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marriage, nothing had changed. She knew he desired her, and she
used it to her advantage. Dressing sexy. Getting her hair done.
Wearing lacy underwear. It made him lower his guard, made him
think she loved him.
But she didn’t love him. She didn’t even care about him. She
didn’t care about the broken flowerpots and smashed-up china,
didn’t care that he’d been suspended from his job, didn’t care that
he’d cried himself to sleep for months. Didn’t care that his life was
falling apart. All that mattered was what she wanted, but she’d
always been selfish and now she was laughing at him. Laughing
for months and thinking only about herself. He loved her and
hated her and he couldn’t make sense of it. He felt tears beginning
to form and he blinked them back.
Delaware. Maryland. The outskirts of Washington DC. Virginia.
Hours lost to the never-ending night. Raining hard at first, then
gradually the rain dissipated. He stopped near Richmond at dawn
and ate breakfast. Two eggs, four pieces of bacon, wheat toast. He
drank three cups of coffee. He put more gas in the car and went
back to the interstate. He crossed into North Carolina under blue
skies. Bugs were cemented against the windshield and his back
had begun to ache. He had to wear sunglasses to keep from
squinting and his whiskers had begun to itch.
I’m coming, Erin, he thought. I’ll be there soon.
33
Katie awoke exhausted. She had tossed and turned for hours
during the night, replaying the horrible things she’d said to Alex.
She didn’t know what had come over her. Yes, she was upset
about the Feldmans, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember
how the argument had started in the first place. Or rather, she did
remember, but it didn’t make sense. She’d known he hadn’t been