Page 6 of Rock the Boat
“Good for her.” I wanted to sound excited for her, but I couldn’t. The words came out dull and lifeless. “Maybe Matthew was going for help when he left.” I didn’t believe Dom, but there was that small sliver of something that told me Matthew wasn’t all he appeared to be.
I reran the events of that night second by second from the time he showed up until I blacked out. There had been parking spots closer to the restaurant. The mugger attacked me first, not Matthew. He said something under his breath and hadn’t appeared fazed when the mugger showed up. Could Dom be telling the truth?
“What about my parents? The wedding?” I choked, forcing the words out.
He clasped his hands together and hunched his shoulders. Whatever he wanted to tell me was not good. “They got a message from you saying that Matthew broke up with you and you needed a break. They think you are on some sort of trip to discover yourself. Every few days, they get another text message from you.”
“No. I…my phone?”
“It wasn’t with you.”
“But…it…” I was confused, and the more I thought about anything, the less clear I became. My head hurt, and I had a hard time focusing on anything. Words floated out of my head. Thoughts escaped me. I was overwhelmed and confused. None of this could be true. Could it? And if he really was the one who had left me, why would he still be texting my parents? What kind of sick person would do that? It couldn’t be real. This had to be a nightmare. “Why?” It was the one thing I kept coming back to.
“I don’t know.”
The last thing I saw before I blacked out was eyes filled with sadness and pity staring at me.
