Page 54 of Husband to Go

Andrea sits up again, disbelief on her face.

“So you waited until the day of the wedding to call it off? That’s so cold-blooded! But honestly, it’s what Veronica deserved.” She shrugs and lies back down. “Kylie hasn’t fully come to terms with how horrible her mom is because Veronica is all that she has. But I’m hoping she will soon, especially if you’re going to be a part of her life now. This has probably been all for the best.”

I’m about to ask Andrea what she means by that, but my phone buzzes. I snatch it up and see it’s a message from Corey. Andrea is up and over by my side in seconds. With trembling fingers, I open the text.

I wasable to locate the subject. Please check your email. I sent all the necessary documents.

Andrea whistles.

“Wow, sounds like you were right about this Corey guy. He found Kylie in less than an hour.” That’s to be expected because I only hire the best. “Go to your email,” she presses.

I open my email and click on the message Corey just sent me. There are attachments, and Andrea and I gasp as our eyes scan the documents.

“Oh my god, who would do this to her?” she mumbles, stunned.

I’m just as blown away. I didn’t know someone thought Kylie was so unhinged that she needed to be checked into a mental institution. It seems impossible, and yet the evidence is right here before us.

“We have to go get her,” says Andrea in a rush. I wholeheartedly agree, but I think I need to do this on my own.

“I’ll go get her,” is my grim growl.

“By yourself?” her friend asks with surprise.

I nod.

“I think it’s for the best. There are things I need to tell her, and events I need to apologize for.” Andrea looks down at me, her eyes narrowing.

“Okay, I’ll let you do this alone. All I ask is don’t fuck it up. If you do, you’ll have me to answer to.”

I get up, urgency in my movements.

“Thanks. I promise to get her back safe because clearly, she’s important to both of us.” The corollary remains unspoken. I don’t know what I’ll do if I can’t fix this mess I made. I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive myself if Kylie’s somehow in danger.

Andrea narrows her eyes at me again.

“I’m going to trust you this one time. Okay, Tanner. Go get our girl.”

With that, I leave in a few sure strides. I’m going to need to find a way to approach this carefully because clearly, things have gone off the rails and I don’t want to scare Kylie away.

But why is she at a mental institution? Who determined that she was so feeble-minded that she needed this kind of intervention? I get back into my car, but then reach into my phone. There was something weird about that last attachment. I open it once again, and my eyes scan the fine print.

Oh shit. I’m going need to get to her fast because Kylie’s in serious danger, and it’s all my fault.

18

Kylie

I’ve been at North Cross for a while now. The first period was really hard, knowing that my mom and Tanner were getting married. I woke up crying and could barely talk to my assigned psychiatrist.

My doctor’s name is Fulton. He’s professional and nice and let me cry our entire first session. I explained to him what was going on and he seemed sympathetic.

“It’s going to be fine, Kylie,” he soothed. “We need to work on your recovery, and it takes time. Baby steps.”

I sniveled a bit in reply and started seeing him every day in order to figure out some way out of this mess. Our sessions have been helpful, but I don’t feel any closer to a resolution. In fact, I only feelmorelost most days.

I think about Tanner all the time, especially before I go to bed at night. It’s become a ritual to wrap my blanket as tightly as possible around my body. I never had a chance to cuddle with him, and this is my sad attempt imagining what it would it be like to have him with his arms wrapped around me. How sad.

Plus, Dr. Fulton has said it’s important to establish routines, so I’ve been following a certain schedule each day to get myself into some kind of groove.