Page 186 - Interior_SPRING SUMMER FALLING_2021

186 | FRANCESCA P E NN

Chapter 35

Sanya
I
kick the door closed in my empty, lonely, desolate house. I throw my purse
and keys down. Not caring where the land. The shoes follow them. It doesn’t
matter. Nothing matters. My shade-covered eyes guide me into the kitchen. I
look into the fridge. Is 8:30 AM too early for a drink? Nope. I swipe the half-full
bottle of wine from the fridge. I take a sip and throw away the cork.

“Won’t be needing that,” I mumble as slink into my bedroom.
Sip. I pull on an oversized shirt and cozy socks. Sip. I slide my shades back into
place to shield my eyes from the light. Sip. I have the worst tension headache of my
life. Pain starts at the base of my skull and spreads throughout my entire head. I feel
like my head is going to explode. My new best friend, the bottle, and I take the party
to the living room. Sip. I sink on the couch. Sip. I turn on the TV. Sip. I find the
most comfortable spot possible and pull my purple cover up to my neck. Sip. Sip.

Sip.
My blanket smells like Henri again. One sniff is all it takes for my body to break
into heart-wrenching, soul-crushing sobs. I’m practically a toddler whose favorite
toy has been stolen. I carefully put the bottle on the ground. I don’t want to deal
with spills and a broken heart. Our conversation loops in my head. Henri’s
confusion turned into hurt. It almost killed me when he’d asked what he’d done.
I’d gripped the steering wheel to keep from turning around. Then, his hurt
transitioned into anger. He hung up in my face. I tried to call back. Maybe I could
explain it better, but he was gone. I got his voicemail. I tried again, just in case.
Nothing.