Page 89 of Heartless
“Just take the time you need to figure things out, but I encourage you to keep it real with Onyx. Tell him what’s goingon. If you ever plan to save your marriage, don’t give the devil a foothold. And don’t listen to others who tell you to leave him, or even those who might say stay. Only you can make the decision that’s best for you. Most of all, don’t run from him. Talk to the man and tell him how you feel.”
Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply.
“I will. I may call him and talk to him this evening or maybe tomorrow.”
“You don’t want to go home and have that conversation?”
“I can’t right now. If I see him, Mak, it’ll be too hard to stand on what I know that I need to do. Onyx and I need some time apart, and not just me, but he does too. He needs to figure out what and who he wants. They say you don’t miss your water until your well runs dry.”
“Ain’t that the truth. Both Shep and I learned that the hard way. I suspect that you and Onyx are about to do the same.”
“I know.”
“We’re rooting for you one hundred percent.”
“One favor.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t tell the family about what we’re going through. And don’t tell anyone that you and I had this conversation today.”
“I won’t.”
I end the call and wrap my arms around my legs once more.
***
“Hey.”
“Where are you?”
“That doesn’t matter, Onyx.”
“What do you mean that doesn’t matter? You’re my wife.”
I pull my knees close to my chest and stare out the window at the moon shining on the ocean’s surface. It’s dark in the room. A reflection of what I feel on the inside.
“It doesn’t matter. I didn’t call you to argue. Besides, I served you with your papers.”
“Papers I didn’t sign. Meadow, you’ve been gone for a little over a month now, and I haven’t heard a thing from you except for a random text message. You must be using cash because I haven’t been able to track you down with purchases.”
“You’ve been spying on me?”
“Damn right! When a man’s wife goes missing, he’s going to do everything to make sure that she’s okay and then bring her home safely.”
“I am safe, Onyx. I don’t need you investigating, researching, or—”
“I hired a private investigator.”
“Or that! To look into me. This is ridiculous. That’s the exact shit that I don’t need, Onyx. Using your wealth to control or manipulate me is unacceptable.”
“Control you? Manipulate you? Where is this coming from? Damn it, I was only trying to find you.”
“And I told you not to look for me. The fact that you ignored my request and didn’t respect it shows that you were trying to control me. Again, I said that I didn’t call to argue.”
“Then what did you call for, MJ?”
“To let you know...”