by Emily Nealis
“I accepted a job out of state. My boss took a position with another organization in Florida and negotiated to bring some of our team with him. He offered my co-workers and I promotions down there. We all decided to accept them, so I’m leaving in a few weeks.”
“You’re moving to Florida?” He asked the question with a grin and an intrigued tone to his voice, but the way he crossed his arms and the all-too-cheerful way he spoke gave him away in an instant.
Both Haley and Diana noticed this mannerism; when he was angry or uncomfortable, Adam smiled too much. Adam sounded overly happy when he tried to suppress his emotions. It doesn’t quite work; if one looked closer, one would see the muscles in his neck and chest contracting erratically beneath his skin. Diana cocked her head slightly, an excited smile washing over her face—an involuntary response to his discomfort. Her anxiety began to melt away, replaced with the desire to inflict her own pain upon Adam. As much as it went against her instincts, Diana allowed her own vengeful intentions to take hold, if only for a moment.
“Yes. I’m going down this weekend with Sam and Jenna to secure housing. It’s a good thing Haley caught me, I guess.” When Diana said Sam’s name, it was another knife in Adam’s chest. For a moment, she could see his body flinching as though she were reaching over the counter and shoving a blade through his ribcage. At that moment, the more Diana smiled at him, the more she wanted to tear him apart from the inside out.
But Diana would not lose her temper. Her flight instinct was regaining strength by the minute. She looked across the countertop at the couple standing in the kitchen. These people were crazy, each of them existing in an alternate reality filled with toxic vanity, grudges, and personal vendettas. This was no longer a whirlwind romance gone sour. This was madness. Haley was using a dead man as blackmail against her husband’s infidelity—as a proxy for alimony. Diana knew the score, and her part was done here. It was time for her presence in Adam Hunt’s life to come to an end.
“Speaking of which, I should really get going. I’ve taken up way too much of your time,” Diana spoke to Haley, “And I still have so much to do around my place.”
Haley and Diana hugged one another goodbye with enthusiasm, each forgetting for a moment that Adam was even in the room. Diana knew she would never see Haley Hunt again. Haley was also aware of this reality, but it also gave her enough comfort and courage to tell Diana her story. That night, Diana was the confessional that entered spontaneously into Haley’s home, but disappeared hours later like a phantom into the night. As quickly as she appeared, with a smile and a wave, Diana was gone.
Diana heard the second set of footsteps on the gravel as soon as she reached for her car door. She knew it was him. Like always, he could slither out of any situation like a snake, with another excuse. What lie had he told to vacate the house so quickly? The man was a fountain of lies, drawing from a well that never seemed to run dry. Of course, Adam couldn’t let her leave without trying to have the last word. Diana gripped the door handle, pausing momentarily. The crisp breeze felt good on her cheeks. When she turned around, Diana was met with the familiar, accusing expression on Adam’s face. He’d been wronged so much by the people he loved, he was a victim, all he wanted to do was help the people he loved, he couldn’t help that he loved two women. The heart wants what it wants, and all that bullshit. Absolute garbage. It was embarrassing how deceived Diana had been. That was now in the past and she would have to come to terms with it and accept it for what it was. In the meantime, Diana still had Adam standing in front of her, expecting some kind of explanation.
“How long have you known about this job?” Like his face, his words were accusatory. Diana no longer had the time or patience to explain anything to Adam, and with this newly acquired information from Haley, Diana wanted nothing more than to flee the farm and be done with their entire family.
“Awhile.” Her responses would be short, devoid of additional details.
“And you weren’t going to tell me, you were just going to leave?” Diana could tell that Adam was trying not to lose his temper. He was still trying to keep up appearances, hiding behind the façade he’d so carefully constructed for years. But it was too late, he’d already lost control once, revealing to her his true nature. Diana shrugged, her attitude toward him remaining indifferent. There was no more rage, no more seething anger, only regret that she’d been mistaken about this person who ultimately turned out to be nothing more than a complete disappointment of a human being.
“Pretty much.”
“And you didn’t think I deserved to know?”
“Why on earth would you think that?” This was a foreign concept now—had Diana, at some point, really cared what Adam thought? Did he deserve to know anything about her life? It all seemed so long ago, as though it happened at a completely different time, inside a different dimension. Weeks ago, Diana would have yelled, screamed, even cried in frustration and anguish. She might have spit fire and venom, demanding to know why Adam was so selfish and heartless and how she could have been so blind as to even fall for the snake oil he was selling. Not anymore. However, all Diana felt now was irritation that she was descending to even speak to Adam and provide him with any explanation at all. He was a gnat that wouldn’t quit buzzing in her face as she tried to walk away. All she could think now was, who is this simpering loser standing before me?
“Jesus, Diana, we’ve spent the last six months together almost every single day! I don’t know,” And, as was becoming commonplace, Adam lost control and transformed into a disturbed child who was losing everything, “Maybe I thought we were just made for each other.”
Sometimes nothing needs to be said. Sometimes, there’s nothing to say. Sometimes, silence does more justice than words ever could. Diana cracked a smile, stifling the hideous laughter that threatened to erupt from her throat. She met Adam’s eyes for a moment, before slowly and deliberately, looking him up and down, and with a smirk destroyed whatever was left inside this shell of a man.
“You were clearly mistaken. Insecure boys like you just need someone to control.”
“I’m not trying to control you, Diana—“ But before he could finish, Diana waved her hand at him, pursing her lips as though she was quieting a belligerent child. His voice softened as he tried to pull himself together instead of descending into a blind tantrum.
“We were going to be together. I was going to uproot my whole life so I could be with you!”
“Change of plans,” She tugged at the handle and opened the door of the SUV, “But don’t worry, Adam, I’m sure you’ll find someone else is no time.” Diana glanced over Adam’s shoulder, her eyes coming face to face with a ghost. It hovered in the night shadows cast by the trees, lingering like a specter. Diana’s heart beat faster as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Gradually, the face became clearer, materializing into the woman from the kitchen with all the secrets. But this time, the woman was silent, hanging on to every word uttered by her oblivious husband. Her eyes ground glass into the back of Adam’s head, listening as he was savagely dismissed by his second mistress. Diana shifted her eyes back to Adam.
“Stay away from me, Adam,” Diana lifted one foot into the vehicle, “I’m the least of your problems.” She ducked into the driver’s seat and shut the door. The vehicle roared to life, and after shifting into drive, Diana Sanderson never looked back.
Adam barely heard the SUV pull away from the house, its tires grinding the gravel in a sharp, dusty chorus as the tail lights disappeared down the driveway. His mouth remained half open, but no sound would emerge. He felt a creeping melancholia upon him. It seeped through his skin, into his chest, melting through his ribcage like acid rain. Adam turned his head, gazing across the pasture into the night, now desolate and lonely. He caught sight of something in his peripheral vision, a shadow that moved ever so slightly, enough to draw his attention. His heart jolted, sending a momentary stab of pain through his chest. Startled by the specter, a statue in the grass no more t
han ten feet behind him, Adam spun around. But it was no ghost.
Haley stared back at him, her arms folded beneath her chest, turning her shoulders into sharp, boney wings. She glared at him with a face he hadn't seen in a long time. It was the same face she had when their marriage was the worst it had been in eleven years. It was the same face she had when she told him she was glad she lost the babies, and the same face she had when Adam told her he didn't know if he loved her anymore. All the horrific moments of their relationship culminated at that moment into a subtle, controlled fury swimming in the cold abyss of her eyes. Adam didn’t recognize this Haley. The old Haley was gone, replaced with a woman made of granite and fire, studying his every move like a specimen under a bell jar. Adam couldn’t look away. His muscles froze, petrified as his mind raced. Haley watched Adam’s eyes dart back and forth over her face. She knew his mind was erratic, trying to replay the last moments, trying to recall what he’d said. How long had Haley been standing there, in the darkness, listening?
Jessamine County stood between them, her landscape made of rusted tractor transmissions and cut grass, dried in the autumn air. She surrounded them with dry stone walls built by Irish bones and children’s ghost stories. Tonight, Jessamine County was silent. Her only voice was a whisper through the ancient oaks, tearing desiccated leaves from their branches. The crickets and toads no longer sang, silenced by the death of summer. Jessamine County went cold around Adam and Haley, the horses in the pasture transformed into dragons, breathing smoke out of their flared nostrils. Jessamine County forgot the summer nights, thick with honeysuckle along Clear Creek. Her rude and abrupt season’s end now resided in Haley’s eyes, and turned her flesh to marble. Haley inhaled the night air, thick with violet mist and the cloyingly sweet smell of hickory smoke. She watched Adam, like a predator released from captivity—scorned and exacting revenge. A defeated man stood before her, full of treachery and blood on his hands. Haley opened her mouth, the condensation rising from her lips as her breath hit the bitter air.
“She’s right, you’d be wise to leave it alone. In the meantime, we need to have a talk—”
Adam opened his mouth to speak, no doubt attempting a self-deprecating reconciliation, crying his crocodile tears and offering her a world of empty promises. She no longer had time for them. Haley raised her index finger, silencing her husband.
“—about Jason Kerrigan.”