Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
“Russell, come on–”
“You’re still wearing it?” I point. “Seriously, Cheryl? Still?”
Cheryl glances down at the ring, smiles, then looks back up at me. “I just couldn’t bring myself to take it off, babe.”
“I told you not to call me babe…”
“You know how much I loved it when you gave it to me,” she continues as if she didn’t even hear me. “I just couldn’t…”
The anger inside me, the white-hot magma ready to erupt, begins to swell as images flicker through my mind of Cheryl wearing the ring that I bought her while my old lawyer Barry fucks her in every position imaginable. The two of them probably laughed about it too.
I want to put my fist through the wall. I want to break something and watch it shatter, but what would be the point of that? All it would do is destroy something of mine and cost me money. No, that would be a waste. And Cheryl must know that her coming here today isn’t going to get me back, so what was the point anyway? All she wants is to get a reaction out of me. She’s spiteful that way; she always was.
Nikki.
“He left you, didn’t he?” I ask, feeling a smirk come over my face. “Barry?”
Cheryl was always good at keeping a straight face, but she wasn’t expecting this, and it shows. A slight twitch from the corners of her lips and something in her eyes gives it away.
Yup. He did.
“No.” She shakes her head. “Barry and I are fine.”
“Uh huh.” I nod, chuckling. “I bet you are.”
I turn away and head back toward the door, but Cheryl isn’t about to let me leave without a fight. I feel her arms around my neck as she jumps onto me from behind, and her legs as she wraps them around my waist.
She tries her best to kiss me on the neck, but I twist away as she moans in my ear, “Come on, babe. Don’t you miss me? Don’t you remember the great old times we had?”
“Sure I remember,” I reply, grabbing her wrists and prying them off me. She slinks off me to the floor, and I turn around and look down at her. So many emotions flow through me. I never thought I’d see her again, yet here she is. “How could I forget, Cheryl?”
“Then why are you doing this to me!?”
“Doing what to you?” I blurt out. “You left me! Do you not remember that? And with my lawyer of all people!”
“I made a mistake! I’m sorry, Russell! Can’t you just forgive me? I’m a different person now!”
“A different person?” I scoff. “Where’s Nikki then?”
“Who?” she asks, but her eyes completely betray her. “Nikki who?”
“You know exactly who I’m talking about, Cheryl. Don’t try to make a fool of me.” I need to get out of here now. If I’m this upset, I can’t even imagine how Nikki is feeling, or what Cheryl said to her. “The girl who was here when you got here. The one who’s not here now.”
“Russell, I don’t know you mean–”
* * *
“Out.” I raise my arm and point in the direction of the front door. “Now. Don’t make me call the police on you.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me,” I reply, showing her with my eyes that I am deadly serious. We may not have been together in a while, but she still knows how to read my expressions, and I see hers change when she realizes that I’m not kidding around. “I want you out of my house now, Cheryl. And if you have any self-respect, you’ll give me that ring back too.”
We stare each other down like something out of an old Western for what feels like minutes but is probably only several seconds before Cheryl gets to her feet and walks back into my bedroom. She emerges a few moments later fully dressed, and walks past me without saying a word.
I follow her downstairs to the front door, waiting to see what she’ll do. She stops, her back to me, and reaches for the ring on her finger. But then she stops, whirls, and glares at me with tears in her eyes.
“Fuck you!” she screeches. “I’m fucking keeping it!”
And before I can respond, she tears the door open and sprints out.
I go after her, but I don’t chase her. I’m not going to make a scene for the entire neighborhood, especially one that makes it look like I’m running after a woman who is racing out of my house at full speed.
I just stand on my steps and watch as she races up to her car, which is parked up the street, gets in, and speeds away, giving me the finger as she passes.
I’m still raging inside, but I also breathe a deep sigh of relief as I watch her turn off my street. Right now, I couldn’t care less about the ring. All I want is for her to be gone and out of my life, and more importantly, Nikki’s.