CHAPTERELEVEN
After learning about Amanda, Hunter’s girlfriend, every conversation Lanie had with him involved Amanda. She didn’t pry. It warmed her heart that he finally opened up to her about it. He told her that he met Amanda at a music festival. They got to talking and he discovered she attended college at the same campus as he did. She grew up in Mississippi and went there after the semester ended.
He changed his flight plans to arrive and depart near Amanda’s home in Mississippi as he didn’t want her to make the drive all the way to and from southeast Florida by herself. Hunter also wanted to meet her parents before bringing her to meet his. Lanie asked him why he didn’t tell her about Amanda before. He explained that neither of them knew how things would play out for them after they left campus for the summer, and they didn’t see each other for a few months. But it seemed they grew closer. They kept more in touch than they did before the separation.
The evening Hunter arrived with Amanda; Lanie invited David to come for dinner. She invited Denise too, but David confirmed that the two had split back in April. The happiness and surprise on Hunter’s face when he walked through the door and saw his parents together brought tears to Lanie’s eyes. It did feel good to all be together. It seemed as if they stepped back to when they were a happy family.
Hunter adored Amanda and so did Lanie. She had all the best qualities— intelligence, wit, charm, kindness, appreciation, and crazy about Hunter. They all had a fabulous time on the fourth. All of them, including Lanie, jumped from the diving board and played silly pool games. Lanie laughed until her stomach hurt, and her throat went hoarse.
Telling Hunter good-bye again until a week prior to the semester began had Lanie choked up. She hid it, but she hated for the incredible weekend to come to an end. Until she hugged him at his car, he never mentioned her job. “Thanks for everything, Mom. And thanks for taking off work again to spend time with me.”
It’s not as if she hadn’t thought about Gavin or missed him every second, but something about the bar spoken aloud pierced her through the chest. Her heart might have mended, but it hadn’t healed.
They finished their good-byes and she watched Hunter and Amanda drive off. David put his arm across her shoulders. “I wanted to be here to see them off, but I must get to work. Are you okay? Do you want me to stay for a while?”
Did she want him to stay? Maybe. She forgot what day of the week it was. Tuesday. Yes, Tuesday. It would be sad to go back into the house alone after having so much activity over the last few days. “No. No. Go on. I have plenty to clean up and wash to do.”
“Okay. Call me if you change your mind.” He squeezed her against his side and kissed the top of her head.
Gavin agreed to not contact her in any form. Be it email, text, call, in person. And he honored it. But why did she still go directly to her phone and check for any contact. And why did she cry happy tears when she saw a text from him. It wouldn’t change anything. And how odd he wrote her when she felt her most vulnerable. She wanted to hear from him.
She read his message. “Lanie, I know what we agreed on. I have to see you. Ten minutes. Please come. I’m at my place.”
Why had she not blocked his number? Had she unconsciously been hoping he would contact her?
No.
Yes. Yes.
No. Nothing could change the reality of the situation. She couldn’t do it. There wasn’t enough love or understanding or motivation to make it work between them.
She tried to ignore it. She loaded the dishwasher. Stripped the beds. She succeeded for ninety minutes. Until a second text came through. “I report early at Raphael’s today. I don’t have much time. I’m only asking for a few minutes. I need to see you in person.”
As much as she hoped and dreaded that he just had to see her again, she worried something had come up that he wanted to warn her about. Had the news received information about the escort service? Especially about him being one? Would it soon be public that she dated him? She tried to call him, but he didn’t answer.
She tried again over the next thirty minutes. Finally, he responded by text. “I’m not doing this by phone. I need to see you. Please come.”
“I’m leaving now.” She beat herself up about going the entire drive. She screamed at slow vehicles and stupid drivers. She couldn’t get there fast enough. She. She shouldn’t go.
Turn around.Seeing him will only set you back. You’ll have to start healing all over again.
Whether from the collisions she nearly had, or her body warning her, her heart raced and pounded in her ears. She slowed the car and veered into a parking lot. Her stomach rolled. Sweat beaded on her forehead and upper lip. Her body tremored. It obviously disapproved of her journey and destination.
Regardless, she made it to his house and knocked on the door, but Gavin didn’t come, and he didn’t reply. She knocked again. Nothing. Turning the knob, she found it unlocked. Pushing it open, she called, “Gavin, I’m here.”
Still no response. The hairs on her arms and at the back of her neck prickled. Such a silly reaction. She wasn’t in some episode of ‘Dateline’ or ’48 Hours’. Yet she couldn’t deny that not every divorced woman discovered they were dating an escort who by no fault of their own had a client as a party in a self-defense murder case.
“Gavin, you wanted me to come and here I am.”
Stepping from the entry hallway into the open area, she saw what she could never unsee. Gavin’s limp body splayed out on the couch. She noticed what must be a bullet hole through his forehead and his blue eyes gazed at the ceiling in a blank stare.
“You thought he would always be there for you. Didn’t you?” a woman asked from behind her.
Spinning around, Lanie saw a petite, blonde standing and pointing a gun at her from the end of the kitchen island. The woman’s eyes were wide and fixed. Her blonde strands were dirty and wild.Judith?
The pictures of Judith on the news barely resembled the woman in front of her. That woman, the wife of the news anchorman, presented a well-dressed, beautiful lady. The woman holding a gun aimed at Lanie’s chest looked anything but poised. She appeared crazed.
“You look surprised to see me. As if I would just quietly disappear from your life,” droned Judith.