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He shrugged. “Hell if I know.”
“That means it’s too many. I’m not on the clock yet, therefore I can’t be bothered.”
“We’re working triage today. Bailey sent me to get you.”
“Bailey is aware that I don’t clock in for another ten minutes. When I do, both of you will see my face.”
He sighed. “I’ll let you fight that battle with her then.”
He closed the door to the locker room, leaving me alone. I rolled my eyes because he’d once again managed to fuck up my tranquility. I’d been working as a registered nurse at New Haven Memorial Hospital for the last four years. I loved my job but damn, it could be stressful and emotional.
Seeing sick, battered, and broken people all day long could really take a toll on the mental. I did my best not to carry work home with me. I’d lived in chaos for too many years to allow myself to drown in other people’s sorrows. I wasn’t heartless. I just didn’t have it in me to take on more emotions than I could bear.
When I left Slim six years ago, I vowed to become a whole new woman. I wouldn’t be the timid, shy, pushover I’d once been. I wouldn’t allow anyone to diminish my self-worth or self-respect to boost their own ego. Nala Stanton was dead, and Lila Peterson was born.
Lila was a bad bitch. She didn’t take shit from anyone. She was fierce in protecting herself and those she loved. Lila was the boss of her damn self and lived life to make herself happy. Lila didn’t need a man and she damn sure never let them think she did. She was who I wished I could have been all those years ago.
I thought back to the day I said goodbye to the only life I’d ever known. Slim was out of town on business, and it was the perfect getaway opportunity. He trusted me enough to leave me alone for three days. It would have never crossed his mind that I would rob him of half a million dollars and dip.
Finding that money had to be a sign from God himself. I was in the process of cleaning our closet. I’d pulled the area rug up from the floor so I could sweep and mop beneath it when I noticed something was off about the floor.
“What the hell?” I muttered to myself.
Dropping to my knees, I felt around until I was able to pop a loose board out of place. Beneath the board was a latch. I pulled it, and to my surprise a whole section of the floor lifted up. My eyes landed on a big black duffel bag nestled in a vault. I tried to pick it up with one hand, but it was heavy as hell.
Standing to my feet, I put all my weight behind it, and lifted it from the vault. Carrying it into the bedroom, I dropped it on the bed and pulled the zipper.
“Holy… shit…”
My eyes widened at the bands of bills stuffed inside. For a moment, I stood there looking at it. I’d never seen so much money in my life. I knew Slim made bank in the streets, but he never brought cash like this home. I looked around as though I suspected him to jump out and ask me what the fuck I was doing.
Slowly, I pulled each band from the bag, counting until I reached the last one—five hundred thousand dollars. Now it made sense why he would sometimes lock himself in the bedroom when he came home. For at least thirty minutes, I sat staring at the cash, trying to decide what I was going to do. Put it back? Take some? Steal it all? I played every possible scenario over in my head about the outcome of it all.
Either way, it didn’t look good for me. Even if I put it back, Slim would know I’d found it. I was so sick of his shit. I almost wished he wouldn’t come back from this trip. Just let him drive off a cliff or something. That’s when it hit me. He could come back, but I had 500,000 reasons why I didn’t need to be here when he returned.
I jumped up from the bed and grabbed my suitcases from the closet. I grabbed handful after handful of clothes from the hangers and began folding them up and packing them away. I packed my shoes, toiletries, and whatever valuables I had. When I finally stopped, I had five suitcases. That was what my life had been reduced to… five fucking suitcases.
It was sad.
Grabbing my car keys, I shoved them into my back pocket. Dragging the suitcases to the stairs, I angled them so I could slide them down one by one. Once they were all at the bottom, I grabbed two and rolled them through the kitchen and out to the garage where my car was. I had to play Tetris to get them and the duffel bag to fit, but I made it work.
Once I had everything I needed, I went back downstairs to leave, but something stopped me. Slim was going to be livid that I’d not only left him but stole his money too. I might as well add fuel to the fire. Slowly, I walked back inside and grabbed the fire poker from beside the fireplace.
I thought about the way he treated me. I thought about all the names he’d called me and how he’d fucked up my self-esteem. I thought about the people I loved that I’d lost because I chose to stay with a man who didn’t deserve me. My anger fueled the first swing I took at the seventy-inch flat screen. Watching it shatter was liberating.
After that, I didn’t even have a target. I hit the first thing I came in contact with until the entire living room was fucked up. I moved on to the kitchen, breaking every glass and dish I could reach. Food… on the floor. Condiments… on the walls and counters. Stepping over the mess, I headed back upstairs to the bedroom we shared.
I went into the master bathroom and grabbed the full bottle of bleach, dosing it everywhere. His designer labels were ruined. His expensive watches and chains all went in the toilet. I was tempted to shit in it for good measure, but I left well enough alone.
Pleased with myself, I headed back downstairs to the garage and climbed in my car. Without looking back again, I opened the garage door and drove out.
Leaving that house gave me an immediate sense of freedom. I drove out of the neighborhood, out of the city, and out of the state. I didn’t know where I was going. All I knew was it was to freedom. I left behind all electronic devices that he could track me down with. Once I was far enough out of Georgia, I knew I needed to switch cars.
I’d found a used car lot and paid cash for a 2013 Ford Explorer. The salesman and I came to a hefty understanding that I needed this car and he needed to not include my name on any paperwork. I didn’t care what laws he had to break to make it happen. I just needed it done.
Thankfully, he could be persuaded, and I walked out of there with the keys. After switching vehicles, I left my car right in the parking lot and left town. I must have driven for days. Countless stops to eat, sleep, and fill up my tank later, I made it to Greenwood City, California.
It had been my home for the last six years. Everything I birthed here gave me a beautiful new beginning, starting with my name. I found a nice home. I re-enrolled and graduated from nursing school, and I landed a job at one of the best trauma hospitals on the west coast.
