Taking Chances - Ann Omasta (epub e reader .TXT) 📗
- Author: Ann Omasta
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After she left, I went back to sleep. It was the only place where the weight of sadness didn’t feel like it was crushing the breath out of me. Even my dreams were troubled though, and I awoke in the dark, covered in sweat.
I tried to sleep more, but my stomach was rumbling. I rolled over and grabbed a couple of stale potato chips from the tray Courtney had left, then I took a few sips of water and sat up.
My cell phone was sitting on the table, mocking me. Court had plugged it into the charger for me. I vowed not to get my hopes up, even as I felt my heart rate increasing when I reached for it. I cringed as I pushed the button. Nothing.
I curled back up on my bed and pulled the covers over my head, seeking oblivion.
When I awoke again, it was daylight, and I was starving. Life has to go on, I reasoned with myself. So, I got up, threw the duvet over my bed, picked up the tray of leftover food and went downstairs to make some breakfast and try to get over Seth Davis.
I was showered and somewhat presentable when it was time to go meet Courtney at Joe’s for girls’ night, and I had transformed from being desperately sad to totally pissed. How could he not at least give me some closure??
Being angry was probably overkill because Court was mad enough for both of us. “What an ass!” she grouched as soon as I joined her at our booth. “Give me your phone. I’m going to call and give him a piece of my mind.”
I tucked my phone deeper into my purse, determined to guard it from her reach. “I’ll call him later,” I promised her. “I deserve better than being ignored.”
“Hell, yeah!” she agreed. “If he wants to stop seeing you, then he needs to at least have the balls to say so.”
“Talking balls tonight, ladies?” Neither of us had heard Joe approach the table. He seemed to have a knack for sneaking up on us and hearing key phrases.
“Yes, we are, and I’d like to have a pair on a platter.” Court crossed her arms angrily as Joe visibly winced and took an exaggerated step back.
“I think I’ll keep mine at a safe distance, then. I’ll bring you the usual.”
We laughed as he pretended to place a protective hand over his nether region and turned to flee. “I can’t even imagine all of the crazy topics he has overheard us discussing at this table every week.” I shook my head.
Court laughed in agreement and started listing some, “Tampons, sex toys, purses, bubble butts, shoes, boobs.”
When she paused, I listed a few. “Don’t forget about waxing, plucking, trimming, manscaping. And those are all just about pubic hair!” By this time we were both cracking up with laughter.
When our giggles subsided, I turned serious. “My non-existent sex life and my brief, but fantastic sex life, which I seem to have ruined with my big mouth.”
Court looked down as she added, “My way too promiscuous sex life.”
“Nothing scares Joe off, though.” I reached for Court’s hand. “I think he’s one of the good ones.”
“Too good.” She nodded with tears in her eyes.
“Oh, rubbish!” I declared in my best English accent, and we both dissolved into hysterics again.
When we finished off our margarita pitcher, I told Court I wanted to walk along the water for a while, rather than ride home with her. She looked concerned that I was going to slip back into depression mode, so I reassured her with a hug. “I just want some alone time, so I can work up the nerve to call him to get some much-needed closure.”
She still looked skeptical, so I added, “I’m okay. I promise.”
I must have seemed sincere because she hugged me, whispered the words “Love you,” and jogged off to hop into her beat-up, little car.
I moseyed along the beach until I found a good rock to sit on. I stared at my phone for a long while and finally decided that I just needed to get it over with. Without knowing exactly what I was going to say, I pushed the button to dial Seth before I could chicken out.
It rang several times before his voicemail picked up. He’s probably screening his calls, and I didn’t make the cut. After the beep, I almost hung up, but I knew that I needed to get this out.
“Hi Seth, it’s me. Um, Abby,” I stammered. This wasn’t sounding at all like I had hoped it would. I wanted to come off as confident and perturbed, so I changed my tone. “Listen,” I commanded, sounding much more forceful. “It has become obvious that you don’t want to see me anymore. You should have just told me, instead of keeping me waiting and wondering. I deserve better.”
With that, I hit the End Call button without saying goodbye, let’s stay friends, or kiss my ass. Overall, it was a pretty good message. Watching the phone shake in my hand, I was grateful that my voice hadn’t betrayed my nervousness.
I decided to go for a long, cleansing walk. The shoreline was beautiful in the twilight, and I took deep, long breaths of the detoxifying fresh air.
I don’t know how long I walked, but I made it to a section of the sandy beach that I was not familiar with. When I noticed the long trail of boulders leading out into the lake, I couldn’t resist exploring it. The wet stones were slippery, so I made my way carefully. The rock path jutted way out into the water.
When I reached the end, I turned to look at the beach. With the water splashing up over the rocks, it almost felt as if I were standing out in the middle of the lake. I turned a slow circle, admiring the view from all angles.
That’s when I saw the house on the cliff. It blended so well with the scenery that I hadn’t noticed it before. I craned my neck to get a better view of the beautiful, gravity-defying stone and slate structure that seemed to be impossibly placed, hanging out over the water.
It was an amazing house and I wondered briefly if the owners would mind if I took a closer look. I didn’t see any lights, but it was so secluded that I was apprehensive about approaching.
Just then, a big wave crashed over the boulder I was standing on and knocked me sideways. As I fell, my ankle twisted painfully. I went completely under in the frigid water and surfaced spluttering, cold, mad, and with a searing pain in my ankle.
I managed to climb back up onto the slick rock and lay down. When I looked at the sky, I realized why the waves were kicking up. A huge storm was rolling in.
“Great,” I muttered as I tried to stand up. I wasn’t able to put any weight on my injured ankle, so I tried hopping on one leg. I realized the rocks were too slippery for that when I almost slid in again.
I sat down and reached for my cell phone. It was waterlogged and completely dead. Guess I should have sprang for the expensive, waterproof case, I chastised myself.
I looked around, considering my options. Realizing there weren’t many, I started scooting on my butt towards the shore. After what seemed like an eternity, I looked up, only to see that I didn’t appear to be much closer to land than when I had started. I was cold, and frustrated, and my ankle hurt. I just wanted to go home and relax by the warm fireplace, but it didn’t appear that I would be doing that any time soon.
The closest house was the one on the cliff, but I had no way to climb up there. My ass would be raw if I tried to scoot all the way there, and the rocks were too slippery to try to hop on one foot. I really wasn’t sure what to do. When the rain started, my tears started as well. It was just too much.
When I saw the big, black head, my self-pity quickly turned to panic-stricken fear. I wasn’t sure what kind of animal it was from this distance, but I could tell that it was huge, and it appeared to be looking in my direction. We stared at each other for what seemed like a long time as I tried to figure out what it was.
Do we have black bears in this part of Michigan? I wondered. My second guess was a wolf. I really didn’t want to come face to face with either of those animals, especially in my injured state.
Suddenly, it began to run
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