Chapter 15
[Addison]
I didn’t hear a response to my email. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. With the way Michael has been doting on Evelyn, he was
probably too busy to read it. Making another attempt to get him to respond, I sent an email letting him know I was being released tomorrow and that I needed him to come by to at least sign the divorce papers.
He did reply this time. “We’ll talk later,” is all the message said, an automatic response he has set in his phone at the press of a
button. He didn’t even bother to read it.
As promised, Tracy showed up twenty minutes later with a pizza box. I laughed out loud when she pulled out a bottle of beer
hiding in the recesses of her purse, just like when she used to sneak beer into the movies during our college days.
By the time the pizza was eaten and the beer was long gone, we were fast friends once more. It was as if no time had passed
between us, and we were as close as sisters again. Michael had discouraged our friendship, so after we were married and adopted
Jayson, I agreed to stop seeing her. Now that we’ve reconnected, I realize that was another big mistake.
I had missed having my best friend, or any friends to be honest. Michael and Jayson have been my whole world for the last five
years.
“You know,” she scoffs, bristled and angry when I tell her why we stopped talking. “I wish I had never introduced you to that
jerk.”
Tracy had been dating his best friend Steven at the time that we met. They broke up one month later, but I ended up marrying
Michael.
“Whatever happened between you and Steve,” I ask shyly, worried it would hurt her feelings.
“You know, I can’t remember. It was probably something stupid. We were both kids,” she laughs as if it weren’t just a handful of
years ago. “I don’t even remember if it was his fault. To be fair, it was probably me.” She snorts, taking another swig of beer. “I
was a bit wild back then.”
I laugh. She was a bit of a party girl back then, the exact opposite of me. I had always been a bit less bold. More of a bookworm.
She was the friend who would get me to try new things and live a bit more dangerously. “YOLO!” she’d laugh every time I
hesitated. “YOLO” or “You Only Live Once” was kinda her motto.
It’s what she said when she nudged me toward the handsome upperclassman with a broken heart the summer before my last year
of school. Michael was so handsome with his clean–cut look and his sandy blond hair. His blue eyes were so sad that I couldn’t
help it–I wanted to take care of him.
Evelyn had just dumped him and taken off for Europe. We didn’t start as a couple but as study buddies. He had just passed the bar exam and offered to help me ace those exams as well. He was a bit older than me, having spent some time in junior college bringing up his grade, 24 to my 19, and seemed so mature and wise. I was happy to have his help. “We can start a law firm
together,” he had smiled, “You’re so clever, I’d love to have someone like you by my side.”
1/3
Chapter 15
+25 Bonus
I was so surprised when three months later on my 20th birthday he arrived at the library with a bouquet of tulips, a diamond ring,
and a proposal.
“Studying was just an excuse,” he confessed. “My heart was broken, but you mended it completely, Addison Archer. You are the
only girl I want forever.”
My heart still flutters at the memory of our gentle first kiss amongst the stacks of books. He was so tender, so doting. I refused his
proposal that day, but we started dating and every Sunday he tried again, tulips in hand and a ring in his pocket.
On the day I passed the bar exam and was officially a lawyer, I finally said yes. A month later we were married and two months
after that we found little Jayson as an abandoned baby, just one year old, left in a dumpster by our new law firm.
Suddenly I was a wife and mom and we had our little family. I was determined to devote my entire life to them. So I quit working
full–time to dedicate myself to being the best wife and mother I could be.
On the day of our wedding, I was only 21, barely more than a child. He was 26.
And now I am 26, the same age he was when we took our vows. Looking at the divorce agreement, which I pull up for Tracy to see,
she sighs along with me as I recount the story of our family.
“There’s nothing you can do about the actions of others, you can only manage your own heart,” Tracy sagely advises, kissing me
on the brow as she promises to pick me up the next morning when I’m finally released from the hospital.
The next morning I woke refreshed and ready to start my new life. On the nightstand, the flowers from the day before still sit next
to Mr. Hunter’s contract. Placing both in my purse, I quickly dress and I’m prepared to head out as Tracy arrives to help me
gather my things. She picks up the vase and lets out a slow whistle. “Wow! Is this from Michael? Maybe he…”
“No,” I correct her swiftly. “Not Michael. A friend.”
Is that what he is, a friend? With his offer and the way he looks so much like my rescuer, maybe he’s more like a guardian angel.
The house is cold and dark when I arrive. Tracy sets down my bag and my flowers on the front porch and tells me to call her that
afternoon. “We can go out to lunch.”
Smiling, I wave as she drives off. Maybe today won’t be so bad after all.
Turning on a few lights, I enter through the kitchen and I’m instantly overwhelmed by the smell of old garbage. A stack of dishes
and old take–out boxes litter the countertops, overflowing the sink.
A slow anger burns in my chest. He makes enough money, he could have hired a maid! Was he expecting me to take care of this when I got home? Is this why Jayson called me?
Disgusted, I turn the corner to find another surprise.
Sitting in a chair Michael holds the divorce agreement in one hand and a glass of bourbon in the other.
“What kind of sick joke is this, Addison,” he barks. “I’m done with your games.
