“It would have been a lot easier to talk to Matt that night instead of me,” Megan reached over, awkwardly patting Liz’s knee.
Liz’s heart sank again. “You think?”
“I think,” Megan insisted.
“You told me so that night,” Liz recalled.
“Not exactly. I told you that secrets almost always come out. So if you were going to do this, then you should be prepared.”
Liz let a tear fall, as she faced the road.
“Liz,” she started gently, “you don’t look prepared.”
Liz nodded. “Thanks, that’s good advice.” she joked with a laugh, and more tears fell.
Megan sighed. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I should be more encouraging, shouldn’t I?”
“So glad I brought you along! Hey, I think we just passed an old lady trying to cross the street, maybe you wanna go give her a good push?”
Megan laughed harder, shifting in her seat and facing her passenger window. “I really hope Matt does forgive you, I can’t imagine having this much fun with anyone else.”
Anyone else.
Liz hadn’t considered the thought of Matt moving on if their marriage was over. There would eventually be someone else in his life. There was a new kind of pain she hadn’t imagined. Megan must have picked up on Liz’s disappointment and fear.
“Oh, I didn’t mean—”
“I know. Let’s just get back so I can get this evening over with.”
“Oh let me call Ben and tell him we’re on our way.” She reached for her purse. “Oh no, the battery is dead. Hey, where’s yours?”
“I realized earlier I left it back at the house.” That wasn’t entirely true. Liz purposely didn’t grab her phone on the way out. She knew she’d be secretly waiting and hoping to get a call or message from Matt. So to save herself the disappointment, she took the option off the table. It didn’t matter at this point. Now she had a new kind of fear and a whole new level of anxiety was starting. She was able to calm her earlier panic attack with her first purchase at the Center. Now she was going back to see Matt again with this new vision in her head that she couldn’t shake.
Fresh tears welled up but she was determined to fight them. She couldn’t go back to the house a mess and was going to use everything she had to keep them from falling. She started blinking them away, only for them to spread evenly. A mixture of bright yellow and red light reflected through the white blotches in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away.
“Oh no, Liz watch out!” Megan cried.
Liz hit the brakes, the movement seemingly slowed to a heart stopping-moment in time. Loud screeching was followed by an even more deafening crash. The impact to the left side of her head was agonizing, the pain blinding until the peacefulness of quiet and blackness finally consumed her.
Chapter 5
MATT
Francis had joined Matt in the family room with a basket of clean laundry. Normally she preferred to fold in the basement where the washer and dryer were but he knew she was just as anxious to hear from the girls. It wasn’t like they had a reason to worry. Technically, the sun wouldn’t be setting for another two hours.
“I tried Megan, but it went straight to voicemail.” Ben returned from the kitchen. “Her battery must have died.”
“Yeah, because they’ve been gone almost all day.” Matt barked. Raking his fingers through his hair.
“Hold on, she may have taken her business phone too. I’ll check.” Ben left the room.
Matt settled into the chair again. He absently stared at the space in the kitchen where Liz had been standing that morning, by the counter. Something happened in the few minutes that they all stood there, before breakfast. “Mom, did Liz seem, a little…I don’t know…shaky, earlier?”
“How do you mean?” Francis asked calmly. Matt had an idea that she knew exactly what he meant.
He held his thumb and index fingers over his eyes squeezing them shut. “She just, she seemed…like it looked like…” He took a deep breath and looked at his mother. “I think she may have been having a panic attack,” Matt blurted, uneasy.
Francis froze. She looked at him squarely and gave a slight raise of her eyebrow before finally answering. “That’s not possible,” she said hauntingly and turned back to her laundry.
