Page 137 of Legally Yours

All of a sudden, I couldn’t move fast enough. I darted quickly and quietly about the apartment, gathering books and papers, my cell phone, keys, and wallet. I flipped efficiently through my messenger bag to make sure everything else was in order. When I stopped, Jane was still standing by the couch, watching me with sadness.

“Jane! Clothes!” I said, my tone bordering on a bark. “I can’t leave the apartment dressed in nothing but a bathrobe.”

Jane blinked. “Right. I’ll go find you something to wear.”

She re-emerged from her room a few minutes later carrying a pair of stretchy leggings and a black concert sweatshirt for a death metal band. I looked at the logo, which was a blended graphic of Cthulhu and a zombie, and back up with a raised eyebrow, which only made her laugh.

“Hey, you like black. Give me a break, it’s laundry day.”

I gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Janey. It’s perfect.”

I slipped into the bathroom to change, brush my teeth, and tie my hair up before reemerging in the all-black ensemble, over which I pulled my black rain boots and my favorite gray knit hat. I shoved on my glasses before putting on gloves, a scarf, and then buttoning my black trench coat over it all.

“You look like a bad ass,” Jane said with a sad smile. “Like a sexy Inspector Gadget. He’s going to freak when he wakes up, you know. You sure you can’t just ask him what this is all about?”

I shook my head. My mind was made. It didn’t really matter what Brandon would say—this was way beyond the scope of what I could handle. Our age and income disparities? I was just coming around on that. His obvious abandonment and childhood insecurities? Perhaps. Even his divorce I probably could have managed eventually, despite the secrecy. But the Mafia on top of all of it? As much as I felt his presence pulling me back to the bedroom, I had to—hadto—think with my head on this one.

“I’m going to go to New York for the rest of the weekend,” I said. “Just tell him I forgot about a project and I went to the library. Tell him…tell him I’ll call him later. And that I love him.”

My voice cracked on the last word. It was the only thing I’d said that wasn’t a lie, and Jane knew it. She reached out and squeezed my hand.

“Sure, Sky, whatever you say,” she said softly. “But if he throws a fit...”

“He won’t,” I replied. “I think he only does that around me. Will you let me know when he’s gone?”

Jane nodded. “No problem.”

I opened the front door as quietly as I could. “All right,” I said, suddenly lowering my voice to a whisper. “Later.”

“Be safe,” Jane said and shut the door.

I stood for as long as it took to take five deep breaths, sucking in the air and exhaling it long and slow. It was physically painful to be standing there, doing what I was about to do. But there was no alternative. As I let out the last breath, I turned down the long, deserted corridor, and walked away from the man I loved.

* * *

Three hours later,I was about halfway to New York on the train, having opted for a more expensive mode of travel in the event Brandon pulled another stunt and showed up again in Chinatown. I was curled up in a seat by the window, watching the cloudy New England seashore pass by as I enjoyed the relative solitude of the early Saturday express line.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to find a text from Jane.

Jane: Finally woke up. Told him u were at the library without cell service but I don’t think he believed me.

Me: Why not?

Jane’s response was almost instantaneous.

Jane: He saw the divorce papers scattered around. Pretty sure he thinks u were mad abt something.

I paused, unsure of what to write back. My phone buzzed again before I could reply.

Jane: He’s not stupid.

It was too easy to imagine him, looking for me eagerly after what must have seemed like a night of hard-won reconciliation and finding nothing but my uncharacteristically sober roommate and the scattered divorce agreement. Of course, he knew what had happened. Deep down, I knew he would—it’s why I had skipped town like a coward. Brandon would have seen everything on my glass face the minute he woke up.

I blinked away tears as I thought about what we had shared together, all the times he begged me to love him. And God, I did.

My phone vibrated with another text.

Jane: He’s standing outside the building. I think he’s waiting for u to come back. Do u want me to talk to him?