Johnathan sighed, “Yes, but you know exactly who she is with. And from what we’ve seen, she is with a pretty reputable guy. Elyse, seriously, Molly is a grown woman and you’re not her mother. If she wanted to talk to you right now, I’m sure she would, but she’s not. Call her when she’s back, which is only two days away anyway!”
Johnathan kept speaking but I had tuned out. The only words that I heard clearly enough was,You are not her mother. And right now, those were the last words that I needed to hear.
“Pull over,” I said.
“What, no, I’m not pulling over, we're heading back to the station.”
“No, you can head back to the station. I’m going home, pull over please Johnathan, pull over right now.”
“Elyse, calm down, look I’m sorry….”
I couldn’t hold my rage in any longer. “Johnathan just pull the fucking car over!” I screamed as I turned away from him. I couldn’t look at him, and my body shook. I was about to combust and counted the seconds until Johnathan finally pulled the car over to the side of the highway. As soon as the car stopped, I undid my belt, opened the door and breathed in the fresh air. Sitting in this car with him had made me feel claustrophobic.
“You know what, I’m sorry, Johnathan. I’m sorry that I’m not Molly’s biological mother. And I know that I never will be. But we are all that each other has. I am the only one that has been there with her from day one. I have soothed her, cried with her, cheered for her and held her through fucking everything. So, no even though biologically, I’m not her mother, I’m her sister. There’s still this feeling that I have being so goddamn connected to her and that is something that you will never be able to understand because no I don’t have proof, and I don’t have science. But I have this feeling that is so deep in my gut that is telling me that things are not okay, okay? And because of that right now. I’m not okay.” I said finally taking a breath as Johnathan sat still in the car, not daring to say a word as I sprayed him with mine.
I felt instant regret as soon as I saw his lips pursed shut. He did not need to be spoken to like that. He was the last person in my life that deserved to be spoken to like that. Johnathan had always been there with me, by my side through everything.
“What I’m trying to say is, I’m really not okay. I’m taking the rest of the night off, and I’m just going to get an Uber home from here.”
Johnathan just nodded. “I’m sorry, Elyse, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”
“I know,” I sighed, “Bring the husband in for questioning in again. I’m 99.7% sure that it was him. If you get him inside an interrogation situation and ask him to run through his day again but slower, I think he will trip up on his so-called grocery trip. All you need to do is suggest that we have their security footage and I have a feeling that’s all it’s going to take to get him to confess to the whole thing. That man’s not as strong as he thinks he is.”
“Rest up, Elyse. I’ll call you, okay?”
“Call me if I’m right and if I am, then I’m taking tomorrow off as well.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I’d fallen asleep in his arms, feeling my body sink deeper inside them. With him there, I felt safe from the dreams of Ruth, her red hair, seeing her deep underneath the water. They didn't come back when he was beside me. But as I woke again in the morning, Henry wasn’t anywhere to be found.
The smell of coffee filled my nose. As I stretched out in bed, I noticed a small table on top of which sat a large mug of coffee, half topped with chocolate dust and the small line of steam. After the past couple of days on this island, this was the only way that I wanted to wake up now, with coffee sitting by my side. As I curled myself up out of bed, I noticed the sting between my legs had soothed, another thing that I was grateful for. It wasn’t completely gone but a lot less painful, which made the conversation that I had to have with Henry today about boundaries a hell of a lot better.
I sat up and took the mug of coffee to my lips, gazing out at what looked like it was going to be another beautiful sunny day. It was only when I went to sit the mug back down thatI noticed the note that was sitting on the table. I tipped the sweet caffeine towards my mouth as I read:
Miss Molly.
I trust that you have slept well, and you take your time having a nice slow morning that you love and deserve, I’ll be downstairs waiting for you when you’re ready.
With love,
Henry.
Did he really think that everything was okay? That last night didn’t change anything? I didn’t want to sweep under the rug about what happened last night. I wanted him to feel open with me, I wanted him to be able to feel self-expressed with me. But I never wanted to feel how I felt last night again. And even though the pain was gone now, I was almost sure that I wasn’t exactly back in working action. I had to tell him about Dylan too. It would be fine, anything that I needed to talk about wouldn’t change anything. He loved me, he had said he had loved me, and I had already accepted the rose. And as positive as I was forcing myself to be, I couldn’t help but feel the nerves that were flooding through my chest. I needed to rip this off like a Band-Aid before I gave myself any more time to think. I jumped out of bed, running straight to the bathroom, stopping at the door.
“Ruth,” I called out.
“It’s still me, Miss Molly,” the scratchy voice of Aria sounded through the penthouse, but her image stayed hidden. “Is there anything that I can help you out with?”
“Oh no, I’m all good, thank you.”
“Oh my, Miss Molly, you… you…” Henry’s voice drifted off as he walked towards me when I came out of the elevator. It was like he had been waiting for me right there since the moment that he left me the note. “You look so beautiful,” he whispered in my ear, as he wrapped his arms around me. I wasn’t exactly dressed for such a reaction. I had straightened my hair and dabbed on some make up. I didn’t exactly know how to get ready for the day because I was unsure what our plans were, so I had opted to throwing on some black wide leg yoga pants and a matching singlet.
“Thank you,” I said, letting go of his embrace and noticing the many red roses in the distance.
“Are you hungry?” he asked. I nodded and he took my hand and pulled me towards the sunken couch at the back of the ground floor. On each corner of the large square couch were large vases filled with red roses and petals lining each side. I stepped down onto the couch, which I had to admit I had been eyeing since I got here. It looks so comfortable. In the middle of the white cousins lining each side was a picnic table filled with fruits, pancakes, pastries, syrups and even chocolate Danishes and almond croissants. It was the ultimate sweet breakfast with not a single savory in sight.
“Are you trying to give me diabetes?” I joked, popping a strawberry in my mouth as I sunk into the cushions. Wow, it was like sitting on a literal cloud. I don’t think my body had ever touched something sosupportive yet soft.
