Crash Into You Read Free Page A

particular new money smell.  Stiff and fresh in her hands.
                  “Oh my God,” she whispered aloud to the empty room.  The first dizzy rays of happiness began to blaze through her.   She wanted to laugh – but then realized this was a huge secret.  Seth hadn’t told her about this and she had no idea where he got it.   Maybe he embezzled it.  Or robbed a bank.    She certainly wouldn’t put it past him.
                  The twist of Seth’s key in the lock jumpstarted her out of the fugue.  She put the money back, covered the box, and quickly ran out of the office, down the hall, into the bedroom.  The front door opened and Seth called out for her.   From the doorway of the bedroom where she was trying to calm her racing her heart and get her breath under control, she noticed the postage stamp still in her hand.   She slipped it into the pocket of her shorts.  Pasting a pleasant smile on her face, she stepped out of the bedroom and hurried down the stairs to greet Seth, the way he liked.  
                  “Where you been?”  He seemed to be in a good mood, relatively speaking.   Even so, she loathed the sight of him.   She’d begun to despise him years ago, but that money had unleashed something inside her.  She suddenly saw all the possibilities of the world, all the things he’d kept from her.   He was now an obstacle that must be overcome, a barrier to her real life and happiness.
                  “Bathroom,” she answered. “I have a terrible headache.  I’m going to take a hot bath.”
                  “I just got home,” he groused.   He started taking off his gun from his hip, checked it, then tossed it carelessly onto the sofa.
                  She rubbed her temples in exaggerated pain.  “I know, but I really feel bad.  I’m going to soak.  You don’t mind, do you?”  She offered a pathetic smile.  
                  “Whatever.”
                  She walked into the bathroom and locked the door, thankful for the privacy.   The bathroom was one of the few places Seth didn’t go ballistic at the sight of a closed door.   As long as it didn’t stay closed for too long . 
    With shaking hands, she undressed.   A glimpse at herself in the mirror revealed a pale face with splotchy red cheeks.  She did look ill, like she was suffering from a headache.   Her world had suddenly cracked and the first whiff of fresh opportunity was teasing her.   Such a thing tended to play havoc on the appearance, she supposed.
    Turning away from the reflection, she climbed into the tub and began to mull her options.
    That money in the box in the box dangled before her like a passkey to freedom.  Seth controlled the household finances, so she had very limited access to cash – one reason she’d not been able to escape before now.   Or, rather, it was one reason she’d allowed herself to remain a prisoner in her own home.  It was her own choice to put herself in this position, she reminded herself sternly.   Her actions led her here, to this prison.   It was vital to take responsibility for her role in this fiasco.  If she didn’t, she would forever be a victim.
                  Over the years, Kimberly, had offered to send cash, plane tickets, and other resources.  Aimee refused the help every time it was offered.    Shame and the belief that she had to leave on her own terms always prevented her from accepting Kimberly’s lifeline, no matter how tempting it was.
                  Over the last month or so, Seth began acting very strange.  His mood swings were wilder than usual.   Some days he’d show flickers of the person he had been in the beginning.   Charming, polite.  Other days, he was angry, obsessively monitoring her so closely she could barely breathe.  Life was becoming unbearable, until the night he came home and