A huge part of me wanted to just pack my bags and leave so I wouldn’t have to deal with it again. Running was easier. I’d been running my whole life but now I wanted to physically do it too. Watching them do the same shit time and time again was emotionally exhausting.
I felt weak and lost. Those were the two things I’d strived the most to not be. I felt like crying. My throat constricted around a lump the size of a golf ball. Even if I couldn’t run I could at least hide.
There wasn’t one person that I wanted to see, not Chloe or Damon and especially not my parents. I just wanted to be alone and hide under a blanket. Tomorrow I had work but at least I knew that for the rest of the day I could forget about social media or making any type of contact with humans completely.
Curling up on the sofa, I pulled my fluffy blue blanket up to my head and escaped.
The next morning at work thankfully passed quickly and at lunchtime I dashed out of the office to meet Chloe at Chimichenga for Mexican food and final – if there were any – wedding plans.
“Hey,” I said, giving her a hug.
“Hey, you okay?”
I nodded and we took our seats.
“You look nice,” she said, nodding at my grey trousers and peach silk shirt.
“Thanks. You look exhausted.”
She rolled her eyes and picked up a menu. Her amber eyes looked duller than usual and her complexion was pale.
“I am.”
“Does that mean the wedding is almost sorted?”
Chloe was super-efficient and organised. She’d planned every last detail but we had a few things on the list to sort out. I was excited for their wedding but nervous too. What if they didn’t work out? If Logan ever hurt her I would do things to his private area that left his manhood resembling an omelette.
“Yep, almost. We just need favours and disposable cameras.”
I beamed. “Awesome.” Thank God for that. I loved Chloe and would help her with anything, but wedding planning was dull and felt never ending. “If you get them and drop them off, I’ll add them to the many boxes we’re taking.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Are you sure you want to drive all that way?”
“If you think I’m ever getting in a rickety old plane again…”
“Alright. I’m glad you are. Having them couriered all that way would’ve cost a fortune. You’re like my little packhorse.”
I deadpanned. “Thanks. You’re very, very welcome.”
We ate tacos, gossiping about the wedding and then headed our separate ways back to work. Damon had called during lunch but I silenced the phone and noticed a text from this morning. I didn’t call him back or reply. Dealing with Damon – particularly how I was feeling about him – was too much on top of everything else right now. I felt like everything was slipping from my grip.
I got halfway when my phone vibrated. Shoving my hand in my bag, I rummaged around trying to feel it. Fucking thing, why didn’t I ever put it in the little pouch designed for phones?
Finally, I managed to grab it and then saw the name on the screen and wished I hadn’t.
“Hey, Mum,” I said, still powerwalking back to the office.
“Your dad’s gone again.”
I stopped dead, making someone behind me have to hop to the side to avoid a collision. He swore under his breath and walked past me. “What do you mean gone again? When did he come back?”
“Last night. I found him on the sofa this morning and when I confronted him he went off, ranting and raving. You know how he does. I don’t know what to do with him half the time.”
“There’s nothing you will do other than the same thing you and him have always done.” I wanted to bash my head against the window of the Starbucks I was standing next to. “I’ve got to go, Mum,” I said, starting to walk again. “I don’t want to be late back.” And there is no point in talking about this.
“Are you coming on Sunday?”
I didn’t want to and I thought about an excuse because I didn’t like them together but I was worried now they were back in each other’s lives again.
“Sure. I’ll see you then. Bye, Mum.”
We hung up just as I made it back to the office, ignoring another text from Damon.
I wish I could stop caring about my parents or be able to cut them out of my life because I knew they would never change, but it wasn’t that simple. No matter how many more times they would do this I had no choice but to stay on the ride and go through it too.
“You’re five minutes late, Nell,” The Ogre said, folding his arms over his enormous belly. His face was red and sweat trickled down the side of his forehead. “I hope you’re planning on making that up at the end of the day.”
I gritted my teeth. This was where they were going wrong. When you hired someone you were investing in the person. No one wanted to put in that little extra when their employer was an arsehole. Late happened. It was unintentional, and it wasn’t like it was thirty minutes.
Don’t punch him in his big, fat gut.