“Why would I be doing that?” I replied, wandering over to the fridge for a bottle of water.
“Because I’ve called you twice today and you haven’t bothered to pick up the line!”
“Have you?” I asked, holding the phone away from my ear and glancing at the darkened screen. “I was down on the beach and left my phone in the house.”
“I called a couple days ago too.” She sniffed.
That was the morning I was at Gavin’s. I didn’t call her back because I spent the rest of that day in some kind of after-sex haze.
“Sorry. What’s up?”
“Blake’s looking for you.”
Just the mention of his name brought down my mood. I don’t know what it said about me, but this past week at the beach, I barely thought of him. It was like I didn’t miss him at all. If anything, I felt slightly relieved he wasn’t around. Turns out living with him was unknowingly stifling.
“Did he call you?”
“He came to the apartment.”
“I’m sorry.” I sighed. I really didn’t think he would come looking. He was the type of guy that would want me to come back to him.
“I had to tell him that you left town,” Claire said. “He wasn’t happy. Not at all.”
“Well, now he knows how I felt when I caught him in bed with lopsided Barbie.”
“Lopsided Barbie?” she asked. I could hear the smirk in her voice.
“Never mind,” I muttered. “Did you tell him where I was?”
“No. He wasn’t happy about that either.”
“Did he threaten you?” I asked sharply.
There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line. “No.” Then she said, “Talie… Did he threaten you? Is he abusive?”
“No!” I said swiftly. “No, he’s never laid a hand on me. Not that way.” Blake was a lot of crappy things, but he didn’t abuse me. “I just… I know how he can be when he gets angry. His reputation means everything to him.”
“Yeah, I got that. I guess word got out about your separation. People are talking. His dad isn’t happy.”
I sighed. I was hoping it would be a while before people found out. I knew it was just wishful thinking. Raleigh wasn’t a small town, but for the people who were born and raised there, it was a tightknit community.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I’ll be home tomorrow and you won’t have to deal with him again.”
“You can’t come home,” Claire said immediately.
“What? Why not?”
“He wants you back. He even had roses. At first, I thought it was sweet, and he laid on the charm, making me think he really had thought things through and decided not to be the world’s biggest douche.”
The last time Blake brought me roses was almost a year ago, on his way home from some business trip. A business trip Barbie went on with him. They probably spent more time in his hotel room than working, and those stupid roses were his way of trying to make it up to me. Jackass.
“But you changed your mind?” I asked.
“Once he realized you weren’t there and his smooth talking and flowers weren’t going to score him any points, he dropped the charm. He demanded to know where you were. When I refused to tell him, he said he would find out on his own. Then he stormed out.”
“I can’t believe he thinks I would stay with him.” I sighed. “He doesn’t respect me at all, Claire.”
“He acted like he owned you. Like your whereabouts was something he was entitled to.”
“Oh, he definitely thinks he’s entitled to me. Apparently, that was the price I paid when he gave me his name.”
“Joanna’s called me too.”
I groaned.
“Jack filed the papers and she’s upset about it.”
“She’ll get over it.”
Claire paused. “Look, my Aunt Ruth still isn’t cleared to be home by herself. She plans on staying with my parents at least another week, maybe two. Stay there. Let Blake and Joanna come to terms with your separation. Another week or two will be good for everyone.”
“Do you think I’m running away?” I asked, suddenly feeling like a chicken for coming here to hide.
She made a sound. “No. I think your life turned upside down, and you’re taking a timeout, a breather so you don’t end up on one of those god-awful reality shows about desperate housewives.”
I laughed. “I don’t feel like I’m running away, you know? But it feels good to not have to live up to Blake and Joanna’s standards.”
“Your sister totally belongs in that movie The Stepford Wives.”
I grinned. Claire was right.
“Take this time, Talie. When you get back, you’ll be getting another job, getting a place of your own, and returning to the real world. Play hooky as long as you can. Being an adult isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Of their own accord, my eyes drifted toward the window and out at Gavin’s house. My libido kicked up and the prospect of even just one more encounter with him was enough to make me want to stay.
“I guess someone needs to feed Salty.” I reasoned.
“You two getting along better?”
I laughed. “Hell no. But Aunt Ruth would feel better if someone was here to look after him.”
“Absolutely.” I had no idea if she was agreeing because it was true or if she was just letting me convince myself to stay.
“Okay, tell Ruth I’ll stay another week.”
“I will. And Talie?”
“Hmm?”
“Next time I call, answer the damn phone.”
14
Talie
It felt good to be able to stay here. In truth, I wasn’t ready to go home. Being at the beach was relaxing, and despite everything going on in my life at home, I felt utterly at ease here.
With an extra spring in my step, I went to change out of my sand-ridden bathing suit. As soon as I turned on the bathroom light, I noticed I didn’t do a very good job applying sunblock. My shoulders and back were very red. Thankfully, my face wasn’t burned because when I wasn’t wearing my hat, I was lying facedown, which kept most the sun off my face.
I took a cool shower, grimacing when the spray hit the sun-scorched area. I was going to be hurting later. The jellyfish sting on my lower arm and wrist was healing nicely. The rash wasn’t nearly as red as before and the pain was gone. I’d been applying hydrocortisone cream to the area, and it was helping.