4
<
I left the hospital after dark. It was cold, I was
shivering. Just as I reached the front door, I felt
the hairs on my neck prickle.
Under the dim porch light, someone was behind
me, holding something over their head.
“Aah!”
I screamed, startled. Before I could react, a
snowball whacked me in the back of the head.
Ice–cold snow ran down my back and into my
clothes.
Amidst the panic and shivering, I heard Ben
laughing.
He was holding his sides, laughing as I begged
him to stop.
Then he flashed his phone in my face, capturing
my picture at my worst.
<
Tears I was trying to hold back started to roll down.
51
He didn’t even see me crying, he walked to the door, laughing, “Jo, you’re such a scaredy–cat.
“Tiffany’s right; scaring you is so much fun!”
In the dark, I felt like I had completely screwed up.
Once inside, he saw my teary red eyes and trembling body. He reached for me, but I
stepped back.
I turned and went to the bedroom, I took off my clothes and rubbed myself down with a towel.
It was cold, but I was afraid to take a bath
because I’d recently lost the baby.
When I came out, Ben was laughing at his
phone. Tiffany’s cute voice was blaring out of
<
They were talking about how funny I was.
They were talking about how ridiculous I looked.
I clicked on my phone and saw that Tiffany had
posted my picture online. Everyone seemed to
think I was a joke.
I did, too.
At that moment, I did, too.
I sent a text to my boss: “I agree to be
transferred out.”
Right after that, my best friend, Sarah, sent a
message: the lawyer was ready, and just
waiting for me to collect the evidence.
I took a deep breath and turned off my phone.
Ben looked at me. “So petty, why do you have
to be so petty?”
“Tiffany’s not petty, you should go be with her.”
I said calmly.
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1:35
<
To my surprise, my calmness enraged him. He
screamed, “What is wrong with you, Jo?”
“I get it, you’re jealous of Tiffany’s post. Is a
few pictures really worth all this?”
“You’re so over it all. You’re making a mountain
out of a molehill.”
