Read Online Unspeakable Truths by Alice Montalvo-Tribue - Free Book Online
Authors: Alice Montalvo-Tribue
Tags: General Fiction
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why I’m asking, my nerves are getting the best of me. What he tells me tonight can change everything I thought I knew about my life.
“I was just out with some people from work when you called.”
I nod as he passes through the open doorway. In the four years that I’ve worked there no one has ever asked me to hang out after work. Alright, that’s a lie, they asked me a few times in the beginning, but I always turned them down. I’m sure that I come off as being unapproachable and even now I would have said no, but it may have been nice to get an invitation every once in a while.
“I’m sorry, I should have waited till tomorrow it’s late.”
He juts his chin out, nonverbally communicating that it’s okay. “I was surprised to hear from you. Is everything alright?”
“I don’t know.” I reply walking back in the living room and tagging my wine off of the coffee table. “Can I get you a glass?” He’s probably shocked by how polite I can actually be.
“No. I’m alright. What’s going on?”
I take a sip of my wine before taking a seat back on the couch. “I need you to tell me the truth about Tyler.”
He sits down across from me not saying a word. I can see an array of emotions playing across his strong features, and there’s indecision there. I’m afraid he’s going to get up and walk away leaving me with no answers at all.
“Look it wasn’t easy for me to reach out to you, but you obviously know what happened and you’re the only one I know who would actually tell me anything.”
“Why do you want to know now? I came here before to talk to you about this and you shut me down.”
I look down at my hands not wanting to show him any more vulnerability, not wanting him to see just how affected I still am. “I was scared. I didn’t want to hear anything that might ruin my memory of Tyler and especially coming from you. But I can’t go on like this, if there’s more to the story then I need to know it.”
I look back up, and he’s scrubbing his face with the palm of his hands, likely trying to figure out what to do. When he looks back up at me, he seems to have made his decision. He takes another moment before finally speaking.
“Tyler liked to gamble, he liked to bet on sporting events, anything really. Baseball games, football, horse races, if you could place a bet on it he did. It started out innocently enough a game every now and then, a few hundred dollars here or there…but as time went on, as he got older, it got worse.”
“Worse how?”
“Higher stakes, bigger bookies. In the beginning he’d find low-level college bets, but when he felt like he wanted larger winnings, he went off campus and found a real bookie, someone who takes it very seriously.”
I close my eyes, resting my forehead in the palm of my hands. How didn’t I know this, how didn’t I see this happening? Was I really that oblivious, caught up in my own little fantasy world that I couldn’t see that Tyler was living a double life right under my nose?”
“Ev.”
“No,” I say, lifting my head. “It’s okay, go on.”
“It got out of hand, he did well at first he won a lot of money and then he’d lose some big ones here and there. He’d bet on another game trying to dig himself out of the debt until it became too much, got out of control.”
“Did you do it too?”
“No. I thought it was stupid, and I tried to get him to stop. I saw him getting in deeper and I tried, I swear to you I did, but he was obviously addicted to it.”
“What was he doing with all the money he won?”
He lets out a sigh and shakes his head.
“Oh my God,” I breathe out, realization dawning on me. “Was that how he paid for the construction of this house?”
“Yes most of it.”
“He told me he’d used the money he inherited from his grandparent’s deaths.”
“He had some money, but not a lot; he gambled away a lot of that inheritance,” he explains.
“Why? Why would he do that? The house could
“I was just out with some people from work when you called.”
I nod as he passes through the open doorway. In the four years that I’ve worked there no one has ever asked me to hang out after work. Alright, that’s a lie, they asked me a few times in the beginning, but I always turned them down. I’m sure that I come off as being unapproachable and even now I would have said no, but it may have been nice to get an invitation every once in a while.
“I’m sorry, I should have waited till tomorrow it’s late.”
He juts his chin out, nonverbally communicating that it’s okay. “I was surprised to hear from you. Is everything alright?”
“I don’t know.” I reply walking back in the living room and tagging my wine off of the coffee table. “Can I get you a glass?” He’s probably shocked by how polite I can actually be.
“No. I’m alright. What’s going on?”
I take a sip of my wine before taking a seat back on the couch. “I need you to tell me the truth about Tyler.”
He sits down across from me not saying a word. I can see an array of emotions playing across his strong features, and there’s indecision there. I’m afraid he’s going to get up and walk away leaving me with no answers at all.
“Look it wasn’t easy for me to reach out to you, but you obviously know what happened and you’re the only one I know who would actually tell me anything.”
“Why do you want to know now? I came here before to talk to you about this and you shut me down.”
I look down at my hands not wanting to show him any more vulnerability, not wanting him to see just how affected I still am. “I was scared. I didn’t want to hear anything that might ruin my memory of Tyler and especially coming from you. But I can’t go on like this, if there’s more to the story then I need to know it.”
I look back up, and he’s scrubbing his face with the palm of his hands, likely trying to figure out what to do. When he looks back up at me, he seems to have made his decision. He takes another moment before finally speaking.
“Tyler liked to gamble, he liked to bet on sporting events, anything really. Baseball games, football, horse races, if you could place a bet on it he did. It started out innocently enough a game every now and then, a few hundred dollars here or there…but as time went on, as he got older, it got worse.”
“Worse how?”
“Higher stakes, bigger bookies. In the beginning he’d find low-level college bets, but when he felt like he wanted larger winnings, he went off campus and found a real bookie, someone who takes it very seriously.”
I close my eyes, resting my forehead in the palm of my hands. How didn’t I know this, how didn’t I see this happening? Was I really that oblivious, caught up in my own little fantasy world that I couldn’t see that Tyler was living a double life right under my nose?”
“Ev.”
“No,” I say, lifting my head. “It’s okay, go on.”
“It got out of hand, he did well at first he won a lot of money and then he’d lose some big ones here and there. He’d bet on another game trying to dig himself out of the debt until it became too much, got out of control.”
“Did you do it too?”
“No. I thought it was stupid, and I tried to get him to stop. I saw him getting in deeper and I tried, I swear to you I did, but he was obviously addicted to it.”
“What was he doing with all the money he won?”
He lets out a sigh and shakes his head.
“Oh my God,” I breathe out, realization dawning on me. “Was that how he paid for the construction of this house?”
“Yes most of it.”
“He told me he’d used the money he inherited from his grandparent’s deaths.”
“He had some money, but not a lot; he gambled away a lot of that inheritance,” he explains.
“Why? Why would he do that? The house could
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