“She seems like a real piece of work. Still, I’d love to punch him in the face after he uses one of those stupid names.”
“Wish you would, you big ruffian, you.”
“Next one. ‘I miss you.’ Then, ‘Do you miss me?’”
Laura snorts, “I can answer that one for her.No.”
Good. “Then he seems to switch gears again. ‘Goddamn it, Prudie. Answer my texts. You know I hate it when you ignore me. It’s so juvenile. It’s one of the reasons I left.’”
“Hedidn’t leave. She did.”
I knew that. “Now, he backtracks again. Are we sure this guy doesn’t have some sort of disorder? Somethin’ psychological?”
“I always suspected he was a sociopath, but she’d never go there. I still think it’s possible. It’s always all about him. He’s got no remorse. He pretends to be apologetic, but they’re just empty words. Now, keep going.”
“He says, ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. I blame myself, to a certain extent, for the demise of our relationship. It’s just… you let yourself go, Pru-Pru. Remember how sexy you were in high school? Your boobs used to be so perky and your thighs, well, you could see daylight between them back then.’”
“No. He. Didn’t.” Laura sounds aghast.
“He sure as fuck did.”
“I’m going to kill him. Right after I run his mother over, I’m going to turn the car around and get him too. Swear to God.”
“Get in line,” I growl.
“How many was that?”
I count the texts. “Seven.”
“Keep going.”
“Okay. ‘That aside, the reason I’m trying to speak to you is my lawyer informs me that I shouldn’t have to pay for your car any longer. That we’re going back to court. I’m sorry to do that to you, but the fact remains, I’m going to have a family soon. And well, you don’t. You’re alone.’”
“I’m going to run him over twice for that one.”
“Mm-hmm.” I read on. “It says, ‘He’ll be filing the papers later this week.’”
Laura growls, “She needs to call her attorneyagainfirst thing in the morning. She’s not doing much about this. At least from what Prudence has said.”
“We’ve got a couple more. Jesus. He claims to miss her again.” I don’t like what I’m reading. Not one bit.
“What he’s really saying is he misses that fact she cooked and cleaned for that asshole. He never had to do one damn thing for her or their lives which freed him up to fuck around on her. The dick.”
“Sounds like it. Last one. ‘Call me back, Pru-Pru. We should really talk this out.’”
“That’s code for him having the opportunity to manipulate her over the phone. She needs to share those text messages with her lawyer. He’s harassing her.”
“Agree.”
“Do me a favor,” Laura asks. “Scroll up and see what he’s been sending her. Check the dates too, would you?”
“I think we’re crossing a line here.”
“He’s mind-fucking her, Nate. He’s always done this to her. It’s why she stayed as long as she did.”
“Still not right.”
“Right-schmight. We’re protecting her.”
