My father and brother have been charged with several crimes, murder and arson being the worst of them, and the town is free from their rule. There have been several other arrests too, including my mother’s. My whole family is going to end up behind bars. I’ve had to go down to the station and makestatements and submit all the evidence I had found, including the letter from my grandmother which I was sad to let go of, but I knew it would be for a good cause.
The south side is safe again though I have a meeting planned tomorrow to see how we can move forward with that too, not to destroy but to build it up again. I have so much money I can do it single handedly.
“Have you spoken to him?” Zara asks, looking over the top of the couch.
“I don’t want to talk about River, Zara,” I huff, bending down to pick up a bag to take to my bedroom.
“Okay but you didn’t want to talk about him yesterday or the day before that, you can’t pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“That isn’t what I’m doing,” I stare at her.
“Isn’t it?” She quirks a brow, “Because last I checked you were in love with the guy, and you haven’t even cried.”
“I have cried enough for a year,” I roll my neck side to side to release the sudden tension, “I have no more tears to give. He hurt me and that’s that.”
“He did, you’re right,” Zara concedes but only for a minute, “But you get why. Now I’m not saying he’s right for what he did, in fact I would very much like to castrate him for it but it’s clear to everyone he loves you too.”
“Please stop, Zara.”
She softens, “Marly, it’s okay to forgive him.”
“I have.” I huff.
She purses her lips, “No you haven’t, because if you had, you wouldn’t be torturing the both of you. I’ve never seen you as happy as you were with him, Marly.”
“I thought you didn’t like him,” I point out.
“I don’t but as your best friend and for your happiness, I will tolerate him.”
Laughing, I shake my head, “It’s fine, it’s better this way anyway.”
“Please explain your reasoning behind that statement because I’m not following.”
I shrug and don’t answer because I have no answer. “Shall we order some food?” I ask instead.
“You? Ordering food!?” She gasps in horror, “Who are you!?”
I walk to the console table and pull out a bunch of menus I’d collected from a couple of places when I went to town for groceries, “River made me try a bunch so I thought we could try the rest.”
Zara is sad for me, I see it all over her face, “Of course I’ll try new places with you.”
“Here,” I hand her the menus, “Pick a place and I’ll buy, I’m just going to go get changed.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I hear her call after my retreating form, several bags in my hands as I take them up. I’ll go through them all tomorrow and put them away but tonight they can stay inside the bags. I find a new set of pajamas in one of them and lay it on the bed before I hop in the shower to wash away the day of shopping. When I’m done, my hair is wrangled into a claw clip, and I pull on my pajamas before I pick up the cell I left on the nightstand this morning and turn it on.
I haven’t looked at it since yesterday afternoon.
Several new messages pop up in the notifications, every single one from River.
My eyes water as I read that one.
I pause before I continue to today’s messages. This has been a constant since the town square, he talks even though I don’t reply. I could block his number, but I don’t want to. I like having this part of him, even if it’s selfish.
“So bad,” I reply out loud, “I haven’t slept in days.”
He tells me he misses me every day.
Putting my phone on the nightstand and leaving every message unanswered, I head back to Zara and plaster a fake smile on my face. “I ordered us Thai food.” She says, getting up from the couch.
