“Nothing, nothing. I just need somewhere to stay before I get back on my feet, that’s all.” I’ll quickly burn through that money I saved if I have to pay for accommodation.
“At one in the morning?”
I didn’t think this through. She would have a lot of questions. I’ve had no contact with her since the wedding, and before that we had been distant for years.
She answers, “You can stay here, if you’re okay with staying at a clubhouse because we haven’t brought our own place yet.”
My sister married a biker a year ago, and at any point, I would have said no way, but I will stay anywhere. “That’s fine. I promise I won’t stay long. It’s just until I can get a job.”
“Are you guys getting a divorce or something?”
Pausing, I close my eyes. “Something like that.”
She sighs. “I’m glad you’re getting out of that marriage. It felt like I lost you to him. You stopped calling.”
She pays more attention than I thought.
“I’ll catch a bus there. Can you tell me the address?”
“Don’t be stupid. You have to tell me something.”
I exhale through my mouth, knowing no makeup could hide the bruise on my face from yesterday afternoon.
“So am I meeting you at your house, or...?”
“No.”
“I’m coming.” I hear the male voice again.
I have met her husband only briefly, so I’m not sure how he will react.
“Where am I picking you up?”
I think he’ll check public transportation for me if he wakes up. “Do you remember the park near my house?” I don’t think he’ll look for me at the park. I can get there from here without going on the road.
“At this time of night? Are you insane?”
“Please...” My voice is strained.
Again, she sighs. “Promise me you’ll call if you see anything suspicious.”
“I will.”
“Okay, we will get there as soon as we can.”
Relief floods me, and I make my way to the trail that leads to the park. Without the lights from the street, it’s darker, so I turn on my phone’s flashlight. Luckily for me, the dirt track has been cleared because the kids use it to ride their bikes through here.
It’s eerily quiet as I walk through, and those intrusive thoughts flood my brain. I’m so pitiful that I’ve had to call my sister for help. I should have gotten out of the marriage sooner. I saw the red flags and talked to Mom about it, but she encouraged me to stay. I should have known better than to converse with her, but who else was I going to talk to? The only people Beau approved of were my parents.
My ankle rolls on unsteady ground, and I cry out in agony when I land hard. My hands burn from protecting my head and body from the fall. I sit up through a hissed breath and reach out for my phone, which slid under a small shrub. I wipe my hand on my coat to get rid of the dirt, and when I peer down, blood is trickling from the wound. I swap my phone to my bleeding hand to check the other, but it’s fine.
When I pull my jeans up my calf, I see my ankle is swelling. The swelling is accompanied by a dull ache. My body is sore, but I’m not sure whether it’s from the fall or from yesterday. I grasp my bag, bring it to the front of me, and search through it until I find the water bottle. I twist the lid and tip a little on my bleeding hand. It stings, but the dirt and blood run off my hand and onto the ground.
When the bleeding stops, I twist the cap on the bottle and put it back in the bag, then leverage myself up with my other hand. I wipe my damp face with my arm, take a deep breath, and step to walk again. My ankle throbs, so I limp the rest of the way.
My phone vibrates in my hand, and I swipe a little more dirt off the screen before answering it. “Hello?”
“Where are you?” Elena asks.
