Forest of Rope

Chapter 14

Dec 24 – 13:02

He was cruising down the highway when he first tried calling her. It had been days since she'd gone back, almost a week. At the end of the first day he'd sat expectantly by the phone, ready for an apology, mentally preparing to dangle the promise of forgiveness like a carrot on a stick. He'd been so sure that the call would come, so confident that everything would play out the way he'd envisioned.

On day one he'd had no doubts, not a single one: Alexis would go back, humour Riley's self pity for an hour before remembering that she deserved better and then things could go on as planned.

The first day produced no results.

No matter. Vincent had thought dismissively as the first light of morning crept through the partly drawn curtains. She's a tough cookie. It'll take more than a day for her to crumble.

Day two followed a similar pattern. He left the house with no sleep, returned to the house after hearing no word on his cell and spent the rest of the evening lying in wait by the telephone. When he awoke on day three, mouth dry with the taste of carpet, his once shimmering certainty had started to fade.      

'You're feeling out of touch with your soul, your inner balance has been upset. To regain meaning, you must first find balance-' Vincent jammed his finger at the car stereo, killing the droning voice of the self-help tape dead.

'Find balance...' he remarked bitterly, his tone soaked with scepticism. 'As if it was that easy...'

With one hand on the wheel he ejected the disc and threw it aside callously. The disc fell into a compartment by the passenger side door, rocked backwards by the motion of the vehicle.

"The quest for enlightenment" was the title. "Written and narrated by Vincent Brookes".

For the past three days he'd gone to extreme lengths to keep himself busy. He'd revisited the old books and tapes which purported his living expenses, rifled through forgotten notes, essays and self-published pamphlets. Nothing changed.

He realised the sad truth while contemplating a laughably basic shopping list, meandering aimlessly down the holly draped aisles of goods and foodstuffs with nothing but Alexis on his mind. Even simple thought processes were replaced by reimaginings of her delicate touch, the irresistible scent of her perfume and the comforting resonance of her voice. Vincent struggled to effectively load and pay for his groceries, mistyping the pin to his credit card twice.

'Do you need any assistance sir?' a hopeful store assistant offered to carry his bags, suspecting that he suffered from a mental illness of some kind. Vincent shook him off vacantly, feeling weak and patronised as he made his way back his car.

The phone rang and rang on his first try. He twisted the earpiece of the handsfree accessory frustratedly.

Six days... Goddamn it Alexis what the hell is going on over there?

Vincent forced his foot down on the accelerator, cutting off an ambitious bookmobile driver who'd been creeping up behind him. He was late for an appointment he couldn't afford to miss. As he raced up and down the hills of the Marin Headlands a clearing revealed the Golden Gate Bridge which was distantly nestled once again in an opaque and dreary cloud of fog.

Vincent followed the highway for another five minutes before pulling off and navigating (albeit with great difficulty due to a malfunctioning GPS) toward a familiar remote dirt track. Few people knew the road, making it an ideal place to meet away from prying eyes.

When he arrived at the clifftop, his entourage was already waiting, casually leant against the hood of a red sedan, looking downwards, entranced by the churning waves far below. Vincent parked alongside and went to join him.