I could hear someone calling me, but I could
not tell who it was.
“You can’t drink with an anxiety disorder!”
Sam was standing over me, holding my file.
“She is on medication?”
Ethan was shocked.
I guess I am normally a happy, healthy person.
He would never associate me with anxiety
<
meds.
“Since prison.”
I could see that he felt guilt.
After Ethan left, I had Sam adjust my meds.
“How long have you two been so close?”
I had Sam changed my medication and had to
come back in two weeks to check on
everything. I never expected Ethan to be
there.
Sam laughed.
“What are you talking about? Olivia is just
here to get her medication.”
“Medication on the roof?”
I ignored Ethan and started walking off with
Sam.
He grabbed my wrist.
“Let go!” I snapped.
He was too strong. I couldn’t pull my arm.
away.
“Where are you going?”
“None of your business! Ethan, we are
divorced.”
I wanted to laugh. What was wrong with him?
く
Chapter 2
Was he out of his mind? First, he acted like
he couldn’t stand the sight of me, and now
he’s all over me? What was his game?
I tried to pull away, but he only tightened his
grip. I winced in pain.
My medication spilled everywhere.
My meds… the ones I’d scraped together
enough money to buy.
“Do you still love me?”
The question caught me off guard.
Did I?
I didn’t know. For the love of him, I’d spent
<
seven years memorizing his likes and dislikes.
For the love of him, I’d donated a kidney. For
the love of him, I’d been thrown in jail. Now, I
had a crippling anxiety disorder, and my
kidneys were failing from all the medication.
I couldn’t afford that kind of love.
His handsome eyes were full of hope.
“I can’t,” I said. “I can’t love you anymore.”
He released me, looking crushed.
I glared at him, disgusted. “Please, just leave
me alone. Can you do that?”
He opened his mouth, about to say
something, but I cut him off.
“Just go!”
I knelt down and started picking up the pills
one by one, carefully putting them back in the
bottle. Like I was trying to gather the pieces
of my shattered dignity.
Tears blurred my vision. My heart was a
wreck. I couldn’t take any more.
Back in my room, I sank into the bathtub,
letting the water fill my nostrils.
The fear, the suffocation, the feeling of being
close to death washed over me.
I gasped, shooting up to the surface, sucking
in air.
Somewhere along the line, I’d started to enjoy
that feeling, that moment of almost dying.
My anxiety was getting worse. My skin was
always itchy.
I knew it meant my kidneys were shot; my
body couldn’t get rid of the toxins.
The next time I went to the hospital, Ethan
was there with Lily, getting her checked out.
Lily shot me a look of contempt.
“Still obsessed, huh? Following us to the
hospital.”
I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t have the
strength. Did she think I had the energy to
stalk them?
L
Ethan deliberately avoided me, heading
outside for a smoke.
I paid my bill and went to get my prescription
filled when Lily came over.
I ignored her.
She leaned in close and whispered, “Ethan
knows I set you up. He has the security
footage from that day. He destroyed it to
protect me.”
When I heard that, my hands trembled, like all
the blood had been drained from my body.
He knew?
He actually knew?
Г
And he still let me go to prison?
Her words were like a knife, slowly carving
into my heart, drawing blood, making it hard
to breathe.
All the pain and frustration boiled over into
anger.
I grabbed her hair and slammed her head
against the wall.
She’d ruined my life.
She was going to pay.
No matter how much she screamed, I kicked
and punched and clawed at her.
