Enough

Chapter 8

I looked over at my phone when it started buzzing. It was sitting on the bedside table I shared with Sarah. I closed the magazine I was flipping through and picked it up. It was Anthony.

I swiped across the screen to answer. "Hello?"

"It's about damn time you answered." He snapped. "I've been trying to call you for two weeks."

I flinched at the harsh tone of his voice and sat up on the edge of my bed. "I'm glad to hear from you too."

"Where in the hell are you?" He demanded.

"I told you in a text. I'm in Georgia."

"Georgia?" He repeated. I could hear the disgust in his voice. "Why?"

"My parents sent me down here for the summer to try and fix me."

"It looks like you're really down there learning a lesson..." He chided. "Who is the blonde guy you were in the picture with? Are you two a thing now?"

"He's no one to you." I replied plainly.

There was silence. "After everything I've done for you. Everything I've given you, I think he's definitely someone to me.  Especially if you've been-"

I cut him off. "His name is Luke. He's nothing to you and neither am I." I took a deep breath and continued. "I think it's best if you don't call me again, Tony."

"Just who do you think you're talking to?" He demanded.

"No one to me." I replied plainly. "Lose my number."

"Listen here, you bit-" He began, but I hit end on the phone call. I tossed the phone to the foot of my bed and let out a long sigh.

"What was that about?" Sarah asked, walking through the door with her hair wrapped in a towel.

"Anthony."

She raised her eyebrows and smiled. "The one you told me about? You kicked him to the curb?"

I nodded and stared at the phone as it buzzed again with his name on the caller ID. I reached over and hit ignore.

"I'm proud of you." She said with a wider smile. "So proud."

I stood up and picked up my pajamas. I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders and at the same time I felt lost. The only consistent person in my life up until that point had been Anthony. He wasn't good for me, but he was the only person I could count on to always be there. Anxiety swirled up in my chest and settled like an iron weight. "What did I just do?" I whispered.

"What was that?" Sarah asked, running a brush through her hair.

"He's been my only constant for the last two years. He took so much from me. So much that I'm never getting back." I covered my mouth with my hand. "What did I just do?"

Sarah came and wrapped me in a hug. "You just made the best choice for you and your future..." She squeezed me tighter. "It's for the best. I promise."

~

"Whatcha looking at?" Sarah asked, smearing lipgloss across her lips. We were getting ready for church the next morning. 

"I'm just reading the comments on your mom's post from my birthday." I said with a smile.

I flipped back over to my main feed and the first picture was of my little sister in a bright yellow bathing suit, standing on a beach with crystal clear water behind her. Definitely not the dark blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. My chest tightened and my heart shattered as I swiped through the pictures on my mom's post and realized my family had apparently taken a two week vacation to the Florida Keys and had extended it by another week. The caption read Beach days with the whole family.