For over an hour, after Christina flounced out of the room, Austin simply sat on Jimmy’s bed in a terrible mood, staring at nothing in particular. It seemed he would never get a break in life, no matter what he did or how hard he tried to get one. He could not imagine anything worse than getting mar
“Really? Things like what?” “She once broke a bottle on another lady’s head because she saw us talking. It happened right in front of me, and I certainly didn’t see it coming. The girl was a mutual friend of ours, but unknown to me, she and Christina had fallen out. So one day, when she saw Christi
"You have to know that Christina and I have not had an easy or rosy relationship at all. At first, even though I wasn't in love with her per se, having a relationship with her was okay, because, after her teenage years, she seemed to become and act mature, but later on, I discovered it was all an ac
“Wait. Why would Christina have full custody of your son?”“It’s a long story, but the summary of it is that I was young, foolish, naïve, and ambitious, and I thought that I was doing the right thing when I allowed that to happen. I was mostly busy after all, so when Christina's grandfather offered
"I can’t believe that this is happening. How can this be happening? Oh, God! I’m so dead. What on earth has she told her mother? How come we’re being arrested, while she’s standing about casually?” Angie asked Richard in a furious and frightened whisper, talking as low as possible so that the police
“W … what’s going on?” He croaked in a voice that sounded like it belonged to an alien more than a human being. “I should have you thrown into jail for taking advantage of underaged teens,” Frances said, turning her frosty gaze on him. Richard had the good grace to look shamefaced. Christina, on he
Angie was given some money and sent on her way after that, as was Richard. Frances warned him that if he ever came anywhere close to her daughter again, she was going to cut off his balls and feed them to him, and if he survived that, she was going to bury him somewhere in the desert, where no one w
So the both of them hitched a ride and made their way over to the remote town where Angie lived with her mother and stepfather. As promised, Richard got her the drugs she needed on their way there, and he also hired a car with which they were going to make their getaway. He checked into a hotel, an
“You’re here again.” She states, rolling her eyes without so much as a good morning when she opens the door and sees me standing there. “Good morning to you too. Yes, I’m indeed here again. How are you doing?” I ask her, resolving not to let her hostility get to me. She has every reason to be hosti
I have not been to Nora's apartment for several months since Sally disappeared. In the first month of Sally's disappearance, I used to come here a lot, so much so that I’m sure that I must have begun to look like a desperate creep to Nora. Each time I came here back then, I would plead and plead wi
“No! I want to go with you and Aunt Sally!” He protests angrily when he sees the nanny and realizes that I’m about to leave him with her. “Honey, you must be very tired from running up and down with me these past few days. That is why I want your nanny to take you home so you can rest. Besides, you
SEAN Somehow, Sally allows herself to be convinced to come back home with me, which as even her doctor agrees, is the best decision for her right now because she needs all the help that she can get. We’ve finally been able to reach Nora and Austin, who have arrived at their honeymoon destination a
SALLY I can tell that Sean is surprised at my blunt tone and sharp words, but I couldn’t care less. I vaguely remember how I had pleaded with my boss to get in touch with him after she told me that she could not reach Nora and Austin no matter how many times she tried to reach them. I had been ter
The small bundle feels incredibly light as the nurse places it in my arms. Every single iota of sleep flees from my eyes as I hold and look down at my daughter. The nurse helps me adjust the baby in my arms while smiling at me in approval. Immense love for this tiny human floods my entire being and
I smile unsurely at the doctor, certain that I must have misheard what she just said. She doesn't smile back but instead continues to stare back at me with a measured look that says that she's not messing around. “I'm sorry but I'm not sure what you're talking about. What do you mean by expectant f
SEAN I have to admit that I am not thinking straight, but I'll blame that on the lack of sleep and the thought of seeing sadly again after all these months. Sally is lying on a bed in a very tiny room and she's being placed on oxygen. She looks so small and defenseless in the hospital bed. I appr
“There has been an emergency involving Sally and she's requesting for you.” A female voice had said over the phone mere seconds ago. “Is she OK? What's wrong with her? Where is she?” I ask in quick succession without waiting for an answer to each question. Taking deep breaths, I remind myself to be