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Chapter 44: Broken (Matthew)
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The Depth of Fate Chapter 45: Investigation (Matthew)
Nightmares plague me all night. Every time I close my eyes, I’m reliving my trauma with Lydia; except when I look at my wife laying on the gurney covered in her own blood I see Audra’s face. I finally give up on trying to sleep and quietly walk down to my office. I’m not sure that working will be a big enough distraction but I’m willing to try anyway. I’m four pages deep into a huge embezzlement investigation when I hear a buzz. I look around and hear it again, this time my eyes landing on Audra’s purse that’s still sitting on my coffee table. It buzzes 3 more times before I get up to see if it’s possibly someone or something urgent. I unlock her phone to see 6 missed calls and 2 messages from someone named Simon Park. I open the messages and quickly read them. “Hey, are you awake? Can we talk?” From 1:24am.“Give me a call when you wake up.” From 2:13am. Who is Simon? She’s never mentioned Simon before. Audra has never given me a reason to distrust her, but her past with Tyle
The Depth of Fate Chapter 46: Anesthesia (Audra)
I can hear voices but nothing is making any sense. Everything sounds muffled like I’m under water. I want to open my eyes but my eyelids feel like they weigh a thousand pounds. I try to swallow but my throat is dry. The voices and sounds start to become less muffled. Is someone saying my name?“Audra. Audra honey, can you hear me?” Whose voice is that? What is that incessant beeping sound? What the hell is on my face?!I eyes suddenly pop wide open and my hands fly up to my face. “Hold on honey, we need to leave the oxygen mask on. Can you look at me, Audra?”I look around and see fluorescent lights, medical equipment, and a nurse. Suddenly the smell of disinfectants hit me and I feel sick. “Audra I need to you relax and take some deep breaths for me.” This nurse sounds familiar but my head feels fogged and I can’t place who she is. I take several deep breaths before asking her where I am and what is going on. “You’re at the hospital. You just had surgery. Is there anyone in the
The Depth of Fate Chapter 47: Starry Night (Audra)
The late evening sun casts a soft glow over everything while I stare out the window toward the river. Butters jumps up on the chair next to me, letting out a chirp to greet me before he pushes his head into my hand and climbs into my lap. Matthew would be home from the office soon. The last week has been overwhelming and emotionally taxing. We haven’t spoken much. We aren’t going out of our way to avoid each other but he knows I need space right now if we are going to get through this. If I didn’t need to stay close to the hospital, I would’ve gone to Lexi’s. She stayed with us for a few days after I was discharged but needed to go back to work. I miss having her here. I hear the door open and close. Matthew is home. I hear his footsteps behind me and expect to hear him go upstairs but instead I hear him approach me. He sits next to me on the big white couch and takes my hand in his. I’m tired of resisting my feelings and I lean over into his side. I’m tired of trying to decide
The Depth of Fate Chapter 48: Homeward Bound (Simon)
I toss back a second shot of tequila and wince slightly as it burns on the way down. I push my shot glass to the edge of the bar and flag down the bartender for another. I am done with classes until fall and I plan to head back to Minnesota for the summer. I should be resting before I start my long drive tomorrow but all I can think about is the hollow feeling in my chest I get every time I think about going back. I was an idiot and pushed Audra away. I finally had my chance with her and I blew it because I panicked like I always do. She was willing to come be with me wherever I go and instead of embracing it, I told her to find someone else. After everything she went through with Tyler, I naively thought she would just stay single and wait until I graduate. I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed and a news article from the Star Tribune catches my eye. It is from the recent charity gala. There is a slideshow of photos from the event. For curiosity’s sake, I scroll through and see m
The Depth of Fate Chapter 49: All Clear (Audra)
A rumble of thunder rouses me from my slumber. I roll from my back to my belly and sleepily gaze toward the middle of the bed but see that it is empty. The thunderstorm outside makes it unusually dark in the room and I’m not sure what time it actually is. I grab my phone from my nightstand and see that it’s 7:45am. Matthew is already on his way to the office if he hasn’t already arrived. I grumble and wrap myself back into my cocoon of soft down and close my eyes again. Moments later, Butters jumps onto the bed and walks up the length of my body before stopping to sit right between my shoulder blades. He purrs loudly for a minute before he takes a paw and starts to gently bat at the edge of the blanket next to my face. He meows softly and then bats at me again, slightly more aggressively this time. “Alright, fine.” I groan as I roll over and push him and the blankets off of me. I follow him downstairs to the kitchen and I pour food into his bowl. I make a mental note to look into
The Depth of Fate Chapter 50: Trust (Matthew)
It’s been a little over a month since Audra and I have had sex. I know I need to let her heal properly and keeping my hands to myself has been excruciating. I came home from work early with the intention of helping myself relieve some tension. I close the door to my office since Lita is here. Before I can turn on my computer, my phone pings. It’s Dave texting me to let me know he emailed the file for the background check I asked for. I abandon my plan for self love and open the file. Simon Thomas Park. Born April 27, 1996. Only child. Lived in Spring Valley, WI. Currently lives in Burlington, VT. No criminal record. No children. Not married. This guy is as basic as it gets. So who is he to Audra and why is he contacting her? Digging further into the file I see they attended the same high school but didn’t attend the same college. There’s really not much that connects them. I open the attached photos. One is of Audra and Simon together in front of a large body of water in the midd
The Depth of Fate Chapter 51: The Million Dollar Question (Audra)
The pitter-patter of heavy raindrops on the window wakes me from my deep sleep. I check my phone for the time, disturbing Butters. He stretches and sighs loudly as he snuggles back into my pillow. It is only 4am. I see a missed call from Simon but no text messages. I’ll text him in the morning. We haven’t spoken in months. We used to talk daily. I place my phone back on the nightstand and lie back down, letting out a deep sigh. I love how much my life has changed recently. I love the life Matthew and I are building together. But I miss my best friend so much it hurts. I have never even mentioned Simon to Matthew. I’m not necessarily hiding anything but I’m not entirely sure how welcoming Matthew would be to the knowledge that Simon and I had blurred the lines of our friendship, crossing boundaries we shouldn’t have. I think my past with Tyler has also left me jaded. I avoid conflict even if it means I cause myself physical or emotional pain. Reminding myself that Matthew is not
The Depth of Fate Chapter 52: Confessions (Audra)
“Who is Simon?”Matthew’s question takes me by surprise and I’m too stunned to speak for a moment. “He’s an old friend. Why?” I answer vaguely but with a neutral tone. The last thing I want is to sound defensive or guilty. “Just curious. I saw his name pop up when he called last night. I’ve never heard you mention Simon before.”“Are you jealous, Matthew Christiansen?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him. “No.” He responds in a surprisingly calm manner. “I’ve only ever met Lexi. You never talk about your family or other friends. I was just curious.”“Truth be told, I don’t really have anyone else aside from Lexi, Simon and you. My parents divorced when I was young, I am an only child, my parents are divorced. My dad lives in Spring Valley and my mother lives in Alaska. There’s not much to tell.”He wraps his arm around my side and pulls me closer to him. I don’t think it was the answer he was digging for but he seemed satisfied with my response. “See anything you like?” He asks me, g
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