Yesterday I got a text from a girl I didn’t know. I almost just deleted it. I got spam messages all the time, but for some reason, I opened it. She had sent me screenshots of texts between her and Craig spanning months. The proof of his cheating was plain as day, yet that wasn’t even the worst part.
She also included a photo of lab work she recently had done at the doctor’s. Craig had given her an STD.
It had been a while since we were intimate, almost a few months, though it was still a concern. So I called and set up the appointment. I felt disgusted with myself. I didn’t want to look in a mirror, and I didn’t want to see anything that reflected my face. I was dirty, a disgrace, a failure, no man was going to want to touch after this.
His messages were currently muted on my phone. I knew what I needed to do, I just didn’t have the right mindset to do it yet. I needed to take care of myself before I ended things with him.
Chapter thirty-five
The Vigilante
October 26th 2023
Raelynn was currently sitting in my passenger seat without a clue as to where we were going. After her first week back at work, I wanted to do my due diligence and take her somewhere special as a reward for getting back into the swing of a regular life. Ever since she had caught Craig outside her house, she’d been on edge. She said she was fine, she acted like she was fine, but I could tell something was brewing under the surface.
I stayed with her most nights, either at my place or hers; I wasn’t picky. Giving her control over that choice helped her gain some traction over the given circumstances. When her sister stayed, she slept on the couch with Riley. We had been an unstoppable team, making sure Rae was never alone.
She had a book propped up against her knees, her feet pulled up to give her a place to rest it. The only hint she got was that it was a few hours to drive, and I told her to be ready at five am. Last night, she and Michelle had Kendi over for one of those paint and wine nights. The three of them were tipsy as they tried to paint large white table candles with melted colored wax.
Surprisingly, she wasn’t hungover this morning. With all the photos I received last night, increasing in levels of ridiculousness as the evening progressed, I was prepared to have to cancel my plans. It seems though, the girls’ night, complete with a sleepover, was a success and didn’t leave her feeling groggy.
I slipped my hand beneath her book carefully and placed it on her thigh, squeezing gently. The need to touch her whenever she was around was almost overwhelming at times. Her skin was a magnet for my hands, completing me whenever we made contact. It was addictive, and I was fine with having the vice.
A few hours later, we pulled into a small gravel parking lot off a back road. The silence we had ridden in was comfortable. There wasn’t an overwhelming urge to force a conversation when I was more than happy to hold onto her thigh while she read one of her dark and dirty books. It didn’t take long to figure out that the more she read, the more I reaped the benefits from it.
“Where are we?” She asked as she unbuckled, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. Rae knew we were going hiking, so I had to give that much away so that she dressed appropriately for the occasion.
“A place you’ve never been,” I grinned at her glare, her snarky attitude on the verge of making an appearance early today.
“No shit sherlock,” there was the sass I loved so much.
“Come on, you’re not ruining my surprise before we’re even there.” I got out and grabbed my hiking bag fromthe back seat. Rae had packed a bag as well, even though I told her I had more than enough supplies for both of us. We wouldn’t be in the woods for more than just a few hours, but you could never be too prepared.
She followed my lead, getting her bag out and buckling the straps across her chest and around her waist, making sure they were secure before shutting her door.
“You didn’t bring me out into the woods just to kill me, did you?” She asked as we crossed the parking lot to the trailhead. Only one other car was in the lot, so the chances of us running into other living souls were slim.
“You should know better than that. I can’t make you make all those enjoyable little sounds if I kill you now, can I?” Her cheeks flushed at my words, and she shoved me. Not that she had the strength to make me move with her little attempt.
“Good to know you’re not one of those freaks who like fucking corpses,” She flipped me off as she took the lead on the trail, and I laughed. As professional as she could be at work, I liked seeing this side of her.
I didn’t bother taking her lead away from her. The trail was an out-and-back trail, no loops to get lost on along the way.
October was nearing the end of fall. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, leaving their branches bare and braced for winter's oncoming assault. They lay decaying and browning on the forestfloor, crunching gently beneath our feet as we trekked through the trees.
Raelynn took her time on our hike. Stopping periodically to take photos of things she found interesting or beautiful, completely unaware that I was doing the same. Only she was the subject in all my photos. Seeing her face relax while focused on nature brought peace to my heart. It was temporary, and would probably only last until we got back to her house and let reality swallow us up again.
Three miles in, we were almost to our destination. This place was more enjoyable in the summertime, when the water was a tolerable temperature for swimming, though it was still beautiful during the other seasons, and far less crowded.
She threw her arms out to her sides to balance down the slick rocks toward the pool waiting at the end of our hike. I grabbed her hand, not wanting her to slip on her way down, and helped guide her around the crystal clear pool to a section of dry rocks we could set our packs down on.
The small river slowly fed into the pool, the water rippling under the constant stream, the sound relaxing. One other couple sat on some rocks a short distance away, basking in the peace you could only find when you were far away from the noise pollution of the city. Whenever I found myself needing to reset my mental health, I usually unplugged from the world and lost myself in a new place. Whether it led to waterfalls, magnificent views, or pools like theone we were currently sitting at, it didn’t matter as long as I was outdoors.
Raelynn unbuckled her pack and sat down, grabbing her insulated bottle of water from the depths of her bag. She drank deeply, since she refused to stop for a water break on our way here.
“This place is beautiful,” she breathed, taking in the sights around her.
The pool was at the bottom of a basin in the middle of the woods, each layer a different shade of the rocks that made it up. Named after the devil, but more beautiful than an angelic force. Crystal blue water stayed year-round in the pool, with a stream feeding into it and a steady flow down the mountain, it was well circulated. I wasn’t sure how deep the pool was, even with the unnaturally clear water, you still couldn’t see the bottom.
