Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 57897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 232(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Charlotte was there when I woke up. She was there often during the days after, leaving for class that she couldn’t miss or tests she had to take. Then, when they took the bandages off, she was there for that too.
She wasn’t around much afterward.
The scar had healed in the time since, mostly fading away everywhere but just under my eye and behind my jaw, then on the underside of my neck below my chin. But it was enough that it freaked Charlotte out. She admitted it one night when she again fell asleep in the recliner in our living room instead of coming to bed, and I confronted her about it. She couldn’t see past it.
Then, a month later, I got home from work to find a note. Her best friend from childhood, a guy named Stephen, texted me an hour later. He said that she was with him. That she didn’t want to speak to me anymore. That he was sorry that it turned out that way because he felt pity for me and my scarred face.
It was infuriating, but worst of all, it was just sad. I had changed my entire world for Charlotte. All I had left of her was an empty apartment and I couldn’t even stay there. I moved out and into a long-term hotel and sold off all our furniture. I kept almost nothing. When I heard that just six weeks later, Charlotte and Stephen had married, it was just another kick in the teeth.
Months went by where all I did was sit at the hotel, play video games, and try not to think about how lonely I was. I wallowed in it. Then, when I finally had a single day when I didn’t think about Charlotte for twenty-four hours, I decided I needed to move on.
And I had an idea of how.
I was ready to start a new life. I’d emailed my cousin a week ago and now was staring at the screen of my budget laptop as it displayed the email I got back. Not only were there openings for his crew, but Carter wanted me to come down, and he would put me up for a while until I got some paychecks in and could find my own place. His wife, Lauren, was looking forward to meeting me, and Carter wanted to make up for lost time.
Excited, I immediately went about looking for a moving truck and figuring out what I would need to move the few things I had in the storage unit. The email said they had a finished basement at their place that had a bedroom, a living room, and a full bath, so it would be like my own apartment. It was supposed to be for Carter to turn into a man cave, but he just hadn’t gotten around to it yet and was more than happy to share it with me for now.
I couldn’t believe the generosity of my cousin, but at the same time, it tracked with everything I knew of him. Carter was the best man I knew. I couldn’t wait to hang out with him.
Grabbing my keys, I headed to the storage unit where I’d put whatever I hadn’t sold and surveyed what I had that I would take with me. I rented a trailer and called a couple buddies who would help me load it up when I was ready to go. Then I checked my bank account and glanced over the settlement money that was just sitting there earning me interest. It could be a cushion. A little seed money for finding a place in Tennessee, assuming things did work out with Carter’s company. I had to believe it would. This was the path I should have gone on before, and I’d let Charlotte stop me. Not this time. This time, I was going, and I was finally going to get a chance to do something for myself.
The next two days seemed like they took forever, but when they were done, the trailer was packed and ready to go with everything on it that I would need. I was in the hotel for one more night, happy to finally be done with living in a tiny little suite and excited to be in a place where I could cook again without having to rely on a propane gas stove.
I was ready to head out and see if a new environment would help heal the pain. Everywhere I looked now just reminded me of the betrayal.
But tomorrow would be a different day.
A better day.
3
BETH ANN
The road trip had been smooth and uneventful up until a point. I was one of those people who enjoyed a good road trip. I cranked up the music, shamelessly ate my way through enormous piles of convenience store snacks and fast food, and occasionally had conversations with myself to work through things that were on my mind.