Ditching The Dream (Dream Series) Read Online Free

decided to go for the big ones. Calls and texts that came in after after eight o’clock, when he would have been home already.
    “Hey, Elizabeth, I just got home. Where are you?” He must have not gone through the pile of mail yet. His voice set me on edge. He seemed irritated that I wasn’t there to greet him or something. I deleted that message, swallowed and pressed play for the next message, knowing that it would be ‘the big one.’
    “What in the hell is this?” Yup, he’d gone through the mail this time. “You’re leaving me? What is this ‘It’s not you, it’s me’ shit! Call me right away. Please!” Oh – swearing. He’s mad. He seldom swore. And never over anything trivial. Can’t he read? It was all laid out very clearly, or so I thought, in the letter.
    I let the next message play. “Why haven’t you called me back, yet?” he barked, his voice so harsh in that one. I was very glad to be thousands of miles away.
    Next message: “If you love me and I’m perfect, why did you leave? Where are you? Call me. We need to talk.” Okay, he sounded rather pathetic and desperate in that one.
    I couldn’t listen to another message right now. I set the phone aside and went to take a shower and rinse off the day. Letting the hot water run over me and calm my nerves, I did my best to recall the letter I wrote, but it was mostly a blur.
    Dried and in my nightgown, there were three new voicemails waiting for me. I took a deep, cleansing breath and listened to the next message. “J. F. K.!!!!” his voice boomed down the line. “You’re in New fucking York? Who in the hell is in New York? You don’t know anyone who lives there! Do you? Is it a man? Are you…are you… God damn it! Call me!” Whoa! The ‘eff-bomb?’ And he knew I was in New York. He must have done some digging. Crap! And was he slurring there? That would mean he’s drinking. And on a Monday no less. But even if he followed me here, New York was so big, finding me would be like finding a needle in a haystack. And I was careful to use my money for all of this. My inheritance money.
    And Greg’s right. I don’t know anyone here. But that’s the point. I want to stand on my own two feet. I can’t do that staying at a friend’s house.
    Feeling fairly certain that the rest of his messages were as manic as this last couple, I chose to delete them. I opened the text app, ignored all of the unread texts waiting for me, and started a message to Greg. What do I say? I owe him something.
    I stared at the blank screen with his name at the top, the cursor flashing in the ‘Text Message’ window. My thumbs were trembling. My mouth was dry. My mind was whirling. Filtering through the swarm of thoughts buzzing in my head, I opted for simple.
    11:42PM
    I landed safely. I’ll call u when
    I get settled. The car is parked in the
    short term west lot at San Fran Int’l
    in the back corner where you always
    park for ur trips. E.
    Send.
    Okay, maybe that’s not enough. I chewed on my lip and took a breath.
    11:43PM
    I need to do this.
    Please understand.
    I do love you.
    Send.
    Feeling slightly better at having been pro-active, adult, and mature, addressing Greg, I decided to listen to Jessica’s voicemail. “Hey, Bets. Greg just called me wondering where you are. Where are you? Give me a call. Later, hon.”
    I decided to just send her a text message, too. I wasn’t really in a mood to talk to anyone.
    11:44PM
    Hey, J. I just needed to get away
    and clear my head. I’ll call you soon.
    Take care of Greg for me, please.
    TTYL.
    Send.
    I thought about my sister and my mother. I should let them know I was safe and not abducted or anything. God knows, Greg probably called them in hysterics already. I couldn’t talk to either of them, they wouldn’t understand. I texted Suzie, said I was good and taking a break, and asked her call mom to let her know I was okay.
    I set my phone on the night stand and it started to ring. It was Greg… again. As