Burning Moon Read Free

now what?” The tears welled up again. “What do I do next?”
    “I don’t know.” Jane took me by the hand. “But we’re all here for you, whatever you need.”
    “Whatever!” The others all echoed the sentiment.
    I felt mildly better knowing that they were there for me. I thought back to the time that we’d all rallied around Jane when she’d found herself in a very embarrassing public scene with her then-boyfriend and his secret mistress. It had not been pretty, and at the time, she didn’t think she would survive the pain and humiliation, but she’d come through it fine.
    Maybe I would be okay, too? One day.
    But right now, the future looked pretty damn bleak.
    “Why did he do this?” I angrily bit the head off a Jelly Baby and obliterated it between my molars. What the hell had I done to deserve this? Was Karma trying to punish me for something?
    But none of them could supply an answer. My mind replayed our last interaction over and over again. We’d eaten breakfast together two mornings ago before I’d checked into the hotel. We’d drunk espresso. We’d chatted about the wedding and what to do if my mother got drunk and started singing show tunes—a common occurrence at all family gatherings.
    He’d kissed me good-bye.
    He’d told me he loved me.
    He’d said he couldn’t wait to see me walking down the aisle.
    So what the hell had happened?
    Maybe he was having an affair? But how? We practically lived together. Maybe it was something more benign; perhaps he was just scared? Or maybe he was worried about marrying a woman he’d barely taken out for a test-drive. We’d had sex only a few times. I wasn’t exactly the most sexual person around. Twenty-four and basically an almost-virgin! It all seemed so stupid and pathetic now in the face of so many maybes.
    I dismembered another Jelly Baby, legs first this time, and that’s when I noticed my engagement ring. The perfect princess-cut two-carat diamond made my stomach churn, and I ripped it off my finger, leaving a red mark behind. We all stared at it for a moment in absolute silence, and then Val spoke.
    “Pawn it. Sell it and buy yourself something awesome. Like a Porsche sports car.” Michael was pretty flashy with money, and my ring was no exception.
    “No!” Stormy jumped in excitedly. “Let’s burn it in a sacrificial fire. We’ll dance and chant the bad vibes away.”
    “Yes!” Annie cried. “In fact, let’s burn everything of his, starting with those revolting corduroy pants he always insisted on wearing!”
    “I could give him a root canal without anesthetic if you’d like?” Jane piped up. She was studying to be a dentist.
    I inspected my ring. It was so beautiful. And I hated it.
    It reminded me of him and the empty promises he’d made. In fact, everything reminded me of him. His presence was rudely painted across everything I owned. The couch I was lying on, the TV that he’d hung on the wall, the carpet he used to trip on, and the happy photos of our beach vacation on the coffee table.
    Oh my God, the honeymoon!
    We were meant to be leaving for Thailand this afternoon! We had very expensive, paid-for-in-full reservations for the honeymoon suite at the White Sands Hotel and Spa. I cringed at the thought.
    “I can’t take this anymore. I have to phone him.” I pulled my phone out and started dialing the number that felt ingrained in my DNA. But before I could finish, Annie snatched it away.
    “Wait. Just think about this for a second. What are you going to say to him?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Won’t talking to him just make it worse?” Jane offered. “And what if he doesn’t answer? No one’s been able to get ahold of him.”
    “Or…” Val spoke. Her tone was sensitive. “What if he tells you something you’re not strong enough to hear right now?”
    “Like what?” I felt my stomach tighten into sickening knots. “Do you think there’s someone else?”
    Annie hugged me. “I don’t know, sweetie.