I Took Off My Ring At The Abandoned Station Chapter 02
I had to see Grandma Dorothy one last time.
I searched the entire service area.
There were no other cars, no other people, no repair tools.
The cell signal was intermittent.
I finally found a spot with a good signal and called roadside assistance.
But the nearest crew couldn’t make it until tomorrow.
There had been a landslide on one section of the road.
I hung up, and Nathaniel walked over.
“Abby, let’s wait until tomorrow,” he said. “Look at you, you’ve scratched your arm. Honey, don’t make me worry.”
I ignored him.
After a while, my phone lit up.
A call from Grandma Dorothy.
I answered immediately.
“Grandma.”
“Abby…” Grandma’s voice was very weak. “When will you be here?”
“Grandma, I’m on my way. Very soon.”
“Abby, I miss you. When you were little, you loved to rest on my lap and have me tell you stories…”
“Grandma, save your strength—”
“I’m afraid there won’t be time.” She chuckled. “When your grandfather passed, I didn’t even get to say a final word to him. Abby, you have to be okay.”
My tears fell.
“Abby, that Nathaniel fellow, is he good to you?”
I didn’t answer.
“Abby.”
Nathaniel walked up behind me.
“Let me use your phone,” he said. “Daisy’s phone is dead, and she needs to send a work message.”
I gripped my phone and turned my back to him.
“I’m on a call. My grandmother—”
“I know.” He moved in front of me. “Just a minute. I’ll give it right back.”
“No.”
Nathaniel frowned.
On the other end, Grandma Dorothy was saying, “Abby? Abby, are you still there?”
“Abigail.” His voice dropped. “This client is very important to Daisy; it determines whether she can become a permanent employee.”
“I said no.”
Daisy had appeared behind Nathaniel at some point, her eyes red.
“Abigail… just for a second… I’m really desperate…” Her voice trembled, and tears fell. “I won’t take much of your time… please…”
Nathaniel looked at her tears, then turned back to me, his expression changing.
“Give it to me.”
He reached out.
I hid the phone behind my back.
“Nathaniel, my grandmother is in the ICU—”
He didn’t wait for me to finish. He reached out, grabbed my wrist, and pried my fingers open.
He was much stronger than me.
I gripped the phone, my nails digging into my palm.
“Nathaniel!”
He pried it away.
He turned and handed the phone to Daisy.
Daisy took the phone, tears still hanging on her face, and began typing.
I stood frozen.
The sound of Grandma Dorothy’s voice saying “Abby?” still echoed in my ears.
I wanted to snatch it back.
Nathaniel blocked me, his face showing annoyance: “It’s just a minute. You can’t wait?”
I looked into his eyes.
Those eyes used to look at me with nothing but tenderness.
Now, there was nothing in them.
Daisy finished and handed the phone back.
I looked down.
On the screen was Daisy’s social media account.
She had just posted a photo.
It was a photo of her and Nathaniel at the gas station.
He was holding her waist; she was leaning on his shoulder.
The caption: [Happy Memorial Day Weekend, out with my husband, having a blast~]
I stared at those words.
Using my phone.
To post a photo of her and my husband.
During my grandmother’s final phone call.
I looked up at Nathaniel.
He glanced at the screen, his tone dismissive: “She’s just playing around. Why are you making a big deal out of it?”
Playing around.
I looked down at the phone.
The call with Grandma Dorothy had disconnected.
I called back.
Grandma’s phone was turned off.
I clutched the phone, my whole body shaking.
Nathaniel walked over: “What’s wrong?”
I didn’t look at him.
“The call with my grandmother cut out.”
“Maybe the battery died—”
Nathaniel was silent for a few seconds.
“I’ll figure something out first thing tomorrow,” he said. “Don’t panic.”
Don’t panic.
My grandmother might be in resuscitation. She might already be—
And he told me not to panic.
I looked up at him.
“Nathaniel.”
“Yeah?”
I looked into his eyes.
“I want a divorce.”
