Alexander's Disappearance

08

        I couldn't stop thinking about my encounter with Noah. It was wrong, and I knew it. The media knows me as a married woman, and I portray myself as a married woman.

        Noah saw through me. I know he did. I surmise he still believes that I murdered my husband, and he's trying to be friendly with me to get the truth. No matter what, I would stay true to who I portray myself as. I felt like I was constantly wearing a mask, and Noah was the only one who could see my authentic face behind it. He was bad for me. I refuse to let him get close to me. 

        There was no one I could confide in about Noah. Even with Priya, our conversations never involved Alexander or Noah. Alexander is a touchy topic, and she doesn't know that Noah and I are speaking to each other. No matter what, I had to keep my secrets away from Priya. We are best friends, and we've been best friends for years now. We tell each other everything, but it was safer for her not to know of these things. However, as I continue bottling my thoughts and feelings, I'm afraid they'll overflow and leak out, exposing me in such a humiliating way. I was also afraid of seeing Noah again. He texted me a few days ago, and I still haven't replied. I didn't want to. I had to keep him away from me because if we continue to see each other, I'm afraid of what might end up happening. Noah was attractive, wealthy, dominating, and everything a woman wanted—but it was too soon, and I didn't trust him. At this point, I felt like Detective West. 

          I couldn't trust anyone.

         When I walked out of the spa, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my purse and took a deep breath, and swiped to answer.

          "Hello," I whispered as I got into my car. I told Ben that I could drive myself, only because I really didn't want him to know my whereabouts at this time. 

         "Eva? What's happening?" My mother's voice came in, she was yelling at the phone even though her phone was probably a few inches away from her face. 

          I connected my phone to the car and started the engine before I replied, "I-I don't know. I can't say anything about the investigation or anything... It's complicated—"

         "Did you? Did you have anything to do with it?" My father's voice boomed, louder than my mom's, and I almost jumped at the volume. Quickly, I put the volume down and tried my best to sound offended.

          "No! Of course not! The fact that you had to ask that rings an alarm that you don't trust me." I relaxed my shoulders. "I'm doing fine, thanks for asking."

          There was a slight shuffling noise. I could hear an inaudible argument before my mother sighed. "Eva, I hope you're okay. What is up with that husband of yours? Doesn't he have things to run?"

         "I'm running his 'things' temporarily until he comes back." I held my breath. "The detectives on the case might assume that... he was murdered."

          My parents weren't exactly keeping up with the news. They just know of his disappearance, but the accusations that I did it probably haven't reached them. I hope. Hopefully, it never does because this was something I didn't want my parents to hear about. I couldn't let them grasp the idea that their daughter was a murderer. An accidental murderer, at least. Honestly... it doesn't seem too bad when I think about it.

         "Oh no... That's terrible," my mother responded. She sighed again. "Eva, are you eating? Are you doing okay? If you want, we can come down—"

         "No, that's fine," I immediately said. "I'm handling it well. I'll visit in a few weeks if you want. I mean, you guys are only across the country."