That wasexactlywhat he did. Sat around. Gambled. Drank. Shopped. If I didn’t have limits on his cards, he’d never stop.
“I’m sorry, Rach, but I think it’s easier on everyone if you stay down there.”
“... stay down there.” My death, that’s what was easier on him. Me, freezing to death, if I didn’t drown first.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they find your body in a couple of days.”
There was a clang, then the drag of something heavy. “Until then, I’m going to cover this up. I don’t think anyone could hear you scream, but can you scream for me, Rach?”
“Scream for me, Rach.” He used to whisper that in my ear during sex. It was the final push he needed toward orgasm. The louder I reacted, the harder he got.
I didn’t scream. Not now. Not when it felt like I couldn’t even breathe. I clung to the side of the well and took a moment to rest, but the weight of the sweatshirt hung on me, pulling me down.
Who did I marry?
Who did I plan to have a child with?
Was I that terrible of a judge of character?
Of a husband?
Of a best friend?
There was another scrape of metal. Another call down toward me. “Rach? Did you yell? I can’t hear shit with this lid on.”
I said nothing.
Chapter 12
Rachel
Jake was gone. He left, after putting whatever piece back in place above the hole. Now, I couldn’t see anything at all. It was pitch black and I could feel the darkness creeping into my soul, sucking any hope out with it.
No one would find me here. Not in the next hour or so, and I would be lucky if I lasted that long.
I stopped moving, letting my arms and legs go still, and slowly sank down into the ice-cold water. I lifted my chin, keeping my head exposed for as long as possible. When the liquid came past my chin, I took a deep breath and pinched my eyes closed, then let myself fall, drifting down to the bottom. My feet hit and sank a little in whatever slush was down there. I succumbed, and my butt hit the bottom. I let my hands fall and counted slowly in my head. I swam in high school and could, at that stage in my life, hold my breath for two minutes. Now? Would I make it to one hundred seconds?
This wasn’t death, I told myself. I could push off with my feet at any moment. Push up to the surface and take another breath. I fanned out my hands and flinched when they hit something hard. It bounced away, and I reached for it again,my awareness clinking into place even as my hands closed around it.
The tablet.
Chapter 13
Jake
Why?”
Rachel had squeaked out that question so innocently, as if there were no reason why he would prefer his life without her in it. And he hadn’t responded, because what kind of response was there to really give?
The truth? That every day with her was a reminder that he’d failed? That he couldn’t provide for himself, much less a family? That everywhere they went, people saw him as Rachel Redden’s kept husband—the guy who’d started and tanked his business on her dime?
His grandfather’s words echoed, almost every single day, in his head. “Wish I had a sugar mommy like you do.” He’d said it with that shit-eating grin, standing right there in the garage Jake had been so proud of. He’d poured his soul into that place, only to watch Rachel systematically dismantle his confidence with her “helpful suggestions” and incessant questions and an insistence on having a weekly profitability review meeting, right there in the glass meeting area, where everyone could see her pick his reports apart.
And she’d meant well. That was the worst part. She genuinely thought she was helping, thought her involvementmade her a supportive wife. She didn’t understand that every time she questioned a parts order or suggested a “more efficient” scheduling system, she was telling him—and everyone who worked there—that he didn’t know shit.
The garage had been his chance to prove he wasn’t just living off her money, and she’d ruined it.
Maybe not intentionally, but the result was the same.
