Free Trouble (Orsen Brothers #1) by Aubrey Watts Page B

“You’re my ride! And the bracelet! I can’t keep it…”
    “You can,” he said before walking out the door. “I want you to have it.”
    And just like that he was gone.
    A sad sense of finality crept its way through my veins. A few people gave me strained looks of pity and my cheeks flushed a bright shade of red. I had to get out of here. I pulled on my jacket and grabbed my clutch, stepping out into the foggy night.
     
    Chapter 10
    —
    S oft jazz poured from a dimly lit lounge and followed me down the street. I walked until my feet hurt—until the tentative loneliness in my chest dissolved into something just a little more bearable.
    Poulsbo wasn’t a large town by any means—but this part was new to me—and the night seemed to be stacked against my favor. This was the fourth time I circled this neighborhood. But I learned my lesson about asking for directions. Earlier, when my journey was still fresh, I stopped in front of a heavy rusted gated to ask a homeless man where the nearest bus stop was.
    He wasn’t any help. “You’re like Alice,” he laughed, petting his matted dog. “Lost down the rabbit hole.”
    And maybe I was—but now I just wanted to go home—and I began to relinquish myself to the reality that I had no fucking idea where that was. Unfamiliar street signs cited the names of members of the royal court and I stopped to lean against a flaking building on an uneven patch of concrete, appreciating the irony of it all. Fluorescent streetlights—faux beacons of direction—stared down at me mockingly—offering me a little less insecurity as I clenched a cigarette between my lips and lit it.
    I caught a glimpse of my wedding ring and the bracelet and I sighed as I removed them both, stuffing them deep into the bottom of my clutch. Resplendent artifacts of my marriage; that’s all they were. If Stephen were true to form I would have the divorce papers in my mailbox by the end of the week.
    A deep melancholy settled into the pit of my stomach. I willed myself not to cry and exhaled a bout of smoke from my lungs, waving my hand in the air to dissipate it.
    My phone rang in my purse and I fished it out.
    “Hello?” I answered, sounding more hostile than intended.
    “Venus?”
    I raked my fingers through my hair and sighed, slouching back against the building. It was my sister. “What’s up, Lu?”
    “You said you would call me after dinner,” she said, ignoring the question, “are you alright? How did it go?”
    “Right.” I twirled a strand of hair around my finger and looked around. “Sorry…honestly I just forgot. It’s been a pretty crazy night.”
    “Really?” There was some commotion on the other end of the line, then the sound of a car door dinging and slamming shut. “So how did it go? I’m guessing I shouldn’t be expecting Stephen on our breakfast date?”
    Breakfast date…
    Right—I promised her I would meet her new boyfriend. We were going to do a double date. My mental note-to-self bank was getting fuller and fuller by the minute.
    “Yeah,” I answered vaguely, ashing my cigarette, “probably not.”
    “Shit.”
    “Yeah,” I breathed, “shit.”
    “That prick .”
    A small smile etched its way across my face. Luna always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. “No…it’s fine really. It was a pretty mutual agreement.”
    “You’re still upset though.”
    It was an observation—not a question—and I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. Sometimes I swore she knew me better than I knew myself.
    “Do you need me to come over?”
    My phone beeped and I looked down at it. The ‘low battery’ message flashed across the screen.  “Nah,” I answered. “I appreciate it but I kind of just want to be alone right now. Do me a favor though…don’t tell mom about this. God, I definitely can’t deal with her right now.”
    “I won’t. But are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
    “Positive. I’ll call you tomorrow