The Fresh Start

** 1 - Checking Out **

I dropped my keys on the counter, shrugging off my coat, but my routine was disrupted by a faint thud and a muffled moan.

"Terry!" I called. He didn't answer, I shrugged, he's probably still at work. I slipped my pumps off my aching feet and kicked them under the cupboard, where they tend to sleep at night.

Another thump, followed by another moan. My heart skipped a beat.

I grab my pepper spray and walk to the room. My feet complained about the strain of walking on tiptoes, but I bit my lip stubbornly and opened the door.

The door swung open in what felt like slow motion. I let out a nervous giggle and quietly closed the door.

"Annette!" I shout, mischief in my voice, "Don't you have your own house!?"

Annette and I grew up together, and I wish I could say that it was the first time I found her like this, but I would be lying.

"Sabrina?" Annette shouted from the room. She sounded shocked. Like she wasn't expecting me to arrive at my own house.

"Come on, Annie," I laughed, "I live here, remember!"

Without giving it a second thought, I walked into the room, suppressing a giggle at how quickly the two were getting dressed. My giggle faded as I took in the guy Annette was with. His dark head. The shape of his back. The belt he was very busy tying.

"Isn't that the belt I got you for Christmas, Terry?" I ask as shock replaced amusement. He turned around then. His face flushed with guilt. My heart ached as I took in the rumpled bed. Clothes still scattered around the room.

"Sabrina," Annette called from the corner, "We can explain!"

They couldn't, I laughed bitterly and threw the last of my clothes into a bag. I felt the tears dam up in my eyes when I closed the door behind me. But my butterflies settled, and a strange calm came over me. I knew then that I was doing the right thing.

"A fresh start," I muttered, my hand reached for the necklace that's no longer there and touched bare skin instead. My fists clenched.

"You realise that it's all your fault," Terry snarled after hours of screaming back and forth.

"Oh, yeah?" I responded quietly, I knew what he was going to say, I've heard it all before.

"If you weren't such a prude, maybe I wouldn't have needed to sleep with someone else!" It still hurt. It hit just as hard as a surprise blow would have hit, if not harder. My hands fumbled with the clasp of the necklace around my neck and eventually I just grabbed the promise ring attached to it and pulled. The chain snapped, but I didn't care. I threw the ring at him. He didn't even flinch. He barely glanced at it before he wordlessly left.

I took a strangled breath and tried to concentrate on the road as I drove out of town. A decision I made the second Terry left me alone. Maybe it was spontaneous. Maybe it's a mistake. But, it feels so right.

I turned off the highway and glanced at my GPS. Just fifteen more minutes and my journey is over. Just fifteen more minutes and I can start again.

"You're not a prude," I whispered when I caught my own glance in the mirror. My green eyes glistened with fresh tears as his words came back to me.

I thought back to the early days of our relationship. The feverish kisses. His hands under my shirt. The falling out we had when I stopped him. Then a few days later he gave me the promise ring. His way for apologizing. His way of showing me he understood. Or at least, that's the assumption I had made.

My GPS interrupted my reverie. "Turn left in 0.2 miles."

I followed the directions, my mind still wandering.

"Arriving at destination," the GPS announced.

I pulled into the hotel's parking lot, relieved to have found shelter for the night. The bright sign reading "Oakwood Inn" welcomed me like a beacon.

As I stepped inside, uncertainty gripped me. I hadn't checked into a hotel alone before. Terry had always handled the logistics.

I hesitated at the front desk, fumbling with my wallet. "Um, hi... I need a room, please."

The receptionist smiled kindly. "Of course! Do you have a reservation?"

I shook my head, feeling a bit foolish. "No... I just... needed a place to stay."

She nodded sympathetically. "Okay, let's get you checked in. Can I see your ID and credit card, please?"

I handed over the required documents, feeling a mix of embarrassment and liberation.

"Room 217. Elevators to your left," she said, handing me a key card.

I took a deep breath, feeling a sense of independence wash over me. I'd made it here on my own.

For now, this would be home.