Where Would I Be Without You - By CJ Hawk Page 0,95

condemned years ago and torn down for something prettier to be built.

The sun had moved further into the horizon, and it seemed like it was at least three o’clock. The sounds of my grumbling tummy echoed throughout the porch. I doubted that any food possibly existed in the house. I was afraid to go in and look. I reached down to the old faded gray porch and picked up my purse. Inside laid my wallet with the thousand in cash I took out just for the trip and shopping. Now it was going to have to last me until I could figure out what to do next.

A small pink envelope was inside my purse. I reached in and opened it. It was a generic card with a scene of flowers and a puppy. The kind of card you would buy in a box of a dozen of cheap cards. A small note in a man’s handwriting appeared inside the card. “I’m very sorry. Haus” I was stunned. Perhaps Haus knew all along. I doubted he kept these kinds of things handy in the car. If he did, he was a sensitive man. From the stories Sabrina told me and my experience, he was anything but.

A MasterCard gift card was nestled between the card and envelope. That confirmed my suspicions that he knew all along. It didn’t say how much was on it. I wasn't going to expect much seeing as Haus was a paid employee of my husbands, and he didn’t exactly pay the top pay rate. Then, on the other hand, how much money did he make in this little stunt to keep his mouth shut?

The small acknowledgement did warm my cold heart. However, it did not stop my tummy from grumbling. As if in robotic mode, I began to lift my luggage into the house and set about exploring my new humble abode. A sudden movement of eight long legs stopped me quick in my path. I squashed it within a flick of a moment. The one thing I hated most was spiders. The second thing was dust and cobwebs. The humble abode held more of those then I could digest. I ran looking for the bathroom to puke. Only to find a nonfunctioning toilet full of old pee.

Damn that Sabrina. She had bought a house that squatters had lived in. That or she had peed in it herself. Just at that thought, my stomach contracted. The puke ended up in the sink. I quickly reached for the old-fashioned nozzle to turn on, and I was thankful that the water worked.

Upon further inspection of the small house, I discovered broken glass on the backdoor. It must have been how the squatters or wild teens had gotten in and out of the house. It was dirty. It was small, only one bedroom and one bathroom if you could call it that. It had a small kitchen and laundry room off the back of the house. The largest of living space was up front, and it was smaller than my dressing room back home. It was a joke. It had to be. They would come back tomorrow. No one could be this cruel.

I quickly texted both Mathew and Sabrina. “Joke? Right?” I closed the lid to the toilet, and sat down and waited. I stared at my phone with only two bars hoping the signal stayed strong, and they would text me back that Haus was on his way to get me. I waited minutes that felt like hours, and my phone vibrated a text back and then again. With much trepidation, I read the messages from both. “No joke good luck” Sabrina. “Good riddance” Mathew. Seriously?

“GAH!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I took a deep breath and realized my worst fears had come true. Deep down, there had been signs I had chosen to ignore. Little bits and pieces were coming together like a difficult bazillion piece puzzle.

I pushed myself off the toilet with my hands to my knees and went in search of a breath mint in my purse. I chewed feverishly then went in search of my toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash. I hadn’t thrown up since I had the flu last winter. Memories of Sabrina by my side, day in and out, came to mind then I mentally took a red sharpie marker to her face and scribbled her out.

All the happy memories I had of her, were now jaded by the fact she