He Thought I Was Being Good, I Was Just Getting Ready to leave Chapter 09

He Thought I Was Being Good, I Was Just Getting Ready to leave Chapter 09

When I got back from my trip, I stood outside the front door with my suitcase and typed in the passcode.

It didn’t work.

I thought maybe I’d misremembered. But then a warning flashed: too many failed attempts. Temporary lockout.

I gave up.

Harrison had changed the code, and if I had to guess, he’d probably blocked me by now.

Sure enough, my messages wouldn’t go through. I couldn’t reach him.

It wasn’t the first time he’d blocked me. During the worst fight we ever had, I refused to back down.

He removed me from everywhere. Later, when I regretted it, I tried everything to contact him. I even bought several new phone numbers.

Finally, Derek took pity on me and brought me to see him.

Harrison probably thought this time would be the same, that I’d come crawling back like I always did.

I stepped back, pulling my suitcase with me, and looked up at the house.

In all my years with Harrison, I’d never pretended to be above it all.

I took everything he gave me, the clothes, the shoes, the bags. What I couldn’t use, I sold every year and turned into cash.

Harrison knew; he just didn’t care about small money like that.

He bought me two condos so I could commute easily. He even stayed with me for a while. I decorated every corner trying to make him comfortable.

But he never really liked living in a regular apartment. So I followed him to this villa instead.

We had good memories here, a lot of them.

The year I broke my ankle, he took care of me for six months. A man who’d never lifted a finger in the kitchen learned how to make soup.

He did my therapy with me every single day. He learned the rehab techniques better than the physical therapist.

He carried me up and down the stairs so I wouldn’t get bored. Carried me to the yard to sit in the sun. Carried me to the back to see the swans.

I gripped my suitcase handle and turned to walk away.

My phone rang. Derek again.

“Can’t get in, huh?” He sounded more sober than last time. “He found out about your little date.”

“You know, I didn’t think you had it in you. First the pills, now another guy.” He laughed. “I always thought you were kind of clueless.”

His tone changed. “But hey, I’m not the type to stir up drama.”

“There are plenty of good men out there. You don’t have to stick with this one forever.”

“You saw the pictures, right? He had some college girl sitting next to him. Just to make you jealous.”

“And I’m really not trying to cause trouble, but he’s letting her sit next to him now. What’s next? On his lap?”

Derek had always been like this, weird, unpredictable.

Sometimes he’d take Harrison’s side and say awful things to me.

Other times, he’d talk behind Harrison’s back and say things that weren’t exactly kind.

But this time, he wasn’t wrong.

So I said, politely, “You’re right.”

And I hung up before he could answer.