Watch Me Walk Away by Jill Prand

cheated on my mother and I didn’t think a man could be faithful to a woman. He assured me that I was the only one he wanted and all I would have to do is touch the necklace to find the proof of his commitment. I want to believe it is possible. I want to feel secure in a love but is Bobby the right one for that? The intense pull of him clouds my mind and heart. Is it really love or will it burn bright and fade away? Do I have the courage to try? I close my eyes and just breathe in the scent of him. I decide not to open the box until later. Maybe after a large glass of wine. Maybe after I have spoken to Bobby, oh I can’t wait to talk to him and hear his voice. We used to have all night conversations on the phone. Of course some of them were really hot too, maybe we need to reinstitute those conversations.
    I fall asleep and Arthur wakes me as we are pulling into the driveway. He opens the door for me and helps me out. I still have the gift in my hand but I forget my bag and Arthur reaches in to get it for me. As he hands it to me he says, “If you give me your keys I will go get your car.”
    He surprises me, “No how will you get this car back then? I will have Jodi drive me over later to get it.”
    “I told Mr. Harber I would take care of it and you wouldn’t want me to get in trouble for not completing my job would you?” He puts his hand out and I put my keys into it. “I will be back soon.” And he walks away.
    I go into the house. Jodi and John are in the kitchen and call out for me to join them. I limp in and they both want to know what happened. I sit down and put the gift on the table. Jodi zeros in on it, “From Stuart?”
    I shake my head, “Bobby. We went to lunch and when he saw me limp in he had his car drive me home so I wouldn’t have to walk. This along with the ace bandage, ice pack, water and a bottle of Tylenol were waiting for me when I got in.” I turn the box round and round.
    “Well are you going to open it?” John asks. Jodi looks like she wants to grab it from me to see what is inside.
    I ignore the question and pull out the letter, “This was also in the box.”
    Jodi’s hand reaches across the table motioning for me to hand it to her, “I want to read it.”
    John’s mouth is wide open as he looks at her. “That’s probably very personal.”
    “I know it is, but if I am going to have to deal with the fall out I want to know what he is telling her.” She glares at him.
    “Why does there have to be fallout? What if this time we make it?” I ask. “Do you really think he’s going to hurt me again?” My shoulders fall. I can feel the tears pooling in my eyes, “I don’t know if I can tell him no.”
    John grabs my hand, “You deserve to be happy and if you think Bobby can make you happy then I say go for it.” He glares at Jodi, “I never told you but I went to see him that New Year’s Day. He was devastated. He wanted to go see you and I stopped him. I saw you when you came back and saw you and Brad. I thought you had finally had enough and decided to give Brad a chance. I didn’t want Bobby to mess that up if you could move on. I didn’t realize ‘til later that Brad was just getting you through it. I’m sorry. Bobby would call me occasionally asking if you were okay and if you were happy. I lied to him and said you were fine that you had moved on.”
    The tears fall. “Why is it that everyone else knew that he still wanted me but me?” I stand up and throw the letter at Jodi. “Let me know if you think he will hurt me again after you read that.” I grab the present and storm into my room and throw myself on my bed.
    It feels like the whole world is in between me and Bobby. I understand why Bobby did what he did. I don’t like it and I wish he had been honest with me. What I don’t understand is how all my so called friends could lie to me and to him. Would it have made a difference if he had come to see me the next day? Would it have made a difference if