Free Right Girl by Lauren Crossley

romantic break so we
can talk, make plans, make love and reconnect.
     I
know she’s been feeling left out recently, as well as a little envious about
the amount of time I’ve been with Rachel. I also know she hasn’t said anything
because she doesn’t want to upset me or come between my newfound relationship
with my child. She’s put my own happiness above her own and for this… I have to
thank her.
    All
I want to do is spoil her and make things right, assure her she’s still my main
priority and tell her how much I love her.
    I
can hardly contain my excitement as I pull into our apartment complex, grabbing
my wallet before I exit the car and make my way inside.
    I
unlock the front door, announcing my arrival as I throw my keys down on the
coffee table in front of me.
    They
land on a white envelope with my name on it and I instantly recognise Sam’s
handwriting on the front of it.
    Wondering
why the hell she isn’t here and why she’s wrote a letter to me in the first
place, I tear open the envelope. Scanning the words before me, my whole body
begins to tremble. My vision blurs and the floor shifts beneath my feet,
causing me to fall back against the sofa.
    I
read it fourteen times.
    That’s
how many times it takes me to process what it says.
    She’s
left.
    She’s
left me .
    For
good.
    My
breathing becomes laboured and my chest tightens, my heart begins to race and
won’t slow down. My palms turn sweaty and my surroundings spin, swallowing me
up. I can’t breathe, I can’t move, I can’t even think .
    Before
I can control my actions, I tear the letter into shreds. Pieces of paper land
like snowflakes, a snowstorm of misery which accompanies the knowledge that it’s
over.
    My
brain won’t function, refusing to take responsibility for what I do next…
    The
coffee table is the closest thing to me and I grab it, throwing it across the
room with so much strength, strength I didn’t even know I had.
    I
trash the place.
    I
trash the place we called our home and I do it with a vengeance.
    Yanking
the mirror off the wall, I hurl it through the TV. Shards of glass crunch
beneath my feet as I race into our bedroom so I can destroy everything in it.
    That’s
when I realise her clothes are gone.
    She
took everything.
    Everything
except her ring.
    I
find it in the box it came in, still waiting in her bedside drawer.
    The
one and only thing she left behind.
    Bitch.
    I fucking hate her.
    I
hate her so much it consumes me... blinding me against the love I once had for
her.
    The
love I still have.
    I
leave the bedroom, ripping my hands to pieces as I search for my car keys
amongst the wreckage. Finding them, I stumble through the front door and head
for my car.
    Blood
is pouring from my fingers but I don’t even feel it.
    I’m
numb.
    I
can’t feel anything but rage.
    It’s
building up inside of me and I can’t control it anymore.
    There’s
only one person she would go to. There’s only one person she would choose to
confide in and that would be Audrey. She has to know where Samantha is
and I won’t rest until I find out where that is.
    I’m
hammering on her door fifteen minutes later, ignoring the fact that the noise
I’m making is loud enough to wake the entire neighbourhood.
    “Zack,
what on earth are you doing?” Audrey demands, flinging her front door open so
she can stop me pounding on it.
    “Where
is she?” I demand, shoving her to the side so I can get inside. “Tell me where
she is!”
    “I
don’t know what you’re talking about!” She yells, following me as I start
searching every room.
    “Don’t
lie to me.” I warn her, grabbing hold of her shoulders so she knows I mean
business.
    I
will not leave this house until she tells me where she is. I’m cracking up
already, so close to losing my sanity.
    “I’m
not lying to you.”
    “I
can see right through you.” I growl, closing in on her in. “And I swear to God
I will hurt you if you don’t tell me where she’s is.”
    “Zack,
she