don’t have much time left. Cole tries to push his door open, but his attempts are weak.
It’s up to me.
I kick harder and harder, but it’s not helping. I have to focus on the glass; it’s the only way. I start kicking the glass and then use my elbow to try and penetrate it.
The smoke is filling the car now. I can’t escape it. I can’t breathe. We are going to die.
I need something sharp. My foot is doing nothing to the window. I feel around but don’t remember anything sharp I keep in the car.
My head falls back against the headrest. I’m exhausted. I need a break. But there is no time for breaks.
The headrest falls down from the weight of my head. The headrest!
I turn around and yank as hard as I can against the headrest. It breaks free, and I see the two sharp metal prongs that usually hold the headrest into the back of the seat. I start slamming the ends of the headrest into the window.
Crack.
The glass begins to break.
Fucking yes!
I hit the glass over and over with the headrest. Each time I hit the glass, more cracks form. Until it shatters.
“Cole!” I shout, prepared to pull him through the window.
He doesn’t stir.
Shit.
He needs out, now.
I hook my arms under his armpits and pull with everything I have, coughing every second as I suck in smoke along with a tiny bit of oxygen.
I climb through the window, pulling Cole with me. His body thuds against the asphalt as I yank him out of the car. I wince, watching the blood spill from his head where it hit the street. But he’s safe now. He’s free. I hear the ambulances. We are going to live.
“You can’t save everyone. You saved Cole. You saved yourself. But you can’t save Mila. She’s mine.”
Abri’s words wake me up. Fuck, it was just a nightmare, but it felt so real. Probably because the first part was true. The car accident, the smoke. But I’ve never heard Abri threaten Mila’s life, but now that I’ve dreamt it, I know she will. It’s her next move to hurt me.
If I do nothing, then Mila is as good as dead. Abri half attempted to hurt her before while they were rock climbing. She will try worse. She will ruin Mila or kill her. She knows how much Mila means to me. She will do anything to hurt me.
It’s four in the morning. I should wait a few more hours and make sure this is how I’ll feel in a few hours. But saving Mila can’t wait.
I pick up my phone and dial Abri’s number. She answers on the second ring. “Yes, Ace?”
“I’m ready to sign the divorce papers.”
I can feel her smiling on the other end of the line. “And what makes you think I’m ready to sign?”
“Because I’m giving you everything you want.”
It takes a week to get the paperwork figured out and a time where everyone can meet. I thought waiting a week would be hard, but I know Mila is as safe as she can be with Cole. And I took the week to begin to adjust to my new found freedom. I don’t know why I didn’t do this in the first place. Making sure Abri paid for her crimes isn’t worth it.
So I did everything I love. I hiked, I rock climbed, I rode my motorcycle too fast. I drank, I smoked, I ate fried food. I slept in late and went to bed even later. I should have felt more alive than I have in years. But I didn’t.
Instead, I feel a calmness because I’m a hundred percent sure I’m doing the right thing.
My lawyer told me to wear a suit and tie to the meeting, but in about thirty minutes, I won’t own any suits anymore, so it felt wrong to wear one now. Instead, I’m wearing a black T-shirt with dark jeans. I’m in mourning. Not at the loss of anything other than Mila.
I walk into the building and my lawyer, Doug Lundy, sits on a bench waiting for me. He’s dressed in a blue suit. He eyes my clothes but doesn’t comment. Good, you fucking work for me. You don’t get to dictate what I wear or what I do.
“You sure about this? We can get you a much better deal. That’s why you hired my firm,” Lundy says.
“I’m sure. I was an idiot for not doing this months ago.”