SWEET TOMORROW

Chapter 15

Chapter 15:****Vanessa****

True to his words, Andrew left way too early in the morning but I heard him because I wasn’t asleep. I woke up, did my daily routine and went to the living room. I glanced around the house that held so many memories and felt my heart constrict painfully.

I took off my wedding ring and placed it on top of the gigantic check and left the house in tears. I couldn’t go back to aunt’s place since she seemed to have washed her hands of me. So I called Kristy who’d returned a couple weeks ago from France.

When she got to Andrew’s house, her eyes widened as if they were going to pop out, but she recovered when she saw me. I know I looked a mess and I didn’t care. I never cared about how I looked.

She picked up one of the suitcases and I hauled the other and we put them in the car silently. She couldn’t sit still while driving and I smiled despite my sadness. She wanted to know what had happened, and at the same time, she could tell that I was sad to be indulging in conversations. Typical Kristy, I thought as I rolled my eyes.

I started from the beginning, how I thought Andrew was a controlling freak, and how I’d helped Erika to walk again and she listened without commenting. However, when I got to leaving the 8 million dollars check at his house while no one was there, she hit the break so sudden that I’m surprised the seatbelt didn’t choke me to death.

She stared at me for a while and started driving again, but not quietly this time.

“Hey, Vanessa! I can’t believe I’m hearing what I’m hearing!” Kristy exclaimed sassily while shaking her head in disbelief. “Have you gone mad or something?” she asked glancing at me in the passenger seat. I just sat there arms folded in my lap and not saying anything.

“I mean it’s not normal to walk away from a loaded guy like that, but to walk away from 8 million dollars is the heart of it all. What is the matter with you?” she demanded and I got angry. Dear Kristy thought that money was everything and I respected her belief even I didn’t agree. But here she was criticizing my morals.

“Kristy, I could not allow myself to walk away with that money. Not with the way I’m feeling.” I sternly said trying to underplay the anger I felt.

“Vanessa, how are you feeling? What are you feeling that 8 million dollars cannot cure?” she yelled and I balled my hands into fists. I couldn’t punch her without getting us all killed, but I changed my mind about staying with her.

“I feel like fogging you right now, honestly. In fact, we are going back right now to grab that check!” she finalized

“Hell no! I do NOT need the money” I said quietly because we both knew that that was a lie.

“You are not thinking clearly at all right now. Thank God I’m here to make things right. We are going back there right now” she said again as If I hadn’t spoken

“It is pointless and I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” I grumbled and she narrowed her eyes.

“8 million dollars. Eight: One, two, three, eight million dollars!” she exclaimed and I lowered my seat and laid down as if to sleep but my eyes flew open when I saw sad dark brown ones staring at me. I groaned and felt like throwing a tantrum.

I had some money saved up, so I told Kristy to drop me off to a hotel and swore her t secrecy not to tell anyone where I was. I turned off my phone and tried to read a book. Reading has always been my escape from stress but I gave up on that notion since I couldn’t read past the first page, and even then, nothing I read made sense.

I watched some TV but even that held no interest to me, and I was starting to get angry. My life was fine before all this: it wasn’t adventurous or fun, but it was ok and I was thankful for it. And now, nothing seemed to make me happy. All I thought about was a certain tall, dark and handsome someone. It might’ve helped if he’d been abusive or rude; not but he had to go and be kind, caring, loving and honest.