Electric Impulse

chapter 50 | my love

Present Day

Phoenix wakes me up early. "I have to get to the office," he whispers softly before kissing me on the forehead.

I yawn loudly as I get out of bed. "Good morning, my love. What time is it?"

He glances at the clock on the black wooden nightstand.

The clock reads 5:35 a.m. "On the weekend?" I whine.

"Yes, I have a deal I need to prep for Monday." Already dressed, he's putting on his shoes.

"Well, take me home? I don't want to be stuck at your place all day. No offense."

"Alright. Come on sleepy head."

I quickly throw on my clothes. Bedhead, morning breath and all, I grab my handbag and leave with him.

He drops me off at my place with the promise to catch up with me later, after work.

As soon as he drives off, I climb back into bed.

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I wake around 10 a.m., well rested. Staying up late makes it difficult for me to be an early riser but somehow, no matter what time he goes to bed, he's up at five in the morning. Go figure.

I fiddle around with my phone deciding if I should call my love or wait till later.

Orange dream floats. I'll sext him something he can't take his eyes off. He won't be able to get any work done today . . . .

I tap the camera icon and the picture of the divorce decree pops up.

Check the case number to be sure. You never would've known, about the whole swinging documentary thing if you didn't go with your gut.

I whip out my phone and Google the case number. A bunch of weird things pop up in search, nothing that pertains to his divorce. I know there's a way to search, but how?

Calling Penelope might shed some light on it. With J.C. being a lawyer, maybe she can find out.

"Hola, chica! Que paso?"

"Hey girl hey! Nada mucho. Hey, I was wondering if you can help with something."

"Sure. What do you need?"

"How do I search a court case?"

"How would I know?"

"I don't know! Maybe you could ask JC?"

"Oh. Yeah. Let me ask him." Penelope puts the phone down.

He's there with her right now? Go Penelope!

She picks the phone back up. "OK. Google Wisconsin CCAP. Input the name and date of birth and search."

"I see you and JC are going strong. Get it, girl! Talk to you later."

Penelope laughs. "Later, chica!"

I go to Google and follow her instructions. I input "Phoenix Prescott" and his date of birth. The Consolidated Court Automation Programs returns like fifteen cases filed under his name. I look at the filing date on the picture in my phone and search for cases around that date.

I get nothing. No divorce cases. There are other cases with his and Nora's names together but no divorce case with their names. The hairs raise up on the back of my neck. Lyrics from Mikky Ekko's "Who Are You, Really?" start playing in the back of my mind.

Something is off.

There's got to be a rational explanation.

Try CCAP again. This time, see if you can search by the case number.

It'll pan out. Things are going so well, right now. It has to.

I hesitate.

Do I really want to open this can of worms?

Put your doubts to rest and make sure.

I refresh the CCAP search page.

See! There is a search field for case numbers. It's there for a reason.

I enter the case number and wait for the search results. When they come back, the wind is knocked out of me. The results show that the case number corresponds to an actual divorce. Just not his divorce. This case number belongs to the divorce of a Martin and Keri Williams, not Phoenix and Nora.

Red is all I see. The taste of betrayal and deception is bitter.

And zooming in on the picture I took of the decree, there are shadow lines around the names as if it was copied with their names taped on. I pull it up on my computer and print it out to get a better look.

I'm sick to my stomach.

Who is he? Why is he going so far to lie to my face like this? What else is he hiding?

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A/N: Hey Lovers. This is an incredibly dark moment for Aria, having to face herself and her past. Do you feel it's something she needs to go through? If so why? Is this something she can heal from? How? Please leave your thoughts on the page. I love all your thoughtful comments and all your moments of insight. Please do share!