Those That Came Before

A Lie

Hadley pulled her SUV in to the gravel drive of her little home she shared with Jay. The rain was pouring down. It was Early Monday morning and she had just checked in on the bakery. Everything had been running smoothly. So much so that she was able to take the day off after having the holiday weekend in Georgia. She put the vehicle in park and sat there, watching the wipers swiping back and forth against the windshield. Her chocolate brown hair in a messy bun. No makeup. The same light blue crew neck sweatshirt she had worn to travel home in the day before. Black leggings and tall chestnut brown Uggs keeping her feet warm in the nasty weather. She sighed, placing her head on the tops of her hands on the black steering wheel. Tears threatened to escape her beautiful honey colored eyes. But she wouldn't let them. That would mean that they won. And she wasn't going to let that happen to her. To her pride. Or what little she had left of it. 

Hadley had returned home the day before. To an empty house. The only thing left in their shared closet was her fair share of clothes, minus the hoodies she stole from him. His shoes gone. Only one tooth brush sitting beside the marbled sink in the bathroom. She had dropped her bags by the front door, unsure if she had been robbed or not. Then she realized it depended on what the term robbed meant to someone. Robbed of her own belongings, no. Robbed of love, safety, and promises, yes. He was gone. He had left for his new job he had been planning on sharing the news of the day after Thanksgiving. Maybe she had been too wrapped up in the drama back in Georgia. Or maybe it was the fact that she had been fighting the feeling that the only thing they had going for themselves was the explosive sex they would have. But now, in this empty little cabin, she saw what her life really was. A lie. 

There was no one she could count on except her business partner and friend. Her mother was still off on some God forsaken island with her boyfriend of the year. Or week. Whatever. Blair had kicked her out of her home. Brantley heading to the farm in Alabama. Either to escape the truth or killing Kolby, she was not sure. A lie, he told her as he held on the dance floor surrounded by strangers. It was a lie. How dare she accuse his wife of sleeping with his brother. How could that be. Yes, their marriage was anything but perfect. No they hadn't slept together in three or four months. Yes, his wife accused him of cheating. But no, this was a lie. How dare she. 

Hadley sat up, staring at the front porch of her home. Hand made Adirondack chairs on either side of the beautifully crafted wooden front door. The flowers lining the stairs now wilted with the season. And her heart. She turned off the engine and took out the keys. One motion at a time. She opened the car door, hopped out on the soggy grass, and shut the door. Taking things slowly. One front in front of the other as she climbed those three steps to the front porch. 

As she was about the put the key in the door, her cell phone rang in her hand. She looked down at it and saw the familiar number displayed across the screen. Crystal clear. She stood there and stared at it, letting it finally go to voicemail. Only for it to ring once more. 

Should she answer? She heard those hurtful words playing over and over again in her mind, like a ferris wheel she couldn't jump off of. The begging and pleading words she said one after another. The screaming. Bags out on the front lawn. Hers, not his. 

She hit the ignore button, turning off her phone completely. She opened her front door and walked inside. Closing everything out behind her.