Love Was My Cage, Not Salvation

ce

brought me coffee in bed, his thumb stroking my ch

he said, his smile not

est," I lied, forci

my gaze as he straightened his tie. "It's the anniversary of.

ir from my lungs. He was using the memory of the w

ice eerily calm. "You go.

t second so his lips brushed my cheek. A jolt of revulsion went through me, so strong I had to dig my nails

was out of bed. I knew I needed more than just a memory

creen lit up with the login page. The background image was a picture of a sunset over the oce

versary. Denied. Then, a cold thought slithered into my mind. The little boy. Dylan

rew. As I was about to give up, my eyes caught a small, yellowed sticky note tucked under the corner of

membered something Paige had screamed at me during a fight years ago: "August 28th is the m

n the num

s gra

ul knot. It was them. Caleb, Paige, and little Dylan, sitting in front of a bi

re were folders hidden within folders, a digital

s a family. A vacation to a beach I didn't recognize. Caleb was in eve

d by Caleb and... my father. My mother's name was on transactions for lavish gifts sent to a P

d funded her. They had embraced her ch

. Every loving word my parents had ever said to me, every gesture

ion of honesty and trust." The words echoed in the silent room, a bitter, ironic gh

ocking a stack of papers to the floor. I had to get out. I couldn't breat

p on the laptop screen. A new message. The sc

from

re. Dylan misses his daddy. H

new. She had to know he was with me. It was a t

ing face filled the screen. I s

ly normal. "Just leaving the 'cemetery' now. The

was over. Now, I needed a plan. I would not be t

, calculated rage. I had to go back to tha

the proof that would burn