Chapter 43
"Right this way, ma'am," the officer speaks, opening a door for me.
I take a deep breath to calm my nerves before walking into the room. There's a glass wall splitting the room in half. Smaller walls separate each section from the other, making the conversation a bit more private. I've seen this before in movies, but it's so much more intimidating in real life.
Taking a seat on the wooden stool, I glance back at the security guard nervously. Across from me, there are men in orange jumpsuits walking in and out of the room. They all look so scary and angry.
My heart skips a beat when Peter finally walks to the other side of the glass. He looks so tired, so pained. His eyes brighten the moment they lock with mine. I look away immediately.
I pick up the phone that allows us to communicate through the soundproof glass and hold it to my ear. Peter does the same. There's just the sounds of our breathing for the first silent minutes.
"H-hi," he stutters, his eyes glued to the counter in front of him. "I...uh.. you- I missed you."
I lick my lips and hesitantly admit, "I missed you too."
He lifts his eyes to mine, seeming hopeful and happy. "Gosh, Gracie, I love you so-"
"Don't call me that," I mutter. "Just because I missed you does not mean I want to be with you. I can't love you anymore."
"You-you don't lo-love me anym-more?"
I hold my head up with my hand. "Shit, Peter, of course I still love you! Do you even realize how much this is tearing me up? The thing is I can't love you anymore!"
"I-I know. I just..can't we..we can get through anything. You said it yourself," he argues.
"That was before you put a freaking bullet through Mason's head!" I scream.
One of the guards taps on my shoulder warningly. I apologize embarrassingly.
Peter whimpers and covers his mouth with his hand. I stare heartlessly as he cries. He tries to speak into the phone, but all of his words are incoherent.
"I don't even know why I came here," I say, thinking out loud.
"You're not going to leave me," he pauses to sniffle, "are you?"
I stare into the eyes of a stranger, not the same boy who I gave my all to. "I will never love you again. I hate you."
His face contorts as my words hit him in the heart. "You-you don't mean that. We're-we're supposed to be-be together! You're supposed to be my-my w-wife!"
"You pulled that trigger." I shake my head, holding back tears. "You ended any chance of redemption that our love had. All that's left is this nothingness that I feel. I'm left to sit without emotions because of you. I don't enjoy laughter and music and anything I'm supposed to love because of you. I'm in hell because of you."
"I never wanted that," he whispers. "I want you to be happy."
"Bullshit!" I yell and stand up from my chair, ignoring the guard. "I hate you so much! How dare you do that to me!"
"I'm sorry!" he cries.
"It's too late for sorry, Peter!" The guard tugs on my arm. "Now you get to sit in that jail cell and think about what you did, how much you actually screwed up. Think about Miles. Think about Scarlett. Think about your new sibling that'll be born while you're in here losing your mind. Think about all of our friends who you ditched."
He shakes his head repeatedly. "Please, stop."
"Give me one more minute and then I'll leave," I say to the guard who finally drops my arm.
