Betrayal

Chapter 22

Warren - PT 2

My phone is vibrating. I can hear it. I've nearly fallen asleep and scramble out of the bed, around it, and swipe my jacket off of the floor. It's Rebecca. I didn't call her to let her know we'd made it.

Shit.

I close the bedroom door behind me as I answer it.

"Hey."

"Hey, are you alright? Never heard from you."

I go down the stairs until I'm at the bottom floor, flip the porch light on, and step outside.

"Yeah, I just forgot to call. We're at the house. Both of us were pretty tired so we decided to stay for the night."

"Okay. Well, what's going to happen?"

"I think she's going to have her mother cremated tomorrow. I'm going to pay for it. She can't afford it."

She's silent for a moment.

"If you think that's the right thing."

"I do."

I can't say what I know about her. That she's basically alone in this world, no parents, no money, nothing. She'll want to know how I know such intimate, personal things about her.

"Do whatever you think... we're missing you here. I miss you."

"I miss you, too. I'm going to take her tomorrow and we'll head back. She's already asleep."

"Okay. How is she doing?"

"As well as she can, I guess. Her mother overdosed. That's not an easy thing to deal with."

"That's so sad," she says quietly. "Was her father there?"

"No."

"Well, it's good you went with her. Dominic's beating himself up that he didn't go. He's been trying to call her."

"Hm. Just tell him she's sleeping and she'll call tomorrow, I'm sure. I doubt she'll be awake until then."

"I'll tell him. And we'll celebrate our anniversary tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yes, we will."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Bye."

I hang up and look at my watch. It's almost eleven.

I go to the car. My cigarettes are inside and I take one out, then light it. More lies. I said I miss her. I don't particularly miss her. I'm indifferent. She doesn't question us being alone in the house together, just as I knew she wouldn't. She trusts me. But I'm not doing anything. I just held her until she fell asleep and nearly fell asleep myself. That's all.

I sit at the bottom of the stairs and smoke. It's still quite warm out and I roll my sleeves up to my elbows and rub my eyes. The street lights are somewhat shrouded by the trees, but I can still see.

"I thought you were in the Hamptons for the summer."

I look quickly to see our neighbor. He's standing on the sidewalk a few feet away from me, holding a dog leash, with a dachshund puppy at the other end of it. They didn't have a dog when we left almost a month ago. It must be new.

"Just back in town for a night," I say and take a drag from my cigarette. "How are your boys?"

He smiles broadly at the mention of his children. They're quite young for a man his age to have, but I've seen his wife. She's much younger, too, and quite stunning. Rebecca and her have gotten along well since they moved in years ago. She remarked on their age difference when we saw them together, it bothered her, but it never bothered me much. And the more she's gotten to know Katherine, the more she's liked her.