The Devil's Trail

32- Secrets

I spent the majority of the night in the kitchen, trying to work out where I go from this. The fear of having nothing again was so strong that it was physically crippling. But the moment with Jack wasn't over when he handed me an envelope with my bank card in, all cut to pieces.

Meaning right now, I was broke, penniless and at his mercy.

"We are going to bed. Are you joining us?" He asks.

I scoff "Not in your wildest dreams."

"You know where we keep the spare bedding." He replied bitterly.

"Oh, I'm on the couch huh?" I ask getting off the stool.

"You expect a pregnant woman to sleep on a couch?" He asks.

"I expect you both to get the hell out of my apartment."

He laughs throwing his head back. "Delilah, it's in my name on the agreement. I should throw your ass out but I don't want to. I do love you, but Alice is important now. She's carrying our child."

"That child is nothing to me." I seethed.

"You're angry.. I understand. But right now, you have to understand that you're beat. You own nothing here apart from those awful clothes you had in that hold-all when you came home and that stupid fucking plant." He gestures to the window.

I turn to see Collette the Cactus.

"Make up your bed on the couch or join us in bed. Fall in line." He demands before leaving me alone in the kitchen.

I pick up the cactus and set it on the table in front of me before resting my head onto my hands. Preparing myself for a long night ahead.

+++

By the morning, and after a night of listening to Jack and Alice romping away upstairs, I'm both happy and mad.

Happy because I had an out. Zak was right, happiness was more important that possessions and I was done. He could have it all.

I had survived out of a backpack before, I'll damn well do it again.

But I was also angry for having stayed the night and for Jack even suggested we lived as a family, me, him and his pregnant bit on the side.

I played my part.. I smiled at them both and politely declined breakfast when they both suggested I sat down with them to discuss how this would work.

But when Jack left for work with Alice behind him, I waited an hour before I collected my things calmly.

I really did only have my lockdown clothes, books, underwear and shoes. But nonetheless, I stacked them all in my car patiently and then placed Collette into the drinks holder.

Once I had cleared the house, I walked back upstairs with a pair of scissors.

I hacked all the clothes he had bought me, destroying them all to the point of not being wearable, leaving them on the floor of the wardrobe. It felt good to fight back, and once I did, the adrenaline and courage came in tenfold..

Opening his wardrobe, carefully laying his shirts on the bed. Before cutting each shirt in a ridiculous pattern and then using bleach for a few more, so whilst he presumed some were safe, they were in fact destroyed. His suit pants went to booty shorts and his blazers were cut all up the back like some terrible Halloween costume.