Chapter 29
Dahlia
My eyes flew open. I stared around the cottage.
“What the hell?” I whispered.
I got up and stepped onto the porch. Katherine was sitting in one of the rockers, reading a book. She didn’t look up. I slammed the cottage door and stormed across the sand. I could hear music, laughter, and chaos.
“Absolutely not,” I shouted at The Librarian as she stood at the shoreline with a book clutched in her hands. “How dare you.” I pointed at her. “She took my body.”
“You needed to rest, Dahlia. You’re still angry. And that anger will cost you everything.”
“Damn right I am,” I spat.
“We’re simply letting you cool down. We’re showing you that life can still be beautiful without the harm.”
“You’re pretending nothing happened. Now, get out of my way.”
“You’re not ready yet,” she said.
“I don’t care!”
The ocean roared with fury as the winds whipped around the beach. I lunged toward the water, staring back at The Librarian and Katherine, who now stood there staring at me.
My knees buckled. I closed my eyes, and Alex grabbed hold of my arm.
“Dahlia, are you okay?”
I slowly opened them, staring at the ground beneath me. People had gathered to see what all the commotion was about. I looked around.
“What are we doing here?” I asked him.
Pieces of my mind felt fractured, and I had a killer headache.
“What are you talking about? You wanted to go out.”
I slowly stood up and looked at the clothes I was wearing. I looked like a damn hooker. Sunny. I shook my head.
“I need to go home. I have a really bad headache,” I said.
“Okay. Let’s get you home,” Alex said.
He walked me to the door. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Huh? You don’t want me to come inside?”
“No. I’m taking some meds for my headache and going to sleep.”
His brows furrowed as he stared at me. He wasn’t comfortable with this sudden change.
“Sure. Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow. Feel better.”
“Thanks.” I opened the door and stepped inside.
First thing I did was kick off the uncomfortable heels I wore.
Then I walked into the kitchen and saw a box of fudge on the counter.
When I opened the box, it was rocky road.
I hated rocky road fudge. Picking up the box, I tossed it into the trash can.
I took down some Motrin and shook three small pills into my hand.
After chasing them down with some water, I turned off the lights and went upstairs.
I started the water for a bath, and poured some bubble bath in.
I took off the dress and tossed it in the corner of the bedroom.
Glancing at the dresser, I saw a bracelet made of blue sea glass.
Shaking my head, I pinned up my hair and climbed into the hot, bubbly water, sinking down until it reached my neck.
How dare she think she could take control?
The system had made a choice without consulting me.
They decided I was too unstable. Too dangerous.
I hated that they were right. What frightened me wasn’t that Sunny had taken over.
It was how easily she’d done it. I fought, and I clawed my way back.
But she’d stolen hours of my life. I wouldn’t let it happen again.
The following morning, as I was getting ready for work, my phone pinged with a text from Tess.
“How are you today? How’s your neck?”
What the hell was she talking about?
“My neck?”
“From the car accident you were in yesterday. Did you go to the doctor?”
Shit. Damn you, Sunny.
“Yes. I did. The doctor gave me a strong anti-inflammatory. It’s a little sore today. No big deal.”
“Are you coming in?”
“Yes. After I pick up my rental car. Alex is taking me.”
“Excellent. I’ll see you when you get here.”
Sunny must have told Tess that she was in a car accident yesterday so she could skip work.
Now I had to spend my money on a rental car I didn’t need and fabricate a story about why I rented one.
I pulled my car into the garage, grabbed a crowbar, and started smashing the back bumper as if I’d been rear-ended, along with the taillights.
Once I was done, I drove to a body shop within walking distance of the car rental place.
“Can I help you?” An older gentleman walked over, wiping his greasy hands with a cloth.
“I was in an accident yesterday, and I need my car fixed.”
He walked around and looked at the damage.
“This is from an accident?” His brows furrowed.
“Yep. Sure is. Happened yesterday afternoon.”
“I’ll pull it into the garage, assess the damage, and call you with an estimate. Are you going through your insurance company?”
“Uh, no.”
“Okay. I’ll just need your name and phone number.”
I rattled it off as he wrote it down.
“Do you need a ride somewhere? I can have my son take you?”
“No. The rental car shop is down the street. I can walk.” I smiled.
After I rented a car, I headed to the gallery. Pulling my phone from my purse, I had five text messages from Alex.
“Good morning, beautiful. How’s your headache?”
“You okay? I haven’t heard back from you.”
“Dahlia?”
“I have to get to class.”
“You must still be sleeping.”
I responded so he would stop.
“Morning. Headache is better, and I’m at work. Talk to you later.”
It was time to put my plan for Alex into motion.
As long as Alex existed in this world, the wound would always stay open.
That was the same reasoning my mother had.
I never thought I’d be the one to feel the hurt and betrayal.
I never fully trusted Alex one hundred percent, because trust was dangerous.
He wasn’t anyone special. He was just another man who chose to cheat on a woman he supposedly loved.
I’d thought all day, between helping customers and hanging new art, about how to get rid of Alex without disrupting our system. I needed more proof. Just to be sure. I needed to remain calm and think things through. Pulling out my phone, I sent Alex a text.
Dinner tonight. Your place.
Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you tonight.