Unhinge - Calia Read Page 0,100

to destroy.

One second Wes is clear across the room. The next he’s lunging for me. His arms are extended, fingers spread. He tackles me full-on.

I land flat on my back. The air whooshes out of my lungs. There is no time to be dazed and out of sorts. I have to react. Push him off me. Protect Evelyn.

Yet it’s too late.

Hands wrap around my neck, squeezing tighter and tighter. With more pressure the smile widens across Wes’s face.

I close my eyes and I see flashes of pain. Screams of agony. Blood. I see my hands curling into mud. I see myself close my eyes.

I count my breaths.

Six of them and then I slip away….

May 2015

I believe that everything always comes full circle.

Lives end.

New ones begin.

Sometimes the circle connects when you take your last breath. Sometimes it happens way before but, oh, I promise you the pieces will touch and when they do, nothing will be the same.

The chapter of Wes and Victoria finally came to a close. He came over earlier tonight and signed the divorce papers. A deep sense of relief settled over me. Everything officially felt final.

The last week I’d done nothing but pack. My routine consisted of going through everything and taping up boxes. And tomorrow I would be moving out. The cable and Internet were shut off. The silence was so unnerving that I had my laptop open and put in a movie just to hear some noise.

It was bizarre to see the house so bare. The last time I saw it like this, I was filled with optimism and hope for the future, and while I was now leaving with those same two emotions, I was also not doing so blind. I knew the road Sinclair and I were going down together wasn’t going to be smooth. There would be bumps.

But I loved him. More important, I trusted him.

We were going to be okay.

I stared out the kitchen window, taking a small break from cleaning the counters, with the smallest smile on my face. Just a few days earlier, Wes left for a business trip. The day he left he sent me another email. He finally agreed to sign the divorce papers. He said he’d do it when he got back from his trip.

At first I was skeptical. I wanted to hang on to his words and believe him, but if my history with Wes had taught me anything, it was that Wes loves playing mind games.

But this time he was telling the truth. He came over tonight, his keys turning in the lock, so reminiscent of happier times we’d had. When he came into the kitchen, I was shocked by his appearance.

The normally put-together Wes was a wreck. His hair was sticking straight up, as if he had spent hours tugging at it. He had a day’s worth of stubble and his eyes were bloodshot.

He looked around the house. Years of stored-up memories were just behind his eyes.

“Where are the papers?” he asked.

“Right there.” I pointed to the kitchen island and leaned against the sink. I twisted the dishrag so tightly around my hand, it threatened to cut off my circulation. Wes pulled out a pen. He’d probably read through the paperwork a million times by now, but he still scanned through it all. At the final page he lifted his head and finally met my gaze. I didn’t look away.

His eyes were tormented. His mouth opened and closed, as if the weight of the words were too much for him. His eyes closed for a brief second and then he signed the documents.

“Thank you,” I finally said.

Wes crossed his arms and shook his head at me in disbelief.

“What?” I asked defensively.

He shrugged. “Nothing. I just…I just didn’t think it would ever come to this. I know love can fade and marriages fail, but never once did I believe that would ever happen to us.”

“Me either.”

Wes held my gaze a second longer and then pulled out his car keys. “I need to get going.”

He left minutes later and then it was just me and the wind howling against the house, and the rain hitting the window in hard, angry pelts. The weather had been terrible all day and it showed no signs of letting up. Just an hour ago Falls Church and all surrounding cities had been issued a severe thunderstorm warning.

A bright strike of lightning lit up the sky. Thunder sounded loudly, making me jump.

But even in the dark I could place each