Chapter 9
I picked up my old hobbies again, wandering
around with my camera, stopping wherever I
felt inspired.
Sometimes, I actually managed to produce
some amazing artwork.
<
I built up a following on my new social media
account.
I also got a cat. I was terrible at naming
things, so I called her “Daisy,” because of the
color of her fur.
Every morning, I would wake up and she
would be there, curled up next to me, purring
quietly.
She was melting my grumpy old heart.
But then, out of nowhere, I ran into Jason
again.
I was carrying Daisy to take her for a walk
when I saw him standing right outside my
door.
く
I was surprised for just a second before it
dawned on me. He was resourceful, it
shouldn’t have been a surprise.
We sat on the sofa, facing each other,
waiting to see what he had come to say.
I felt calm. Now that Jason and I were nothing
more than strangers.
I didn’t think he came to my door just for old
times sake.
Daisy seemed to sense the tense atmosphere
and hid in her cat bed.
Jason scanned the room. His eyes finally met
mine.
“When are you going back?”
く
“Back where?”
“Back to the city.”
There was a moment of silence before he
continued:
“Grandpa’s worried about you, Lara. You’re
not a child anymore.”
“Running away without saying anything…
don’t you think about how that makes others
feel?”
“And you’re still pregnant. Come back with
me, and have the baby. My mom will take
care of you.‘
Jason sounded so tired, but his tone was still
uncompromising.
<
I felt a surge of frustration. He didn’t even
know I had gotten rid of the baby.
That was right. All he cared about was Sarah.
He wouldn’t have cared about what was going
on in my life.
He didn’t even check. He would have known
that the ‘bastard‘ he spoke of didn’t exist
anymore.
If his family hadn’t forced him, Jason would
never have sought me out.
I lowered my eyes and laughed quietly, the
bitterness rising in me.
“I had an abortion.”
<
“Please thank your grandfather for his
concern, I will go visit him some other time.”
“You can leave now.”
He didn’t seem to expect me to be so quick
to dismiss him.
Jason stood up suddenly, his face so dark
with anger it seemed like ink was dripping off
- it.
He gritted his teeth and said, “Say that
again.‘
“What about the child?”
To make sure he heard me, I repeated again,
“I got rid of the baby.
<
Jason, we’re divorced. From now on, I ask
that you do not ever bother me again.
With that, I turned and went back into my
room.
