Reality settled on me again. I took the money with a frown, making sure our fingers didn’t brush.
I put on my jacket and picked up the bag. It would’ve felt like a normal night of going out except for the cloud of dread hanging over me. In a small voice that I forced to stay even, I called a cab to our house.
ToLarry’shouse.
Neither of us spoke until the cab arrived. It was the most dreadful ten minutes of my lifetime. Never was I so shaken, so scared about the future, and never did I feel so utterly alone.
“Where you gonna go?” Larry asked, as if he suddenly cared.
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly.
“Well, you better decide on somewhere close by, because that’s only twenty in bills.”
My lips went taut. “Thanks, Larry.”
He could decide for himself if I meant that sarcastically or not.
As I climbed into the cab and gave him the address of the nearest cheap hotel, I took one last glance over my shoulder at Larry and the life I was forced to leave behind.
Larry wasn’t there. He’d already gone inside.
