I stop pacing and sink onto the edge of the bed.“The dinner wasn’t great, no…” The understatement feels massive.
“I knew it!!”Helen shouts.
I roll my eyes.
“Tell me at least it’s finally over,” she pleads, her tone softening with hope.
Over?
If only it were that simple.
“Well…” I hesitate, pinching the bridge of my nose.“As over as it can be.Soon hopefully.Very soon.”
“Soon?Quésoon?Ames, what does that mean?”Her concern sharpens again.“Where are you anyway?”
I drop my head back, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling, exhaustion pressing down again.“Can we please talk about this later?I really, really don’t want to think about James today.”I squeeze my eyes shut.
Just saying his name makes my stomach flip.
“Okay, okay,mija,” she says, softening slightly.“No James today.Fine.So, what are you doing then?Resting?Hiding from him?”
“Resting.”I seize on the word.“Yes.Nothing.Absolutely nothing.Just resting.”The lie feels flimsy, but it’s all I have.
“PeroJames is there,” she says, her disgust evident.“How can you rest with him stomping around?Stop by the café.I’ll give you the keys to my place.You can rest there.Peace and quiet.Nobody will bother you.”
Her immediate offer, her unquestioning generosity, makes my throat tighten.“You’re so kind, Helen, honestly,” I say, my voice thick.“But don’t worry.James isn’t home.”The lie slips out easier this time, bolstered by grim certainty.
If I had to bet my last dollar on anything right now, it’d be that.
“He’s not home?”Helen sounds instantly suspicious.“It’s Saturday morning.Why the hell isn’t he at home?”
I drop back fully onto the soft duvet, throwing an arm over my eyes in exasperation.“Helen, please.How should I know?Enough questions for now.I just… I really need to go.I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”My voice trembles slightly with weariness.
Silence stretches on the line.“You sure you’re okay, Ames?”she asks finally, her tone still skeptical, but a little resigned.
“Yes, yes.I promise.”I try to inject some lightness into my tone.“Just need to unplug today.Seriously.Everything’s fine.I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early?”I hold my breath, hoping this is enough.
Another pause, then a sigh crackles through the line.“Bueno, mija.Don’t worry about anything here.Lou’s already on petition duty and I’ll hold the fort.You rest.But you call me if you need anything,entiendes?”
“Thank you, Helen, really.”Relief, heavy and sweet, rushes through me.“Bye.”
The line clicks dead.I drop the phone onto the duvet; it feels heavy as a brick.I keep my arm draped over my eyes.
Blessed darkness…
The sudden silence of the guest room presses in, amplifying the lingering buzz of Helen’s worried energy in my ears.
“And this is exactly why I was saying no Maddy’s Place today.”
I jolt upright, arm falling away, my chest tightening with a sudden, chaotic pounding.
Matthew leans against the doorframe.His expression is serious, his gaze steady.There’s no accusation in his tone, just a quiet statement of fact.He heard the stress, the evasion, the sheer effort it took for me to sound okay.
I stare at him, speechless.Heat floods my face.My mind scrambles, searching for a defense, an explanation, anything, but finds only blank panic.His eyes flick to the flush high on my cheekbones, noting the slight tremor in my hands.
The tension around his eyes melts away, and his shoulders drop just a fraction.“Do you have everything you need to get ready?”he asks, voice gentle.
The shift to normalcy makes my posture relax.I glance down at the rumpled tracksuit, then toward the chair in the corner where my purse lies over my dress.My hair feels like a bird’s nest despite my earlier attempt to tame it.
