On the Sixth Thanksgiving, I Stopped Waiting for Him Chapter 01
The year we graduated from college, the troubled girl who had been obsessing over my boyfriend, Julian Prescott, sent him her eighteenth love letter.
Right in front of me, he tossed it into the trash.
“Babe, I wouldn’t even use that garbage as wallpaper.”
The girl flew into a rage.
“Julian Prescott, do you really think I won’t destroy her?”
His eyes filled with disgust.
“Get lost.”
That night, she stole Julian’s phone and used it to lure me into a dark alley.
I was lured into a vehicle and abducted to a remote mountain area.
After I disappeared, Julian searched for me like a madman. He also forced her to kneel and beg for forgiveness every day.
But for six long years, he never found me.
On Thanksgiving, the police finally rescued me after six years of torment.
Those years of suffering left me with irreversible physical and mental scars, broken and beyond repair.
When Julian came to pick me up, the girl who had ruined my life was sitting in the passenger seat.
Her makeup was flawless, and she held his travel mug in both hands. She looked so sweet and obedient, she barely seemed like the same person.
The moment she saw me, she burst into tears.
“Claire, this was all my fault. I’ll turn myself in!”
Julian snapped, “You think a few years in prison could ever make up for what she suffered?”
Vivian immediately grabbed a paring knife and pressed it to her throat.
“Then I’ll pay for it with my life!”
The next second, Julian panicked and pulled her into his arms. His voice trembled.
“Stop it! What am I supposed to do if you die?”
Cold rain washed over my haggard face, drenching me completely.
I stood outside the car and watched him hold the woman who had destroyed my life.
I had endured six years of hardship in the mountains, waiting for him to rescue me.
And he had spent those same six years forgiving her on my behalf.
…
They stayed like that inside the car for more than ten minutes.
Only after one of the officers reminded him did Julian finally tell me to get in.
“Claire, get in.”
I waded through the rainwater and eased myself into the back seat.
Vivian’s perfume filled the car, its sharp scent making my nose sting.
Julian gently traced the cut the blade had left on her hand.
“Does it hurt?”
Vivian cried even harder.
“Julian, I was inexperienced back then. I didn’t know any better!”
“I never meant to hurt Claire…”
She reached for the knife again, but Julian grabbed her wrist.
“That’s enough!”
“Claire hasn’t even blamed you. Why do you keep trying to do something so stupid? I don’t know what to do with you.”
My heart sank bit by bit.
Julian had dismissed six years of hardship with a single sentence.
I watched him silently through the rearview mirror.
His fingers were still resting on Vivian’s wrist, as though he were touching something fragile and precious.
But I would never recover from the wounds those years left behind.
Every breath sent a dull ache through my lower torso.
The doctor had told me I would never be able to start a family.
Couldn’t he see any of that?
As the car pulled away, Vivian suddenly bent over and gagged.
“Claire smells…”
“She smells awful…”
I instinctively shrank back.
Six years of miserable captivity had left me worn out and tainted by endless suffering. I hadn’t even had a chance to shower.
Without turning around, Julian reached into the back seat and handed me a blanket.
“Claire, wrap yourself in this.”
The blanket smelled musty.
I quietly unfolded it and wrapped it around myself.
Then Vivian started crying again, sniffling as she complained that she was cold.
Julian sighed, took off his jacket, and draped it over her shoulders.
That black suit had been my college graduation gift to him. I had saved up three months’ worth of living expenses to buy it.
Back then, he had picked me up and spun me around three times outside my dorm, telling me it was the most precious thing he owned.
Now it was wrapped around another woman.
My fingertips slowly turned cold.
Leaning against Julian’s shoulder, Vivian said, “Stop at the convenience store up ahead. We should get Claire something hot to drink.”
Julian murmured in agreement and turned on his blinker.
I wiped the rain and tears from my face.
“You two can go. I’m not thirsty.”
Julian finally turned to look at me.
His lips parted like he wanted to say something, but Vivian suddenly opened the door and ran out.
“Slow down! The pavement is slippery!”
He unbuckled his seat belt and hurried after her.
Rain swept in through the open door and struck my face with icy force.
I watched Julian catch up with Vivian and crouch down to wipe the mud off her calf.
Standing together beneath the warm yellow light, they looked like any ordinary couple.
The car door was still open, and their playful voices drifted inside.
“Your feet are freezing. Why did you insist on wearing heels?”
“I wanted to look pretty when I came to pick Claire up…”
“Who were you trying to look pretty for?”
“I wanted to look pretty for you!”
I swallowed the bitterness welling in my chest and pulled a phone out from under the blanket.
It was a prepaid phone the police had given me.
I opened my chat with Detective Cole and typed each word carefully.
Detective Cole: [I want to press charges against Vivian Reed. She worked with the men who abducted me, imprisoning and harming me. I want her held accountable for every crime.]
