Author's Note: Picture of Tina Davis
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That was the longest weekend I've ever had to endure. I hated pretending like everything was fine with Colt day in and day out. On Saturday night I decided to just pretend to be asleep by the time he came home. The day of truth was approaching, and I wasn't looking forward to it. In fact, the suspense was literally making me ill.
On Sunday morning I felt like I wanted to throw up. The nausea bothered me all day long, until a decisive phone call came and put an end to it. Colt was watching TV when he called, so I went to the bathroom to answer the call.
"Are you alone?" Levi's deep voice asked me.
"I am now," I told him.
"Would you rather we meet up tomorrow at your school?"
I shook my head furiously. "No! Please, I can't wait any longer. I'll tell him I want to go over to Coraline's house. Maybe we can meet somewhere else after that."
"Your friend Coraline? How about Tina? I know where she lives."
Curiosity was killing me now. Were Tina and Levi close friends? Tina didn't tell me that she used to be in a relationship with him or anything. How did he know where she lived?
"Okay, Tina's it is," I said.
"I'll be there in an hour."
We hung up our phones. While I was in the bathroom, I decided to take a shower before rushing out to get dressed. I called Coraline up to tell her what was up, and then Tina. Coraline said she would be at Tina's house soon, and Tina said she would be waiting with tea and cookies. She never baked anything. Tina said that so that we could know before we got there that she didn't have any food for one reason or another.
I took a deep breath before grabbing my black and white handbag. I made my way to Colt, who was slouched back in the couch, eating some chips.
"Hey," I said, causing him to turn around, "I'm going out for a while."
"You look nice," he said, winking at me.
I forced a smile at him. "Thanks."
I wasn't wearing anything special; just a black and yellow sunflower dress and some heels. I picked the first thing that was in my wardrobe.
"Where are you going?" he asked, looking back at the TV.
"I'm going to hang out with Coraline and Tina," I told him, "At Cora's house. If you need anything, just give me a call."
I didn't want to tell him I would be at Tina's house, just to be safe. He wasn't the type to check on me, but still. For some reason he preferred Coraline over Tina.
"Sure," he said, "Let me know when you're coming back."
"Will do. See you later."
"Drive safely."
I stood for a moment looking at the back of his head, before turning around and grabbing the keys to my car.
I met up with Coraline at her house. I left my car there and asked her for a ride to Tina's. The three of us lived quite close to each other, so it didn't take long to get there. My heart was pounding as soon as we got to Tina's place. This was it. This was finally it. I was about to find out if I was crazy for thinking my husband was a cheater, or if he really was a cheater.
"Hey, are you okay?" Coraline asked me.
"I am," I said, "I'm nervous, but I'm fine. I think."
She smiled at me, but she also seemed nervous. We got out of the car and went to Tina, who was already standing at the front door watching us.
"Are you ready, Scar?" she asked me.
I shrugged. "As ready as I'll ever be," I said, "Is he already here?"
"Not yet. Hey Cora."
"Hi," Coraline said, still staring at me.
I chuckled. "You guys, stop worrying about me. I'll be fine." The moment I said that, my voice cracked.
My friends laughed at me. I couldn't help but grin as well. And then my phone rang. I almost had a heart attack. I thought it was Levi, but it turned out to be Carly.
Carly and I were still friends. Of course I was closer to Coraline and Tina now because they were my colleagues, but I never stopped talking to Carly. She lived in a completely different country now and was working hard as a lawyer. I was so proud of her, even though I couldn't see or talk to her every day.
"Hey chica, how've you been?" she asked me cheerfully.
"Girl, it's a long story," I said, letting out a deep breath, "Would you mind calling me later though? I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment."
"You're not home?"
"No, I'm at a friend's house."
"Oh, maybe I should call you when you get back home. When will you go back?"
"I'm not sure, maybe around midnight," I said, glancing at Tina.
"Then I'll call you tomorrow. Have fun sis!"
"I will," I lied, "Take care!"
Just when I hung up, a black Tesla pulled up on the driveway. We watched as Levi got out of his car, enabled the car's alarm and walked up to us holding a small briefcase. Aside from his suit that looked tight in all the right places, Levi's expression was grave. I got a terrible feeling.
"Ladies," he said, nodding at us, and to me he said, "We've got a lot to talk about."
We went inside. Tina closed the door behind us and led us to her kitchen. Tina's house wasn't as lavish as ours, but it was cozy. I kind of envied her for it sometimes. It reminded me of my parents' house.
Once we were seated around her round kitchen table, Tina offered us something to drink.
"Water, anyone?" she asked.
I smiled at her. "Sure."
Levi shook his head, and so did Coraline. Tina turned and came back with one glass of water filled to the brim.
"Alright, let's get down to business," Levi said.
A click sounded from his briefcase, which he opened and carefully took out a large envelope and a small laptop. He placed the briefcase onto the floor and turned his laptop on. I glanced at Coraline and Tina, who were still staring at me with a frown on their face.
"So is my husband cheating on me or what?" I asked impatiently.
My stomach was churning, and that wasn't a good sign. Levi looked at me for a moment.
"I... have reason to believe he is," he said.
He handed me the envelope. My hands were shaking too much, so I gave it to Coraline. Everyone fell silent when Coraline took the documents out. I glanced over her shoulder. The very first picture was a picture of Colt leading a woman to his red Range Rover.
For a moment I forgot to breathe. She had sunglasses on, but I knew who she was. I couldn't bear to look at the other stuff. I jumped up to my feet and dashed to Tina's bathroom. All of my fears, all of my stress... All of my sadness went down Tina's toilet. I broke down completely. I couldn't believe it.
Colt was with Carly.
I felt a hand on my shoulder, but I slapped it away. Everything around me started spinning after I vomited, so I had to close my eyes and take deep breaths. But seconds later I got violently sick again. I heard Coraline's voice saying 'oh my God' a few times.
After I finally got back to my feet, I flushed the toilet and walked to the sink. I washed my mouth and my face off as if nothing had happened. But I couldn't hide how shaken up I was.
"H-hey, Scarlett, are you okay?" Coraline asked me carefully.
"No," I said honestly.
"Would you rather Levi come by another day to finish this?"
"He hasn't even started yet and I already lost it," I whispered, "I'm being a burden to him. I should just go back and let him finish his job."
"Forget his job," Coraline whispered to me, "He can wait. He'll get paid regardless. But you... You're not okay, Scarlett."
"I'm fine now," I lied, "Let's just get this over with."
I shoved past her and went back to the kitchen. Levi's eyes immediately fell on mine. His grey eyes studied me carefully. He frowned.
"Maybe we should do this some other time," he said in a low voice.
"I'm fine," I lied again, taking my seat, "Please go on."
While Levi explained the evidence he found, I bit my lip nervously. So many emotions were going through me that I couldn't quite concentrate well. I was enraged, but at the same time I felt extremely hurt.
"Her name is Carly Gomez," Levi continued, "She's a cashier in Manchester."
"What?" This caught my attention immediately. "What are you talking about? She's a lawyer in Spain."
Levi gave me a confused look. "Do you know her?"
I nodded. "She... used to be my best friend. She called me just a moment ago, before you arrived. I didn't think she would do this to me..." I took a deep breath. "What makes you think she's not a lawyer?"
"I tailed her as well," Levi said, handing me a picture from the envelope of Carly standing at the counter of a minimarket, looking extremely bored, "She worked at the cash register all day, from 9am to 8pm last Friday. I don't know if she's a lawyer or not, but as far as I know, lawyers have intense working hours. She wouldn't be working at a random minimarket all day instead of being at the office."
Okay, so Carly wasn't a lawyer. And she wasn't in Spain. I crossed my arms, feeling more irritated by the second. "Okay. What else?"
Levi handed me two more pictures. His brows furrowed a bit. "They went to this motel... after he picked her up in his car yesterday."
I didn't say anything. I knew where this was leading. The first picture he gave me was Carly and Colt making out in Colt's car in front of the motel. The second picture was of them entering the motel. It couldn't have been any clearer.
"No wonder I couldn't unlock his phone," I muttered, "He must have had so much to hide on his phone."
"What a bastard," Tina hissed.
Levi cleared his throat. "His name was on two different dating apps and he was talking to more than 5 girls at the same time. Aside from Ms. Gomez."
"M-hmm..." I felt sick again.
"I hacked one of his social media accounts. Let's... just say he was holding inappropriate conversations with different women there, too."
"Please tell me that's everything," Coraline begged.
Levi nodded. He placed everything back in his briefcase. "That's all. Is there anything else... you would like me to assist you with, Mrs. Scarlett?"
I shook my head. "No, thank you... for everything."
"Yeah, thanks Levi," Tina told him.
"Although I would hate to admit it, but this is my job."
We stood up and led him back to the front door. He turned around one last time to look at me.
"I'm sorry you have to go through this, Mrs. Scarlett," Levi said, giving me a sympathetic smile, "I'll be at your service if you need anything whatsoever."
"Okay," I said, forcing a smile at him.
He shook his head, then leaned in a bit to me. "Don't do that," he whispered, "If you're upset, don't hold it in. It's going to make you sick. Again."
As soon as he said that, the first few droplets of tears rolled down my face. The girls hugged me comfortingly.
"Before I go..." Levi said, clearing his throat again, "I have one question. How did your conversation with Ms. Gomez go?"
"What does any of that matter now?" I asked amidst sobs.
"It matters," was all he said.
"She asked me when she could call me back... Because I told her she had to call me back... Oh God, I don't want her to call back..."
"What else?" Levi urged, placing his free hand on my shoulder. The touch surprised me. He noticed this and quickly took his hand away again. "Sorry."
"N-no, it's okay. Uhm..." I thought back to what we talked about. "I told her I would be going back home around midnight."
"Shit..."
Tina's swear word made me realize what I had just said. My eyes widened.
"Need a ride?" Levi asked looking directly at me.