HEALING THE SCARS

CHAPTER 47

PENELOPE

Instead of going straight to my room, I head to Mabel's to check on her. I find her in bed, sobbing again. It breaks my heart to see her like this, knowing deep down that Joey is probably somewhere just as broken as she is.

"Hey," I say as I slide into the sheets next to her.

"Hey," she replies in a sad tone.

"Mabel, you should stop crying. It won't help, I promise. You're gonna get sick. Your head will ache, and then your stomach will burn up. Poor baby, it's too much for me seeing you like this." I move closer to her, wrapping her in a comforting embrace.

"I can't seem to stop, P. I'm just so sad. The possibilities of all the things that could go wrong are killing me. You know how I overreact to everything? Now I just feel like that's an understatement for me."

"I know how you feel, but crying won't help, Mabel. Please. I have something to tell you, and I want you to just listen, okay?"

"What?" she asks, turning to face me.

"I just found out that Joey gave Andrew his new phone number, and even after begging him, he's refused to give it to me," I say.

"What?! Let's just go and take his phone. Let's go," she says, trying to get out of bed. I grab her hand.

"I already took it from him, but he switched it off, and now it's useless unless he gives it to us willingly."

"Let's go and beg him or do whatever it takes, Penelope."

"He won't do it, Mabel. He made this promise to Joey. Look, let's sleep for tonight, and when we wake up, we'll find a way to get the number, okay? Please, just get some rest." She hesitates, complaining, but finally decides to sleep. After I make sure she's fast asleep, I quietly walk to my room. I stop by Jason's room to kiss him goodnight, then head to mine.

After changing into my nightdress, I slide into bed and take my phone to check if Dylan has sent me any news concerning the number plate. Nothing. No texts, no calls. I decide to call him and ask. Maybe he forgot. I mean, he could have too much on his mind—things more important than me. Like maybe fucking Jason's teacher, Miss Agnes. Or maybe Rachael. I don't know, but for a help, she really seemed bothered by my presence. He finally picks up after a long while.

"I sure wish you'd take a shorter time to pick up a phone call, like when you're getting close to your son's teachers," I say sarcastically. I don't know why I said that. I could have simply said hi and had a normal conversation, but I feel upset.

"Well, it seems like you really miss me. You keep on calling me and saying really nice things," he replies, equally sarcastic.

"Oh, please! As if I would ever miss someone like you, who fucks anything that moves! I know what you did. Miss Agnes told me to pass along a message. She said she enjoyed it so much. Good for you guys," I say, my voice laced with hurt and anger.

"Look, Penelope, if you woke me up from my sleep to start throwing false accusations my way, then maybe I should go back to sleep. I've had quite the day, and I don't appreciate this."

"False accusations? Oh, please, Dylan! I lived with you at one point, remember? And you slept with people under the same roof as me—false accusations, my foot." He's silent. Silent. Silence? How can he go quiet when he knows what he's done? I feel so angry. Part of me feels betrayed because I thought maybe I was the only woman in his life. Screw him.

"So now you're silent, huh? Dylan, how could you do something like that? She's your son's teacher, for crying out loud! How could you? You were with me that morning, and then two hours later, you're with someone else? Forget you! I don't even know why I'm upset. I don't care! You can be with whoever you want; I don't care. Just tell me, please. I want to know—don't we mean anything to you? Whatever is happening between us, is it just some sort of game?" I say, my voice trembling with anger.