.
I want a man who didn’t fuck someone else, then leave.
Go fuck your cheating self, your whore girlfriend, and lose my number.
P.S. You’re a shitty kisser.
I re-read my message three times, feeling damn proud that I articulated so well what an utter piece of crap he is. My finger hovers above the send button. I close my eyes, suck in a breath and…
No.
This is what he wants. A response. Even if it’s an angry one, he gets a reaction from me. He thinks I’m weak, that he’s in control—the master of my puppet strings.
But he’s wrong.
Silence is my power.
My weapon. My shield.
He’ll get exactly what he deserves from me.
Nothing.
I tap, tap, tap the back button, and delete each angry letter. The weight of my past is too heavy to carry anymore. I’m letting it go.
“This part of my life is over.” I tell myself as I do the one thing that I should have done four months ago…
Block Matt’s number for good.
I slide off the bed and head towards the closet where my suitcase resides. I pull it out of the closet and slowly unzip the front zipper. The sound of the metal teeth separating resonates in the quiet room. My hand reaches into the pocket and retrieves my tulle veil.
A chuckle escapes my lips, breaking the tension that had consumed me for so long. I realize, with newly enlightened clarity, that I’ve been afraid of a piece of fabric. A material thing that holds no power over me.
The power was always mine.
Standing tall, I tightly grip the veil and make my way to the bathroom. With a determined force, I crumple it and crush the veil into a white ball. As I push it to the bottom of the garbage pail, a sense of liberation washes over me.
Looking up, I catch my reflection in the mirror, my eyes shining with a newfound strength that radiates inside of me, and I smile.
With my past buried, it’s time to dig into the present.
“Let’s get this over with,” I mumble to my cell phone as I swipe it awake.
It would be a major blunder to reach out to my mother without first finding out what took place between her and Daniel last night. Lord knows, she probably has a thousand questions that I’m not ready to answer.
Dread fills me as I tap into my messages. I can only imagine what she said. Or he said.
Here goes nothing.
Mom
I left you alone all day. Aren’t you proud of me?
Mom
How was breakfast with your new friends?
Mom
I hope you didn’t overindulge. Overtaxing your stomach can result in diarrhea.
Mom
Same goes for drinking. The alcohol comes out of you from one end or the other.
Mom
Neither is very pleasant.
Mom
Are you there?
Mom
Can you let me know you’re alive?
Mom
I waited five minutes. I’m calling the hotel and the hospitals.
Mom
And the consulate.
Hold on! Don’t call anyone. Tess is fine.
Mom
Who are you?
A friend of Tess.
Mom
Which friend?
Daniel.
Mom
She’s never mentioned a Daniel.
That doesn’t surprise me.
Mom
How do I know you’re not a kidnapper?
I haven’t asked for a ransom?
Mom
Maybe you’re going to harvest her organs. They do that with stolen cars. Make more money from their parts.
Good idea. That could pay for this vacation.
Mom
If you touch her, I will hunt you down and remove any chance you have of fathering children naturally.
She threatened to chop off his dick. Wow.
Mom
Give the phone to my daughter.
She’s currently indisposed.
Mom
Because you’ve tied her to a chair?
Because she’s asleep.
Mom
Are you two…
No. She needed a friend tonight.
Mom
That’s true.
And I was a friend.
Mom
Tell me something only a friend would know.
She’s an only child, originally from Staten Island.
Mom
That could have been a guess.
That’s a very specific guess.
She has an attentive mother who looks for her on webcams.
Mom
Did she say that I’m attentive?
She may have used a different word.
Insane. The word was insane.
Mom
Have you ever been arrested?
No.
Mom
What do you do for a living?
I’m a photographer.
Mom
Murder scene photographer?
What???
No. Breathing is required.
Mom
Ok. You pass.
Thanks?
Mom
Did she overindulge tonight?
I’m not at liberty to say.
Mom
Oh dear. I was afraid this might happen. Can you do me a favor?
Depends on the favor.
Mom
Make sure she hydrates and eats a bland breakfast in the morning. Scrambled eggs. Dry toast.
Got it. Eggs are good for the cysteine. I’ll get a banana too. For the potassium.
Mom
You know about nutrition?
I try to eat healthy.
Mom
What’s your opinion on probiotics?
Big fan.
Mom
Good bacteria is important.
Agree.
Mom
A healthy gut health supports brain function. You don’t want to grow old and stupid.
No Ma’am.
Mom
Eating the right foods can be the difference between an easy or explosive time at the toilet the next day. (If you get my drift.)
Crystal clear visual.
Oh. My. God.
Mom
I make homemade kombucha. Come by for dinner and try it sometime. It’s an excellent source of probiotics. Do you live near NY?
Manhattan. And I’d love to.
Mom
Thank you for taking care of my daughter. She’s not usually like this.
You’re welcome.
Mom
Can you do me another favor?
Maybe.
Mom
Make sure she’s okay when she wakes up?
Sure. I’ll have her contact you when she’s up to it.
Mom
I’d appreciate that. Nice texting with you, Daniel.
Likewise, Mrs. Harper.
Mom
Louise.
Likewise, Louise.