6
Derek came home late, smelling of Sarah’s
perfume. Alex was asleep. He said softly,
く
“Sarah had some trouble at a bar. Nothing
serious.”
I nodded, pretending to believe him. His lies
were pathetic because I wasn’t worth the
effort.
“Give Alex a bath. He’s tired.” He ordered,
casually.
I went to the sofa, picked up Alex. I started to
undress him. He woke up. He frowned,
pushing me away.
“I don’t want you! Go away! I want Sarah!”
I froze. He kicked my leg. The leg that still
had bandages over the cuts from two days
ago. The pain was excruciating. My legs
buckled.
“Get away! You’re disgusting! Don’t touch
me!” He screamed, clearly hating me.
Derek scolded him, “Alex, don’t talk to your
mother like that!”
Alex cried, “She’s not my mother! Sarah is my
く
mother!”
I limped away. Derek walked past me,
ignoring me as if I was a servant. He frowned
at Alex, and video–called Sarah. He did it
smoothly, effortlessly, like he’d done this
many times. Even his helplessness seemed
fake.
“Sarah, Alex misses you. Comfort him.” His
voice was incredibly gentle.
Sarah appeared on the screen. She smiled
sweetly. “Alex, what’s wrong? Miss me?”
Alex clung to the phone, full of grievances. He
seemed repulsed by me.
“Sarah, I miss you! I got an award at
kindergarten, it’s yours! When are you coming
over?”
Sarah laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?
Be good.”
Alex nodded, smiling. He talked to Sarah. He
was cold to me, mocking me, attacking me.
<
My last bit of warmth crumbled.
I went to my room. I checked my flight and
accommodation details again. Everything was
ready.
That night, Derek hugged me, whispering,
“Alex is just a child. Don’t be angry.” He
hugged me tightly, like he wanted to hold
onto something.
I didn’t say anything, pretending to sleep. I
counted down the hours until I left.
Tomorrow, it would all be over.
