Untouchable

Chapter 26: Consternation

Chapter Twenty-six: Consternation

Today was going to totally suck balls. I wasn't sure if I'd survive the day

One: I had to arrive without puking.

Two: I had to see Susanne. Mom.

Three: I had to talk to the police without wanting to go all homicidal.

Four: I had to confront my ex without having a horrendous flashback that would show just how weak I really was.

That would be just fantastic and give Jimmy another advantage over me. It was enough that the thought of coming within hundred miles gave me hives, let alone the ramifications of a flashback in his presence. I'd wake up and it would be like the dream wasn't a dream after all.

The ideas of it made me want to swear or hurl.

I gazed dismally at the evergreen landscape from the plane's tiny window. The pines were as they'd always been. Tall and dark emerald with a mist making them seem more majestic and mysterious than they really were.

I missed the heat. The dry heat that sank into your bones, taking away the numb feeling in your toes that never goes away in the wet, dank Pacific Northwest.

I missed the earth. The hundred tones of brown. Everyone thought that brown was just brown, but the different shades were taken for granted when all you could see was a pervasive green. Green was supposedly a symbol of life, but it just looked fake to me. Like one of those Thomas Kincaid paintings they try to sell in a commercialized gallery in the mall, the picture was too perfect to be taken seriously. Life isn't a painting, and it shouldn't look like one.

But then here we were. WashingtonState, in the good ol' U.S. of A.

I knew that I was complaining and I had no right to complain. Even to myself. I'd agreed to this. I told Dad that I was willing. To come back to Lakebay, the scene of the crime and make him pay. He was going to get what was coming to him, whether he knew it or not. My baby would not suffer her life with him as a father. He would not be a part of her life. Over my dead body.

It took a little bit of time to plan this trip, longer than Dad had wanted. We were a week behind the desired schedule but it couldn't be helped. We couldn't fly without approval from my doctor, especially since I'd finally entered my third trimester. I was officially twenty-eight weeks along and Thanksgiving was next week.

Dr. Randall hadn't been pleased with our plans to fly to Washington, but she understood the reasons. Since my pregnancy was going so well, without any complications... well, except for the conception, Dr. Randall seemed to be more amiable with our plans despite my "high risk" case. She cautioned me to have as many sick bags near me as possible. My tendency to puke could be heightened due to the motion of the airplane. Fortunately, her predictions hadn't come true yet. I attributed it to my nerves of steel. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

Randall did give me one restriction, to not place me or the baby in risk of any harm. She understood my desire to see Jimmy slaughtered, but our health came first. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, because that was a "no, duh" in my mind.

Will was not as understanding as Dr. Randall. The green outside my window blurred and changed as I remembered.

"You're going to do what?" Will's voice raised in volume, probably enough to start a small avalanche.

I gritted my teeth and smiled. "I'm going back to Washington."

"Why on earth would you do that?" he retorted. I watched as he gripped the life out of my poor comforter.