Chapter Sixteen
Tera
Four Months Later
I stand there staring at the ATM, feeling like an idiot, and berating myself. It should not be this hard to check an account balance. I haven’t used my card since I left Ander Springs in some insane bid to stay off the grid. For absolutely no reason.
My therapist, Dr. Robinson, says this is the first step in letting go of my irrational paranoia of being found. The idea that a broken friendship and non-start of a relationship would lead to being hunted down like a rabid animal sounds far-fetched. She’s so right, too. Who tracks a sidekick? I don’t have any invested enemies. I’m fine. Just because those people, who I refuse to name, were my whole world doesn’t mean I was to them. The thought hurts a bit, but much less than it did a month ago.
I’m now officially 800 miles away from Ander Springs in a large town that I can’t remember the name of to save my life. If I don’t even know where I am, how could someone else?
Stop it. No one is looking for you, no matter how hard you wish they would. Check your darn account.
I’m standing in broad daylight at a hidden ATM near my dingy apartment building with my card in my hand like a moron. This is a perfect opportunity to get mugged. And if I don’t hurry, I’ll be late for work.
“Let me help,” an excited voice pipes up behind me. I jump and spin around. I had no idea someone was back there. So much for my epic awareness of what goes on around me.
The golden-haired Adonis grins at me, which is a little unnerving because despite how well he’s dressed, he seems a little insane when he smiles. But his hot pink shoes and aqua-colored eyes win me over. He”s a total main character and adorable, to boot.
He snatches my card out of my hand and leans around me to insert the card into the ATM. Am I getting mugged? If so, this is the weirdest way to do it.
“Now you turn around and put in your four chosen numbers, and it spits out money,” he tells me earnestly. “It’s ok. I didn’t get it at first either. With practice, it’ll get easier.”
With that, he starts walking away, hands in his jacket pockets and whistling a song I don’t recognize.
“Hey,” I call out, and he spins back to face me, walking backward. “Thanks for the help. And I love your shoes. They look good on you.”
The stranger gives me another insane grin and two thumbs up, “You’re the first nice human I’ve met here. It’ll get better in this chapter, babycakes!”
O… k? What does he mean this chapter? Did he just call me babycakes? I return his double thumbs up with a bewildered smile.
The ATM beeps at me, reminding me what I’m here for. I take a deep breath and release it slowly as I enter my PIN and hit check account balance.
That’s not right. I don’t have 330,000 dollars. The last time I looked, over four months ago, I had around 200 dollars left. How the heck did this get so messed up?
I withdraw the twenty I need to get some gas and grab my card to call the number on the back.
When I finally speak to a person, instead of the roundabout computer confusion, I blurt out, “There’s been a mistake on my account.”
“Ok, ma’am. What seems to be the problem?”
“I have way more money than I should, and it’s freaking me out.”
“That’s an unusual problem,” she giggles and adds, “If you would give me some account information, we can track this down.”
I go through the motions as I get in my car and stop for gas. When I’m at work, Sarah the nice bank lady has located my random deposit, made by a Strumford lawyer by the name of Mr. Edgar Morales. What the heck?
I thank her profusely and leave her a five-star rating on the following questionnaire as I clock in.
The wait at my boring job at the adult shop for my break is like watching time go backward. I chose this job specifically so I could learn about the kinks I have. I thought it would be more exciting than this. The run-down building does not see a lot of foot traffic.
Dr. Robinson said there’s nothing wrong with wanting to submit to someone in a healthy relationship, but I need to stop jumping in without setting boundaries. I had no idea this was a thing that lots of people did. It isn’t something to feel like you’re crazy over. People like what they like. My homework was very eye-opening.
There’s also the fact that the library has restricted access on adult themes so I couldn’t learn much there. Who knew? With 50 Shades out, you would think they’d be more open-minded. Then again, I don’t have children.
Adult store job hunting began after I was kicked out of the library. This is what I get for insisting I needed to work somewhere that pays in cash only.
Once my break comes, I call the law office and get connected to Mr. Morales after a long wait on hold. My pay-as-you-go cell phone is running out of minutes, and I wish this guy would hurry. Now that I think about it, I need to get a real phone again. I could report my old one as stolen. If by stolen, they mean thrown out of the window of a moving vehicle in a fit of insane paranoia.
“Ms. Evans,” he finally picks up after I’ve been transferred a few times.
“Hi, Mr. Morales? I have a quick question if that’s ok?”
“Sure,” he doesn’t sound like it’s ok.
“I just checked my bank balance, and it says you deposited a large amount there. I just wondered if you would accept the money back by check or if there’s somewhere I can transfer it?”
“Ms. Evans,” he sighs as if he’s already done with this conversation. “You don’t need to return the money. It is the allotted amount set aside for you from Mr. Douglas’ life insurance policy. Did you not get my messages?”
Considering I decided to throw my phone out the window? No, I didn’t. I can’t tell him that, though.
He sighs again, taking my nonanswer for the admission of guilt that it is.
“You were the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy. The rest of his things were to be donated to charities as per his will.”
“What?” I whisper in shock. I need to sit down. “No family members were found?”
“No,” he says. He sounds like he wants to finish this conversation as soon as possible.
“I didn’t have to sign anything?”
“Mr. Douglas had all the pertinent information listed, and the transfer went smoothly. Obviously. I explained all of this several times when I left messages.”
“I threw that phone out the window of my car,” I mutter.
He hangs up. What a jerk.
Sorrow blindsides me out of nowhere. If I wasn’t such a crazy mess, I could have gone to Joe’s funeral. Thinking about him still hurts, but the pain has gotten more manageable. Dr. Robinson says it will improve as time passes, and I have to believe it, or I might go even crazier.
Dr. Robinson assured me that the loss of a loved one, related or otherwise, affects everyone differently. With the added stress of breaking ties with my best friend and trying to embark on a new relationship blindly, the second it started falling apart, it was understandable that I went off the rails. She seems to think I’ll snap out of it and return to my old life.
There’s nothing to go back to.
I spend the rest of the day stocking items and avoiding David, my coworker. I’m supposed to call South today as step two in my current therapy homework, but I think I can put that off for another day. I don’t think I can do it without begging her to come and save me. I’m supposed to be standing on my own and finding myself. I’m not sure how she’ll react to that news. There’s also the crippling amount of shame I have at not calling her in the first place for help. She’s going to be mad.
I checked off the first one on my list and consider that good for today.