Beneath the Layers

Chapter 24

Bolting out of his office, I hurried to the restroom as fast as I could. Almost there, I told myself, fighting to keep the tears at bay.

Once I made it through the doors, I locked myself in one of the stalls, allowing the tears to stream down my face.

A choice.

Leaving for Italy.

One month.

His words kept resonating in my head. I didn't get it. I was the one who told him we couldn't do this anymore. Told him I couldn't leave Alex, and made it a point that what we were doing wasn't right, so why did it hurt so much? Why did it feel like I was losing him, when he was never really mine to begin with? Could it be my feelings for Nick ran deeper than I was willing to admit?

I tried wiping away my tears, but it was useless. They kept pouring out on their own. What had I ever done to deserve this shit?

He was leaving to Italy for one whole month. My heart felt a twinge at the thought of him being away for so long. In reality, a month wasn't even that bad and time would probably fly by without me even realizing. But in my world, it felt like forever.

Bee and I came up with a plan. A plan that might or might not work, but I was ready to take a chance with it regardless. I had to do something to free myself from Alex without putting my mother's freedom at risk. I'd just hoped Nick would be here to keep me grounded and give me strength through the ordeal. Now, I was left to do it all on my own. And I would do it, regardless. But, I had to move fast; otherwise, I'd lose Nick in the process.

"Oh, my God!" The words escaped my mouth. I didn't want to lose Nick.

Suddenly, things became clearer, as if the grey cloud over my head had moved away, letting the sun shine down on me for the first time in a very long time.

I didn't just have feelings for Nick. I was falling in love with him.

As much as I tried to deny it all this time, it was there, right in front of my face. Laughing at me. Taunting me with the obvious truth.

My hands shaking, I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves. It was still early and I had a week's worth of work to catch up on. I blew my nose on some toilet paper and wiped away any trace of tears. Fanning my face, I stepped out of the stall, thanking God that no one was there to witness me in this state of mess.

Once I made it back to my office, I looked at the time, which read ten o'clock. Diving head first into a pile of cases, I became consumed with work the entire day. I could hardly believe it was five o'clock the next time I looked up. I thought about staying overtime to put in extra work and catch up, but subconsciously, I think I was just trying to avoid Alex.

Today was the day I'd go back home, not knowing what awaited me. It was nerve-wracking, but I couldn't keep putting off the inevitable any longer. I might as well just get it over with, if I had to do it eventually anyway.

Gathering my personal belongings, I made my way to the elevators as I headed out to face my doom.

Although traffic was always heavy, especially on Mondays, today the drive was a breeze. The closer I got, the more my heart rate picked up. I tried stalling by taking the longer route, but it just made the anticipation worse. Before I knew it, I was pulling into my parking space. Alex's car, parked in its usual spot, seemed to mock every step I took.

It's now or never.

Praying for some courage, I walked up to my apartment. With trembling hands, I fumbled through my purse looking for the house keys.

I didn't understand why us women stuck so much crap into our bags then complained when we couldn't find anything we were looking for.

Here it is. I pulled out the keys and unlocked the door as quietly as I could. The sight that greeted me upon entering was the complete opposite of what I'd expected.

Luggage. Three to be exact. Something wasn't right.

"Alex," I shouted into the quiet space. "Alex, are you home?"

I started walking toward the bedroom until I reached the door, which strangely, was closed. The sudden sound of glass shattering caused me to jerk back, my heart pounding against my chest. This wasn't good. Not good at all. Then a hard thud sounded off, like something heavy had fallen on the ground.

Throwing caution to the wind, I turned the door handle and slowly pushed the door open.

The room was upside down. On the floor, broken into a thousand pieces, laid the picture frame of Alex and me, which I had sitting on my nightstand. Alex stood near the bathroom, facing his back to me while holding a duffel bag in one hand.

"Alex?" I called to him.

Trying to steady my hands from shaking, I took a step forward. The last time I'd been this scared was the night I found a shadowed figure in my room. The worst night of my life.

"It's over, Tara," he whispered, frozen in his spot.

Wait...what?

"What's wrong with you?" I dared to ask.

That's when he turned to face me, and for the first time in years, I felt like I was about to faint. My eyes went wide as I gasped in horror. I could barely recognize the man standing before me.

"What's wrong with me?" He laughed sarcastically, the sounds echoing off the walls. "You're seriously asking what the fuck is wrong with me?"

He started taking slow steps toward me.

I didn't know what to say, so I nodded in response, taking a few steps back. I was still shocked by the sight of him. His face swollen and bruised all over, he seemed to be in a lot of pain. I wondered what he'd done for someone to have left him in such a terrible condition.

He walked up to me until we were face to face. Leaning closer into me, he whispered, "What part of 'it's over' don't you understand?"

It's over? I didn't understand what he was talking about. Was it over for me? Over for him? Or worse, was it over for my mother? If that was the case, then I had to come up with something now.

"What, exactly, is over, Alex?"

"Us. We. You and me." He motioned a finger between us to clarify his point. "We are done, Tara."

Wait. If I was hearing correctly, he was leaving me. All on his own. Did that mean I was free? Free to live my life as I pleased? And I didn't even have to break a sweat putting my plan into action? God, please don't let this be a cruel joke.

Oh no. My heart started pounding against my chest; a sudden wave of nausea washed over me.

What about my mom? If he was leaving, that meant I was no longer of use to him. He could go snitch on my mother without anything holding him back.

Think, Tara, think. What could I do to stop him from going to the cops?

"Alex, you're not thinking straight right now. Let's talk about this."

"There's nothing left for us to talk about, so don't waste your time." He walked out of the room, heading toward the front door.

"What about my mom?"

"You and your mother can go fuck yourselves."

There was a slight knock on the door. Alex opened it to reveal Jack standing at the threshold wearing loose-fitted clothes. From the looks of it, he was here to help Alex move his things out. He saluted me, grabbing two suitcases on his way out toward the parking lot.

Alex grabbed the last suitcase and turned toward me, glancing up and down my body one last time. "I'm sure you're happy now," he added as he turned around and walked out of my life for good, I hoped.