4
I left the hospital after dark. It was cold, I was
shivering. Just as I reached the front door, I
felt the hairs on my neck prickle.
Under the dim porch light, someone was
behind me, holding something over their head.
“Aah!”
I screamed, startled. Before I could react, a
snowball whacked me in the back of the
head. Ice–cold snow ran down my back and into my clothes.
<
Amidst the panic and shivering, I heard Ben
laughing.
He was holding his sides, laughing as I
begged him to stop.
Then he flashed his phone in my face,
capturing my picture at my worst.
Tears I was trying to hold back started to roll
down.
He didn’t even see me crying, he walked to
the door, laughing, “Jo, you’re such a
scaredy–cat.
“Tiffany’s right; scaring you is so much fun!”
In the dark, I felt like I had completely
screwed up.
L
Once inside, he saw my teary red eyes and
trembling body. He reached for me, but I
stepped back.
I turned and went to the bedroom, I took off
my.clothes and rubbed myself down with a
towel.
It was cold, but I was afraid to take a bath
because I’d recently lost the baby.
When I came out, Ben was laughing at his
phone, Tiffany’s cute voice was blaring out of
- it.
They were talking about how funny I was.
They were talking about how ridiculous I
looked.
I clicked on my phone and saw that Tiffany
had posted my picture online. Everyone
<
….
seemed to think I was a joke.
I did, too.
At that moment, I did, too.
I sent a text to my boss: “I agree to be
transferred out.”
Right after that, my best friend, Sarah, sent a message: the lawyer was ready, and just waiting for me to collect the evidence.
I took a deep breath and turned off my phone.
Ben looked at me. “So petty, why do you have
to be so petty?”
“Tiffany’s not petty, you should go be with
her.” I said calmly.
To my surprise, my calmness enraged him. He
screamed “What is wrong with you. Jo?”
く
“I get it, you’re jealous of Tiffany’s post. Is a
few pictures really worth all this?”
“You’re so over it all. You’re making a
mountain out of a molehill.”
