Read Online All That She Desires: The Stranger by Melissa Morgan - Free Book Online
Authors: Melissa Morgan
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now, like they were inside the cottage. Then she
heard the words, clearly spoken: "Oh my god. Is she passed out?"
"Get the fuck out of here!" Fiona
screamed, sitting up and lurching to her feet. "Get the fuck out!"
Mike and Mary Ellen had come in through the front
door. Fiona came at them in staggering steps, screaming at them, and they
dodged back. She slammed the door and locked it, screaming instructions at them
to stay out.
"Shit, can we just talk to you?" Mike
answered back through the door.
"No," she said. "We don't need to
talk."
"What the fuck is wrong with her?" Mary
Ellen asked him as they walked away. She couldn't hear if he answered. Fiona
stood against the door, and then went into the kitchen. She got a bottle of
water and drank it down. She still felt drunk as hell. She wanted to eat, but
was afraid of throwing up. She decided the best thing to do was grab a cooking
pot in case she needed to puke and went back to bed.
That night, she called her manager, Ken. She was
clear-headed, and asked him dozens of questions about her obligations, and how
long it might take to put her music career on indefinite hold. He cautioned her
strongly about making choices she might later regret, and then laid out a
framework for her to reduce what she was doing. She did owe the record company
one more album, and she would need to put in at least some effort marketing it.
There were a lot of things that could be eliminated. But the income would
disappear too.
She made herself dinner and sat up late reading. She
liked reading. It was something she could do without drinking. She could just
lose herself in these other lives.
* *
The next morning, Mike knocked on the door of Fiona's
cottage. She was up and dressed. She'd planned on leaving that afternoon,
although she hadn't started getting ready yet. The cottage was still a mess
with her stuff.
Fiona opened the door. Mike was by himself, and she
let him step inside. She took at seat at the little kitchen table, and he sat
down as well. "There's coffee made," she said.
"No thanks," he said. "I've just had
one."
"Where's Mary Ellen?" Fiona asked.
"At the cottage."
Fiona lit a cigarette. "You told me you were
divorced."
Mike nodded. "We're separated, and we've begun
divorce proceedings. She was the one, who suggested the divorce, but now she's
got cold feet and it's all dragging out. We've been living apart for
months."
"Why did she show up yesterday? Shit, she could
have walked in on us. Wouldn't that have been a pretty scene? What did you tell
her about me, anyway? You didn't seem too eager to say anything when I stopped
by."
"I'm sorry about that. All of this has really
thrown me off balance, including all that's happened with me and you. You
really just came out of nowhere."
"I didn't come out of nowhere. I came out of
somewhere, and I'm a fucking human being with feelings. And I just fucked some
dude who lied about being married. I'm not obsessed with marriage or anything.
I don't really care about it. As far as I can tell, people pull marriages on
and off like bad fashion, so I'm not all hung up on that, but I do care about
being lied to by unavailable men. It makes me not want to trust men, and I have
enough issues as it is."
"Well, I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry all
this happened. I've been living like I'm single for the last several months. As
far as I'm concerned, my marriage is over and she is my ex-wife. But as you can
see, we've still just some untangling to do. I didn't expect her to drive two
hours to get here first thing in the morning without calling first to let me
know she was coming."
"Does she know we hooked up?"
"She knows, but she won't admit it. She'll ask
me about it months from now."
Fiona snorted. "It sounds like you've been in
this situation before."
He shrugged. "I just know her. And I need to
get out of this thing. It just doesn't work. She's
heard the words, clearly spoken: "Oh my god. Is she passed out?"
"Get the fuck out of here!" Fiona
screamed, sitting up and lurching to her feet. "Get the fuck out!"
Mike and Mary Ellen had come in through the front
door. Fiona came at them in staggering steps, screaming at them, and they
dodged back. She slammed the door and locked it, screaming instructions at them
to stay out.
"Shit, can we just talk to you?" Mike
answered back through the door.
"No," she said. "We don't need to
talk."
"What the fuck is wrong with her?" Mary
Ellen asked him as they walked away. She couldn't hear if he answered. Fiona
stood against the door, and then went into the kitchen. She got a bottle of
water and drank it down. She still felt drunk as hell. She wanted to eat, but
was afraid of throwing up. She decided the best thing to do was grab a cooking
pot in case she needed to puke and went back to bed.
That night, she called her manager, Ken. She was
clear-headed, and asked him dozens of questions about her obligations, and how
long it might take to put her music career on indefinite hold. He cautioned her
strongly about making choices she might later regret, and then laid out a
framework for her to reduce what she was doing. She did owe the record company
one more album, and she would need to put in at least some effort marketing it.
There were a lot of things that could be eliminated. But the income would
disappear too.
She made herself dinner and sat up late reading. She
liked reading. It was something she could do without drinking. She could just
lose herself in these other lives.
* *
The next morning, Mike knocked on the door of Fiona's
cottage. She was up and dressed. She'd planned on leaving that afternoon,
although she hadn't started getting ready yet. The cottage was still a mess
with her stuff.
Fiona opened the door. Mike was by himself, and she
let him step inside. She took at seat at the little kitchen table, and he sat
down as well. "There's coffee made," she said.
"No thanks," he said. "I've just had
one."
"Where's Mary Ellen?" Fiona asked.
"At the cottage."
Fiona lit a cigarette. "You told me you were
divorced."
Mike nodded. "We're separated, and we've begun
divorce proceedings. She was the one, who suggested the divorce, but now she's
got cold feet and it's all dragging out. We've been living apart for
months."
"Why did she show up yesterday? Shit, she could
have walked in on us. Wouldn't that have been a pretty scene? What did you tell
her about me, anyway? You didn't seem too eager to say anything when I stopped
by."
"I'm sorry about that. All of this has really
thrown me off balance, including all that's happened with me and you. You
really just came out of nowhere."
"I didn't come out of nowhere. I came out of
somewhere, and I'm a fucking human being with feelings. And I just fucked some
dude who lied about being married. I'm not obsessed with marriage or anything.
I don't really care about it. As far as I can tell, people pull marriages on
and off like bad fashion, so I'm not all hung up on that, but I do care about
being lied to by unavailable men. It makes me not want to trust men, and I have
enough issues as it is."
"Well, I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry all
this happened. I've been living like I'm single for the last several months. As
far as I'm concerned, my marriage is over and she is my ex-wife. But as you can
see, we've still just some untangling to do. I didn't expect her to drive two
hours to get here first thing in the morning without calling first to let me
know she was coming."
"Does she know we hooked up?"
"She knows, but she won't admit it. She'll ask
me about it months from now."
Fiona snorted. "It sounds like you've been in
this situation before."
He shrugged. "I just know her. And I need to
get out of this thing. It just doesn't work. She's
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