“This must be the one he’s using,” Riot says. A box spring and mattress have been shoved into the corner. The sheets are in a crumpled mess at the foot of the bed. A couple of laundry baskets heaped with unfolded clothes sit near the open closet. Clean or dirty, I have no idea.
“I can’t believe he got rid of the bedroom furniture as well.” Hannah’s forehead crinkles.
“I think he started liquidating assets when I stopped sending him money.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, wrapping my arm around her.
“Don’t be. There was nothing that can’t easily be replaced. Most of the furniture was thrifted. He thinks he’s hurting me, but really, he did me a favour—less for me to haul out of here.”
“Should we get started then?” Logan asks. “We already have trucks here. It won’t take long to load them up and take what you don’t want to the dump.”
“I don’t want anything.” Beck wrinkles her nose as she looks around the bare room.
“What about his clothes?” Hannah asks, running her hand through what has been hung up in the closet.
“Toss them,” Riot says. “I’m going to grab some garbage bags.”
“I have a few boxes in my truck,” Carson adds.
“No, I’m going to pack them up and figure out a way to get them to him. Jade left a bag of things in the truck as well,” Beck says as she inspects the bedroom. “He will never step foot in this house again, though.”
“You are a better woman than I am,” Hannah mutters.
“Okay.” Beck nods her head once. “The quicker we get started, the quicker we can get out of here, and I can close this chapter of my life.”
Forty-Two
“I’m not sure I have ever been this tired,” I groan, falling onto the couch.
It took a couple of trips to the landfill and one to the thrift shop, but my former home is now completely empty and smells much better than when we arrived hours ago. Ryan offered to hire professional cleaners to go in and give it a deep clean. I told myself it was something I should do on my own, but I am too mentally and physically exhausted to argue. Besides, I’m trying to accept help when it’s offered. It’s going to be a learning curve, trusting that I don’t have to do everything alone.
He lowers himself at the end of the couch and places my aching feet on his lap. He uses his thumb to massage the arch of my foot. “God, that feels good.” I moan, closing my eyes and sinking farther into the cushions.
“You have had a long day. How do you feel?” he asks, switching to the other.
“So many things. Relieved that this part is finally over. That my bank account has a chance to get out of the red for the first time in months.” Opening my eyes, I meet his. “Grateful foryou and our friends for helping me today and supporting me always.”
Before I can say more, there is a knock on the front door.
My forehead furrows, and I swing my leg to the floor and sit up. “I wonder who that is?”
As I begin to rise, Ryan rests his hands on my thigh. “I’ll check. You stay put.”
He crosses the floor and opens the door to find Aunt Maggie on the other side. Without a word, she shoves a couple of bags and a box of goodies into his waiting arms. She quickly removes her warm outerwear and sweeps past him to come to sit beside me. Her colour of the day is orange, and she smells like cinnamon sugar.
“Hi, Maggie.” He repositions everything in his arms and pushes the door closed. “Nice to see you,” he snickers. “I’ll take these to the kitchen, I guess.”
He dips his head and tries to suppress his grin before leaving the room.
“Hi, Ryan,” her voice trails after him.
“How are you?” she asks, leaning in to give me a quick hug. “I hear you’ve had a busy day, so I brought you dinner and a treat.”
I told her about my plan to meet Jade this morning but haven’t had a minute to catch her up to speed about everything else that has happened.
“Very busy, but great,” I say reassuringly. “Sorry I didn’t call you. How much do you know?”
“You remember where we live, right? There isn’t much going on in this town that I don’t know about. You were spotted the moment you rolled into town in the truck. I know what you donated and approximately how many bags went to the landfill.” She laughs.
