Invisible String

Chapter 34 - Everything Has Changed

Time seemed to speed by. The next few days turned into the next few weeks, and before I realized it, it was April. My writing was going well. I was finishing up the last part of the romance novel I had started while still under contract with Pinnacle. It could be used as a filler novel when needed.

Things were good. My neighbor and I had begun having weekly lunches. We'd talk in my apartment, go over to his occasionally. He helped me with some new writing techniques, and I'd give him my opinion on his lesson plans. Slowly but surely, there was a friendship blossoming between us. And it was nice to have someone to talk to so close to home.

I sat on my bed with my Echo playing music in the background while working on my laptop. Sifting through my emails, I saw on the side of my Yahoo page a headline, 'Alex Lehane Moves On.' My heart thumped louder in my chest as my cursor hovered over the article. I didn't want to click on it. But I did.

As soon as it opened, pictures of Alex and his new supermodel beau were there. He had his arms wrapped around her, and he was kissing her. My body felt cold. Those had been my arms. My kisses.

I shut my laptop and stormed into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine.

"Fuck him!" I yelled to myself. "Fuck him and his new fucking girlfriend."

I leaned against the counter as I downed the bottle as quickly as I possibly could. I threw it across the room, and it shattered against the wall, glass shards flying everywhere.

I slid down to the floor, my own arms wrapped tightly around my chest, and I sobbed uncontrollably. It wasn't long before my feelings of anger came back, though, and I decided to get out of there. I got up, grabbed my purse and phone, and fumed as I ran out of my apartment building.

On the street, it was busy, still early enough in the afternoon for people to be running around on their lunches. I hailed a cab and told him to take me anywhere. He looked confused until I handed him a hundred dollar bill. He nodded, then drove.

He drove around, and I stared out the window. I was in black leggings and a loose sweatshirt, certainly not dressed for outdoor shenanigans, but I couldn't be cooped up. I couldn't let myself dwell. I wouldn't let myself.

After twenty minutes, we reached a beautiful park. I'd only seen it in passing. "Do I owe you anything else?"

He shook his head, and I stepped out of the cab and strolled through the park. It was lovely, filled with trees of all sorts. There were park benches where people sat and waited for what I don't know.

I walked down a path for a while until I reached a statue. I stood in front of it. Staring at the intricate detail. The curves, the metal, the different ins and outs of it. It looked like life. The paint, the cold, the twists, and turns. The ups and the downs. The breaks. The whole pieces, the best parts. But at some point, the statue ended, just like life.

I walked around it and continued down the path. My mind wandered back to Alex, and I tried to stop it, but it kept creeping back in, the picture of him with her. But he seemed happy. So shouldn't I be happy for him? He deserved someone who loved him, and who would be suitable for him, didn't he?

I looked up at the sky. It was sunny, and the sky was blue but scattered with small white cotton-candy-fluffs. I sat against a tree, staring up at the sky as it moved by.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I hesitated, then checked it. It was Jaiden.

Jaiden: How are you doing?

I looked back up. I knew I shouldn't respond. Why would I want to? He'd done nothing but try to tear Alex and me apart. For all I knew, he might think that he succeeded. And maybe in some small way he had. Part of me believed that the reason Alex felt the need to rush into marriage was out of fear of losing me. Self-fulfilling prophecy. And it's funny because I had the same fear. That I'd somehow push him away, and I'd lose him. Or that he would just finally have enough of Jaiden and leave. And he did, but not because of him. It was because of me. Or I don't know, maybe it was just because of his own insecurities.