Haunted(28)

He and Roman had shared a nice little talk at the wedding. He said he respected that Roman asked him himself. Eric and I decided that he would have Joey for two weeks straight in the summer, and Joey could tour with us for the remainder of the summer. Eric wanted Joey to see all the places that we would never have seen if we were just regular folk. I walked back into the kitchen to find Roman finishing up the cleaning.

“Well, you were right. Eric is fine with it, so I guess you’ll record here and tour in the summer.” I smiled. I honestly thought it was a great compromise, and I loved the idea of being on the road for the summer.

Roman came up to me and wrapped his arms around me. “I want you to feel confident about the band. Does this arrangement make you feel more secure?”

“Honestly, yes. I know that sounds bad, but I hate the thought of girls throwing themselves at you.”

“Well, let me tell you a little secret,” he whispered in my ear. “I wouldn’t like the thought of guys throwing themselves at you either, so I guess we’re even.” He kissed me and his hands wandered down to my butt.

“Wait, Mr. Reed. I really need a shower. Let me go wash up.”

“Okay, but first I have a present for you.” He pointed to the box on the kitchen table.

“What is it, and when did you go shopping on Amazon?”

“Last night, while you were dancing.”

I grabbed the scissors and opened the box. I stood back in shock and turned to look at him.

“You bought the first four seasons of Glee! You remembered!”

“I told you in the basement that when we were out of there, we would watch each one of them. Since you wouldn’t let me take you on an extravagant honeymoon, I thought we could watch Glee.” I hugged him and my nose went into his long hair. How did I end up with such a happy ending?

“I told you just us being home alone felt like enough of a honeymoon to me. You go watch TV, and I’m going to shower.” I picked up the box and carried the DVDs to my bedroom since that’s where I stored them. I put the box on the made bed. Roman was so neat. I liked that. I stripped off my clothes and got into the shower. I couldn’t help but think about the pending move. I was sad because I loved my house, but Roman was right. We couldn’t live here. I hoped that would be okay with Joey. I was sure he’d be fine. He dealt with my split from Eric okay and Joey loved the idea of Roman being his stepdad.

I stepped out of the shower and dried off. I proceeded to put on a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. When I walked back into the bedroom, I looked at the sweet gesture that Roman had done for me.

But when I looked in the box, there was a mask. One of those living doll masks that Jason had worn.

No! No! No! No!

Not now. I tentatively reached out and touched the mask. It was real. I felt the silicone. I slowly backed up, trying to get away from the mask. I exited the bedroom and continued to walk backward down the hall.

“No! No! No! No!”

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Roman yelled from the den.

“Uh, I forgot something at the store.” I put on my tennis shoes and grabbed my purse and raced for my vehicle. I had to get out of there before Roman cornered me. I knew I would blab everything when those emerald eyes looked at me. I drove off quickly. I looked back and saw him at the doorway with the phone to his ear.

“Shit!” I drove not knowing where I was going. I stopped at a remote park and sat on one of the benches under a tree. What was I going to do? I had to tell him I was sick. I had to. He could file for an annulment. I would set him free. Then I would have to go to a mental ward. I had to for Joey. I was a schizophrenic. There was no denying it anymore.

I started to cry. I was lucky that the park was deserted. That was one of the reasons the park was my favorite. I cried and cried until at least an hour passed. I was empty. I knew what I had to do, but I didn’t want to. I wanted the fairy-tale ending. I wanted my rock star and my son. Now I was going to lose it all. I wondered if there was a song for this situation. I laughed, which made me sound even more insane.

I heard a car drive up and then I heard a familiar voice.

“I found her. Yup. I’ll call you back soon. Okay. Bye.”

I knew who it was without even looking.

Phoebe.

“You know your husband is at home ready to watch Glee, which I can’t see how you even talked him into that. He said his wife was whispering and talking and then ran out the door. You left your cell phone at home, and after an hour, he started getting really worried. Then he called me.”

“Why you?”

“Uh, maybe because I am awesome and I can get things done, like bring his wife home. If he called Eve, you two would be under some big oak tree reading a book together.” She laughed but stopped when she noticed I wasn’t laughing with her.

“Beth, what’s going on?”

I turned my head away and sobbed. “Why couldn’t I have a happy ending?”

“Honey, what do you mean? You just married the guy that you’ve had a crush on for five years. Some people would call that a happy ending.”

“Phoebe, I’m sick.”

There was a lengthy pause.

“What do you mean sick?”

“I think I am schizophrenic.”

“Why?”

I told her everything. Everything I thought I saw or heard since the kidnapping. She listened, taking everything in.