1
Caterina
“I don’t understandwhy you had to leave right now. Why couldn’t you wait three more days and go with your friends? That’s too long of a drive to make all by yourself.”
My mother’s worried voice flooded my car through the Bluetooth speakers. Why the hell had I answered the phone? I’d ignored every text and sent all calls to voice mail since I’d left, but my mother would be crazed with worry if I didn’t pick up her call.
“Ma, I’m fine,” I assured her as I tried to focus on the ding of the GPS signaling my next turn. The three hours I’d spent in my car trying to figure out where the hell I was going was oddly soothing. I was focused on something other than the reasons why I’d decided to start my vacation immediately.
“Did you and Trent have a fight?”
Any peace I’d found on my way down here dissipated in a rush at the sound of my boyfriend’s name. Or, ex-boyfriend as the case was now.
“Something like that. I really don’t want to talk about it, and I’ve had a long drive. Didn’t you want me to relax and go on vacation?”
I pulled into a spot in the Anchor Motel parking lot, a few long beats of silence passing between my mother and me. Admitting that I’d been duped for God knew how long, stung like hell. The thought of what else had been going on right under my nose without me having one single clue was humiliating, and verbalizing it only made it more real.
“I did, Cat. But you sound anything but relaxed.” I sniffed away the burning in my nose. Nope, I wasn’t crying to my mother over this. “We’ll talk tomorrow when you’re ready.”
I sucked in my bottom lip, biting the inside of my cheek as I nodded at no one, willing the tears pooling in my eyes back in the ducts. I would hold on to the tiny bit of dignity I’d left Brooklyn with.
I whispered a goodbye and ended the call, massaging the sore fingers I’d white-knuckled around my steering wheel since I’d left. The adrenaline had worn off, and exhaustion now flooded my veins in its place.
Somewhere between the Turnpike and the entrance to the Garden State Parkway, I’d figured out what had driven me to flee my own home. It wasn’t the disintegration of a great love, although at one time, I’d thought Trent and I had something real. It was the time I’d wasted, forcing us into something we weren’t anymore, or maybe never really were. But, after two years, I deserved a whole lot better. And, in the end, I’d never expected to come home early from work and catch another woman on her knees, blowing my boyfriend on the brand-new couch I’d just bought with my promotion bonus.
My phone screen lit up again, this time with my friend Megan’s face. As much as I hated to, I pushed the button on my steering wheel to answer.
“I’m here. Just pulled up.” I didn’t even have a “hello” in me for one of my oldest friends because I had no desire to go into this horrible story—one I’d have to repeat over and over again once I’d finally let it out.
“Shit, Cat. What the hell happened? This isn’t you.”
“I can’t go on vacation early?”
A long sigh echoing my mother’s came through the speakers. “You can, but you don’t. How long did it take us to convince you to take next week off? So, for you to escape to a town you’ve never been to, all alone? Yeah, you have us a touch concerned.”
I let my head fall against the headrest. Megan was always the calm, voice of reason type of friend. Shocking her wasn’t an easy feat.
Was this my fault? Had I become so obsessed with work that I’d missed all the signs that my relationship was falling apart? Or that I didn’t really have one to begin with?
“I left Trent. And since his name is on our lease, I don’t think I can throw him out. It was head to the shore for an early vacation, or stay home and …” I wondered what I would have done had I stayed. I didn’t even have it in me to really fight or consider what else around our apartment had been tainted. I had the strong feeling this wasn’t a one-time occurrence, and, while finding out Trent had been unfaithful would have hurt one way or the other, he’d brought it into our home.Myhome. I ran because, at that moment, it felt like I didn’t have a home anymore.
“You can still throw him out. If you’d called me, I would have happily stuffed his shit in garbage bags for you and thrown them off your terrace.”
An unexpected laugh escaped me. “You’re a good friend, Meg. I know this doesn’t make sense, but it was something I had to do.”
“Hey, as long as you’re okay and safe. And I know you’re all twisted up, but maybe try to enjoy being away, just a little. Don’t have the laptop stuck to you the entire time until we get there.”
“I just need to work tomorrow since I left in such a rush—”
“I am confiscating it the second we get to the rental. Be warned.”
I let a smile—a real smile—stretch my lips for the first time since I’d gotten into my car and headed for the highway.
“And Cat, I’m sorry. I don’t know exactly what happened, but you always deserved better than Trent.”
“I’m sorry, too. And thank you.” I ended the call, sucking in a long breath before opening my car door to begin my lovely solo vacation.
I’d searched online for a hotel close to both the beach and where we’d be staying once my friends arrived. I’d found one with reasonable rates and decent reviews in less than five minutes. I was out the door the second the confirmation email came through.
