Chapter 6 - The Aftermath
The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in violent shades of burnt orange and bruised purple, casting long, twisted shadows across the front lawn where Liam’s entire life was currently piled in three large black trash bags and a cardboard box.
I stood behind the screen door of the porch, watching from the cool, dim interior of the house as Liam frantically shoved the bags into the trunk of his battered pickup truck. Helen had left twenty minutes earlier, her face locked in a mask of pure, unadulterated hatred as she peeled out of the driveway with tires squealing. The mystery girlfriend—whose name I eventually learned was Tiffany, courtesy of her loud complaints about the humidity—had already sped away in her red sports car, refusing to be associated with public embarrassment.
Liam slammed the trunk shut, turned around, and looked up at the porch. In the gathering dusk, he looked smaller, defeated, his shoulders slumped beneath his gray work hoodie.
He took two steps up the wooden steps, stopping just short of the screen door.
"Chloe," he called out, his voice cracked and ragged. "Please. Can we just talk? Just for five minutes? Without Mom, without... without anyone else around?"
I didn't open the door. I stayed right where I was, my hand resting against the wooden frame, feeling the cool night air beginning to seep through the mesh.
"There's nothing left to talk about, Liam," I said, my voice steady, stripped of all emotion. "You made your choice last night at that gas station. You made your choice when you let your mother tear me down in my own kitchen. And you made your final choice when you brought her here today."
"I was stupid," he whispered, his hand reaching out to touch the rusty screen door handle. "I messed up, Chloe. I swear to God, Tiffany meant nothing. It was just... it was just a stupid distraction. You’ve been so distant since the accident, always hurting, always stressed—"
"So you cheated?" I cut him off, my voice sharpening into a blade. "When things get hard, your solution is to steal our grocery money to impress another woman, and then blame me for being injured? Listen to yourself, Liam. You’re a coward."
The word hung between us like a physical blow. Liam flinched, his hand dropping slowly from the door handle. For a long moment, he just stared at me through the mesh, his eyes shining in the dim porch light with what looked like genuine regret. But regret wasn't remorse, and remorse wasn't change.
"I’ll send the divorce papers by the end of the week," I added quietly. "My lawyer is already drawing them up. My sister helped me find one who specializes in financial concealment."
Liam’s head snapped up, panic flashing in his eyes. "You talked to Sarah?"
"I talked to everyone I needed to," I lied smoothly, giving myself the armor I needed to survive the night. "Don't ever come back here, Liam. If you do, I won't call the police. I’ll let my brother-in-law—the one you forgot is a state trooper—handle the trespass."
It was a bluff; my brother-in-law sold insurance in Ohio, but Liam didn't know that.
The threat landed. Liam took a slow step backward down the wooden steps, his jaw working as he swallowed hard. He knew he had lost. He had gambled everything on a sure thing and walked away bankrupt.
Without another word, he turned around, climbed into his truck, and backed out of the driveway without turning on his headlights. I watched the red taillights fade into the distance until they disappeared around the corner, swallowed by the creeping darkness of the evening.
When the street was completely empty again, I let out a long, shuddering breath that felt like expelling poison from my lungs. I turned away from the door, walked into the dark living room, and sank down onto the sofa.
May you like
There was no electricity, no food in the fridge, and my knee was throbbing with a dull, persistent ache that reminded me of my physical vulnerability. But for the first time in six months, the air in the house felt clean. I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and dialed Sarah’s number.
When she answered on the second ring, I didn't cry. I just smiled into the darkness and said, "Hey, Sarah. I finally did it."
