Page 63 of Until He Confesses
Iwas in tears by the time I got off his stupid boat, but I didn't stop them from flowing down my face because he wasn't there to see it. It was dark, and even though there were still people on the street, I was able to make my way back to my inn without being detected. Not that anyone would have cared, but it still made me ashamed to know that I could still cry like a baby when that topic was brought up.
He was so shameless, and I couldn't believe it. Over and over, since we had reconnected, I had given him the chance to put it behind us so that we could relate to each other again, at least as friends, and yet he had refused. What a fucking narcissist.
I began to regret that I didn't save the video that I had received. When I was purging him and everything that reminded me of him out of my life, I deleted it after watching it the first time. I never wanted anything to do with it or him, and that was why he was probably scared now. Maybe he thought that since he was rich, I would use it to exploit him. As I got into the inn, I had to admit that this made sense, and yet it was the only feasible explanation as to why we had both hit a roadblock in resolving this issue.
Not following through on my decision to keep my distance from him caused all this and I was so upset I couldn't sleep. Hour after hour, I tossed and turned in frustration until finally, just as the sun rose, I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was mid-afternoon, but I didn't want to get up. I had wanted to visit the other towns, but given my mood, I knew it wouldn't be possible. This made me even angrier because he had ruined my entire vacation.
I ignored my ringing phone until I finally got fed up and checked it. I wasn't surprised to see that the calls were from Anna, but I couldn't understand why she had called me so many times. I took my phone to bed with me, covered my head with the blanket, and called her back.
"This better be important," I said when the line connected.
"Where the hell have you been?" she cried out in frustration, startling me with her outburst.
"What do you mean where have I been? We're in different time zones. I was asleep."
"It's past midday there," she argued back, and I sighed without the energy to argue with her.
"What's the problem?" I asked, finally sensing the distress in her tone. And then she spoke.
"You need to get back right now," she said. "Can you? You have to.”
Alarms went off in my head.
"What do you mean? Why do I have to return now? What's happening?"
"Your mom," she said, her voice shaking. My heart sank.
"What? What happened to my mom?"
"She had a heart attack," she said.
I stopped breathing but then mustered up the courage to ask the rest of the questions.
"And?" I asked.
"I'm rushing to the hospital now to be with her. But I think you should come home. You have to come. We don't know how severe it is yet."
At her words, I let out such a huge sigh of relief that tears filled my eyes. I quickly wiped them off so I could finish the conversation.
"She's still alive?" I asked.
"Yes, she is, from what I know. When I get there, I'll update you on anything additional."
"Thank you so much, Anna," I said. "I'll get on the next flight out and be there. Please send me all your location information so I'll know exactly what hospital to go to."
After the call, I tried to remain as calm as possible. However, it didn't take long for me to realize that I was shaking all over. Despite this, I tried my best to ignore my emotions and soon my things were packed and in my bag. I hurried down to the reception and checked out, but it was so late that getting a private car was a challenge.
It would cost more than two hundred dollars, but I didn't care. I just had to get there immediately. Finally, a car arrived to drive me to the airport and all the way, I searched for the first flight back to New York.
The airport was going to be closed until three, but I was hopeful that we would arrive in time to find a flight. All the flights were fully booked until the evening, but I refused to give up hope. I was determined to hit all the airline desks until I found a flight, even if it was the red eye.
Upon arrival at the airport, I immediately started checking with all the open airline desks for a flight. I couldn't find anything online, so I left my contact information and went to rest in a seating area.
I wanted to call my mother, but I didn't know what state she was in, so I refrained from calling. I texted Anna several times, but she told me that she was in the hospital and in surgery, and she couldn't see her. All I could do was wait, and it was a torturous experience. At some point, the nervous adrenaline got to me, and I fell asleep.
I considered calling my company back in New York to inform them of the change in my schedule, but I didn't want to deal with the hassle until I saw my mother. As I waited, no seats became available, even after checking with all the airlines flying to New York with several stops. At the point of exhaustion and frustration, I found a sandwich shop and ordered something to eat. Halfway through my meal, I had to run to the bathroom and try to compose myself.
When I returned to the sandwich shop, I considered my last option. He was the last person I wanted to ask for help, but I was willing to do whatever it took to make this happen. I wanted to send him a text, but I suspected he would ignore it, so I was forced to call him instead. The phone rang once, then twice, and I kept trying until he finally picked up.