So that was what it had been about.Thatwas why she didn't say she loved me.Thatwas why she said she wasn't good enough for me. She had been cheating on me this whole time. My whole body was tense when I pulled into the parking lot. I dragged Henry upstairs and sat at my desk, staring at the wall.
What am I going to do?My whole world was crashing down.How could she do this to me?
The whole office reminded me of her. We had made love on that desk. There was the couch that she put all that stuff on. There was the window she broke. I could still smell the smoke from the fire she had started. I opened the drawer of my desk and was confronted with a small container of saltwater taffy.
"I can't be here anymore," I muttered. I grabbed Henry by the arm. "Pack up your crayons," I ordered him.
"I want to stay!" he protested. "When is Josie coming back?"
"Never," I spat. "She is never coming back."
Henry did not like that answer, and he started wailing. Garrett left his office and stalked across the hall.
"Why is he yelling like that?"
"I don't want to go!" Henry cried.
"I'm leaving," I told Garrett.
"Leaving where? What are you talking about? Have you finally lost your mind?" he exclaimed.
"I'm done," I said. "I'm just done." I picked up Henry and all his crayons and walked out.
"You forgot your jacket," Garrett called after me. Everything sounded fuzzy, and I didn't feel like I was quite there. I heard Garrett swear.
I was on autopilot on the drive home. I took Henry up to the clubroom with me. I pulled out a bottle of whiskey while he spun the antique globe. I knew he would probably break it, but I didn't care. Part of me wanted him to just destroy the whole house.
Eventually Henry wandered off. I sat in the chair, staring out the window. It grew dark. Josie didn't return. Was she with him? When had she met him?
I was furious and heartbroken. I sat in the pitch-dark room. I saw a dark figure creep across the yard, and the tiny house lights turned on. She must have been with him. That was why she stayed out so late. Was that why she had stayed out late the past few weeks? How long had this been going on?
It was after midnight when the door to the clubroom cracked open and Hunter walked in.
"Henry said you were possessed by a zombie," Hunter said, coming over to me.
"Josie's cheating on me," I rasped.
"Uh-huh." My older brother collected the bottle and the glass.
"She is!" I insisted.
"She doesn't really seem like the type," he said.
"I saw her; she was with another man."
"Is that what this was about?" I heard Garrett snap from the doorway. "You just spiral into the worst possible scenario. Did you see her kiss him, stick her hands down his pants?"
"Don't be crass!" Hunter scolded.
Garrett ignored him and scoffed, "Is this like that time you were convinced you had smallpox but really you were just so stressed you gave yourself hives?"
"She was laughing with him, and he gave her a piece of candy!" I yelled at my brother.
"Candy? Like a euphemism for a sexual favor?" Hunter asked.
"No, he gave her a piece of saltwater taffy," I said.
"Let me get this straight," Garrett said, his mouth quirking. "You saw Josie with a guy on the street, and she was being her usual Josie self, laughing and being friendly and eating candy."
