been beautiful if the result of its destruction hadn’t been so ugly.
“I’m a sick man! Can’t you see that? You’re a smart girl. Use that brain of yours, Chloe! What person in their right mind would fuck their niece ? Blood related or not, that’s what I consider you, my fucking niece! There will never be anything between us, Chloe. Last night was a mistake. One big fucking mistake.”
When he stormed out of the kitchen, Chloe didn’t go after him. She could have crumbled to the ground and wept until there were no more tears inside of her, but she didn’t. Looking at the broken glass again, she grabbed the broom and dustpan and cleaned up. What else could she do?
****
The next morning Chloe packed her bag and called a taxi. A bus was scheduled to leave in an hour and she planned to be on it. She hadn’t seen Dominic again after the blow up in the kitchen, but that was okay. She didn’t think she could face him anyway. He had made himself perfectly clear, made how he felt about her crystal clear.
All she could do now was go on with her life, despite the shattered heart that lay inside her chest. The sound of the taxi’s tires crunching along the driveway sounded and Chloe laid the goodbye letter to Dominic on the table. It was short and right to the point. She didn’t mention anything that they had done, didn’t even mention the fight. A simple, “thank you for letting me stay at your cottage, but I think my time here is done,” was all that needed to be said.
She made sure to let him know when her bus would be leaving, not so much because she thought he needed to know, but more so because she hoped, in the back of her mind, he would come to her. She could see it as clear as day, could see him wrap her in his arms at the bus station and tell her to come home with him, and that everything would be okay. Of course she hoped that would happen, but she knew it wouldn’t. Chloe wasn’t stupid, no matter what she had done recently that said the contrary.
Chapter Nine
June 2010, eight years later
The road beside Chloe’s car sped by like a blur of grey and yellow. Finally, after eight grueling years of school, she was finished. She was a doctor. It seemed surreal in a sense, almost like she was locked in a dream, a very good one at that. Now, she had another four years of internship to look forward to, but she wasn’t going to let that creep into her mind right now.
Where she was going might be one of the worst decisions of her life, but despite that, she couldn’t stop herself from making the journey. She was going to the cottage, going to the one place she had told herself she wouldn’t go to ever again. Dominic wasn’t there. She knew that from one of the rare phone calls from her parents.
In the past eight years a lot had changed. Her parents had decided to practice medicine in California. It wasn’t too much of a shock to Chloe given the fact she knew they wanted to expand their profession and look into plastics. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to being put on the backburner, though. Hell, the majority of her life had been only about her grades and future professional status to them. If she looked good, they looked good.
Her parents had moved a year ago, and although they still spoke, rarely, it was like they were much too busy with their own lives to care about hers any longer. Maybe they were sick of everything too, and moving was the only option they saw fit to rectify the shitty life they had wrought?
The one person that was always in the forefront of her mind, though, was Uncle Dominic. When everyone had found out Clara and Dominic had divorced, surprise was everyone’s emotion. Chloe knew that her, along with everyone else, had thought Clara and Dominic would last forever. There was no talk about Clara cheating on him, and Chloe knew that if she hadn’t overhead her aunt and uncle’s conversation she would have never known either. The blame was squarely
“I’m a sick man! Can’t you see that? You’re a smart girl. Use that brain of yours, Chloe! What person in their right mind would fuck their niece ? Blood related or not, that’s what I consider you, my fucking niece! There will never be anything between us, Chloe. Last night was a mistake. One big fucking mistake.”
When he stormed out of the kitchen, Chloe didn’t go after him. She could have crumbled to the ground and wept until there were no more tears inside of her, but she didn’t. Looking at the broken glass again, she grabbed the broom and dustpan and cleaned up. What else could she do?
****
The next morning Chloe packed her bag and called a taxi. A bus was scheduled to leave in an hour and she planned to be on it. She hadn’t seen Dominic again after the blow up in the kitchen, but that was okay. She didn’t think she could face him anyway. He had made himself perfectly clear, made how he felt about her crystal clear.
All she could do now was go on with her life, despite the shattered heart that lay inside her chest. The sound of the taxi’s tires crunching along the driveway sounded and Chloe laid the goodbye letter to Dominic on the table. It was short and right to the point. She didn’t mention anything that they had done, didn’t even mention the fight. A simple, “thank you for letting me stay at your cottage, but I think my time here is done,” was all that needed to be said.
She made sure to let him know when her bus would be leaving, not so much because she thought he needed to know, but more so because she hoped, in the back of her mind, he would come to her. She could see it as clear as day, could see him wrap her in his arms at the bus station and tell her to come home with him, and that everything would be okay. Of course she hoped that would happen, but she knew it wouldn’t. Chloe wasn’t stupid, no matter what she had done recently that said the contrary.
Chapter Nine
June 2010, eight years later
The road beside Chloe’s car sped by like a blur of grey and yellow. Finally, after eight grueling years of school, she was finished. She was a doctor. It seemed surreal in a sense, almost like she was locked in a dream, a very good one at that. Now, she had another four years of internship to look forward to, but she wasn’t going to let that creep into her mind right now.
Where she was going might be one of the worst decisions of her life, but despite that, she couldn’t stop herself from making the journey. She was going to the cottage, going to the one place she had told herself she wouldn’t go to ever again. Dominic wasn’t there. She knew that from one of the rare phone calls from her parents.
In the past eight years a lot had changed. Her parents had decided to practice medicine in California. It wasn’t too much of a shock to Chloe given the fact she knew they wanted to expand their profession and look into plastics. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to being put on the backburner, though. Hell, the majority of her life had been only about her grades and future professional status to them. If she looked good, they looked good.
Her parents had moved a year ago, and although they still spoke, rarely, it was like they were much too busy with their own lives to care about hers any longer. Maybe they were sick of everything too, and moving was the only option they saw fit to rectify the shitty life they had wrought?
The one person that was always in the forefront of her mind, though, was Uncle Dominic. When everyone had found out Clara and Dominic had divorced, surprise was everyone’s emotion. Chloe knew that her, along with everyone else, had thought Clara and Dominic would last forever. There was no talk about Clara cheating on him, and Chloe knew that if she hadn’t overhead her aunt and uncle’s conversation she would have never known either. The blame was squarely
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