Memories That Still Haunt Us

Chapter Sixty-Three:

The air is warmer. I breathe in the scent of the salty ocean. Everything already feels different here. My skin, my hair, my doubts cleared. This is where I'm meant to be. With whom I'm meant to be with.

The suitcases are dropped carelessly by the front door. Beck is running around in the yard with Ellis, exploring the new lot. It's all mine. I can do what I want with this place. Make it into our home. All the years we'll spend together here.

I'm smiling so wide, so deeply, it hurts my cheeks.

The sound of Beck's laughter is something I have surprisingly missed. He's happy here, too. There are no signs of his old mother anymore. No horrible grandparents. No awful classmates. So many opportunities await him here. This will be the childhood home he'll remember. More so than the one in Boston. This is where he'll go to high school, where he'll have his first kiss, and where he'll sneak girls in and have secret parties when Ellis and I leave the house. This is where he'll apply for colleges and where he'll ride his bike and swim during the summer days. He'll learn how to surf here and get a summer job at the nearby yogurt store. Ellis and I will give him more siblings that he can play with and look after.

It's all coming together. This is a beautiful future. A family. My family.

The thought makes me freeze. This is my family. My family! I have a family! A loving, wonderful, beautiful family. I press my hands to my cheeks. I've found someone who loves me. Someone who loves me despite my flaws. All the moms at the new school will be jealous of us. They'll wonder about our lives. Be envious of the love Ellis and I have for one another. They'll wish to be us. They will hope that one day they'll get invited over to see our beautiful home.

I grab my suitcase and Ellis's and carry it up the stairs, dropping it on the floor in our room. I've got to start unpacking. There's so much to be done in this house. I'll have my side of the closet, and he'll have his. His smell will linger on all my clothes. His coats and shirts will be beside mine. I'll go to bed next to him every night and wake up to his gorgeous face. It's a fairytale. An absolute dream come true.

How did I get so lucky?

Gradually, I hang up and put away my clothes. Organizing them by color. I begin thinking about what job I'll get here. Maybe I'll be a stay-at-home mom. Join the PTA and go to all of Beck's soccer games. Or maybe I'll be a social media mom. Posting useful content and bragging about our perfect lives. I'll get really into yoga and self-care. I'll work out every day and keep myself nice, young, and fit. I'll plan dinner parties for Ellis and his work friends.

Once I've finished hanging all my clothes up, I move to Ellis's suitcase. Opening it up, I begin hanging up clothes nicely by color. Though all his clothes are mostly black or gray. Taking the photo of Bridge out of his pocket and place it neatly on display. A photo that no longer needs to be hidden because Millie was cruel. I grab one of his coats, holding it up and snapping it once to get any unwanted hairs off.

Something falls from the pocket, rolling on the wood floors until it hits the wall, causing it to fall flat. It twinkles in the light of the closet.

What is that?

I hang up his coat, then move over to the corner of the closet. Crouching on the floor, I reach for what fell.

My body freezes. Breath catching in my throat.

A ring.

Not just any ring, Millie's wedding ring.