Chapter 7

I wake up to find the room still dark.  I turn my phone back on while I go to the bathroom.  When I exit the bathroom, I see how bright it is in the apartment.  I walk out to the living room to see Ace sitting on his sofa watching television with the volume low.  “Morning, sunshine.  Or should I say afternoon?”

               “What time is it?”

               “Quarter past noon,” Ace shrugged.  “How’d you sleep?”

               “Like a log,” I smile.  “It was amazing, thank you, Ace.”

               “He didn’t call you?”

               “He sent me a message before I shut my phone off for the night, saying she was in a lot of pain, but he’ll send me a car.  I may have told him I ran into Jake inside the restaurant.”

               “Make him squirm.  Love it,” Ace smirked.  “I’ll make you some peppermint tea.”

               “I feel like the biggest joke ever,” I admit.  I then tell him about the necklace and how Zander tried to make it an issue.  Followed by answering Ace’s questions honestly about the gifts Zander’s gotten me through the years.  “He thinks we’ve only been married for five years.  I didn’t have the energy to correct him.  Six years with me must be unimaginable.”

               “God, he’s a walking dead man, and doesn’t even know it.  No wonder you won’t tell Jake anything,” Ace comments.  “This is turning my stomach, and I’m just watching from the sidelines.”

               “I have an appointment on Tuesday.  Will you come with me?  I just don’t want to go alone in case it’s bad news, you know?”

               “And Jake would be a bad choice, because he’d go ape shit on Zander if it’s bad news,” Ace replied in understanding.  “And we’re not telling mom and dad just yet.”

               “They will know nothing.  They don’t even know about the divorce, because they were raised differently.  I wish I knew how to tell his grandmother, out of his entire family, she’s the one who was happiest when we got married.”

               “Tell her the truth?”

               “If she finds out Mariah is back, she’d cut him off completely.  I won’t be the person who causes that.  She hated Mariah. I believe she actually used the words no good tramp to describe her once.  For a woman who doesn’t swear, it was quite the shock to the ears hearing her say them,” I admit.

               “I second granny’s description and offer more,” Ace laughs.

               “Yeah,” I sigh.  “I’m going to get dressed.  Should probably head home.”  I take the peppermint tea into the room with me while I pull my clothes back on from the night before.  When I exit, I find Ace in the kitchen making me some oatmeal.  “When do you guys leave?”

               “We’re supposed to leave on Tuesday, but I will take you to your appointment and catch up with them later,” Ace answers.  “Family takes care of family, Saraphina.”

               “I’m sorry to drag you into this,” I reply.

               “I’m going to leave the key to this place, along with the address at your parents' house, in your room.  If you need a place he doesn’t know about, you are welcome to crash here.  Your peace of mind is the most important part of healing from the heartbreak.”

               “Thank you.”  My phone only has one message from Zander giving me an update about Mariah, as if I care.  Is he truly that blind to see that I give up?

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               Ace dropped me off, and I entered the house to find it still empty.  Mariah must still be in the hospital, or he took her out somewhere.  I walk into the living room and pull a picture off the wall to pack.  I removed the nail to make it less noticeable and brought it up to my room to put in the last box I have stored in my closet.  It was the last item in the house that belonged solely to me, a painting my grandmother made before she passed.

               As I close the box, it feels like I can breathe.  I carry the box out to my car to put in the trunk.  As I’m opening the trunk of my car, Zander pulls up and gets out of the car.  “What’s in there?” He asks.

               “Old clothes I’m going to donate,” I lie.  I put the box into my trunk and close it before walking inside.

               “Sara, are you still upset about last night?”

               “I’m not upset, Zander.  To be upset, I’d have to care, and I don’t anymore,” I answer honestly.  “I get it.  She’s your oldest friend; she’ll always come first to you.”

               “She doesn’t come first.  Sara, you are my wife, if you told me to stay.”

               “You’d tell me that I’m unreasonable and shouldn’t be jealous,” I cut him off.  “Do you forget when you slapped me for getting angry that you skipped my birthday dinner to help her because she went to a club and got too drunk to drive home?  I’m done getting angry or upset over her.  You do whatever you feel you need to do.  I’m only the woman you married after she left town.”

               “This is still about the necklace.  I got you something.”  He rushes into the bedroom with a smile.  When he returns, he hands me a gift bag.  Surprised, I open it and pull out a silver bracelet.  It doesn’t have any engravings or jewels, just a sleek silver bracelet. What he doesn’t know is that I know for a fact that this bracelet was given as a promo for the jeweler where he got the necklace for her.

               “Thanks,” I force a smile as he puts it on my wrist.

               “I knew you’d like it,” he stated.  He wraps me in a hug and kisses my forehead.  For a moment, it feels like old times, until the front door opens.  He pulls away as his sister, Nala, enters.

               “How’s Mariah?” She asks, barely looking at me.

               “It’s just a sprain, though her stomach began acting up just before she was discharged, so they are keeping her for monitoring.  They mentioned running some tests to pinpoint the diagnosis.  They don’t think it’s a chronic disease anymore; it could be more serious,” Zander explains.  “She’s going to call with an update once they are done with the tests.”

               “That’s good about the ankles, but not the testing.  Why are you here and not there with Mariah?” Nala presses.

               “I was coming to get her some things; besides, I needed to apologize to Sara for canceling our date last night to help Mariah,” Zander answers. 

               “That’s too bad you had to cancel a date,” Nala gives me a sorrowful look.  We never really got along.  Honestly, she left with Mariah to do a job, and when she came back, we had been married for almost three years.  I’m pretty sure she’s the one who got Mariah to return, but I have no proof.

               “I was just telling him that it’s alright.  I did tell him to go help her, so he has nothing to apologize for,” I explain.  I walk to the kitchen and begin pulling things out to make myself a sandwich.  He hasn’t even noticed that I’m in the same clothes from last night, which doesn’t surprise me.  I’m not Mariah. Why would he give me any attention other than to have sex?

               “Zander, we should go back to the hospital.  Mariah just messaged me,” Nala stated, looking at her phone.  “She’s waiting on the doctors to tell her the results and doesn’t want to be alone to hear them.”

               “Okay,” Zander goes upstairs to grab whatever he came home to get for Mariah, while Nala walks over to the kitchen with a smug smile.

               “It’s about time you move along.  Hasn’t he proven who he cares most about?”  Nala asks me.

               “Crystal clear.  In one week, I’ll be out of her way,” I reply just before Zander returns.

               “I didn’t forget.  The gala is in one week, and I’ll be there.  I promise.” He smiles, kisses my temple before leaving with his sister.  The gala is this evening, and I’ve already RSVP’d as a single attendant.  Mariah must have seen the calendar and knew to keep his full attention for the weekend she’d need to have an episode with her fake illness.  I also put in my resignation last week, so this is the last company event I’ll be attending.  I need a clean break.

               I’ve been talking with Ace and Jake, and they’ve convinced me that there’s nothing left here.  Especially if I have this baby, it’d be better to start fresh somewhere else.  I’ll stay in touch with my parents, but I’m already expecting a negative response when I tell them about the divorce.  They come from a different generation, and I refuse to tell them everything that’s led me to letting Zander go, because they will tell Jake.  I know my brother’s been in jail more than once for various reasons, but even he won’t tell them what for.  I can’t chance Jake doing something that will cost him his life in jail because of me.