Broken Trust

Chapter 3

(Audrey’s POV)
I lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling. I stare at the ceiling so much that I think a void would open up and suck me in. The house was quiet—too quiet—almost as if this house held untold secrets.
I never really snooped through Shawn’s stuff, not even when he was alive. Why, you may ask? Well, despite Shawn treating me like s**t in our marriage, I still cared about him, believe it or not.
Yes, I know that may sound crazy, but I did. He wasn’t always this bad. Everything changed after we moved in. He started getting possessive and controlling, like he had stuff to hide. It all seemed to cool down a bit when we were engaged, and then it was all fun after we got married.
Shawn and I were happy together during the short time of our marriage. Sometimes I’d think things would have been different with us. What I mean by that is, if I got promoted to boss when he was still alive, would he be proud of me?
My chest tightened thinking of Shawn and him cuddling me in his warm embrace. Tears streamed down my face, and I didn’t even realize it until I was already crying. I sat up, grabbing a tissue from a nearby nightstand and blowing my nose.
I needed to distract myself. I couldn’t dwell on it and live in the past—that wouldn’t be good for my mental health. So I took it with a grain of salt and tried to do something productive. And by productive, I mean watching TV and eating ice cream until I calmed down.
I tossed the tissue into the trash can. The trash can shut with a small clang! I opened the freezer and grabbed a tub of ice cream—mint chocolate chip was the flavor.
(Fun fact: mint chocolate chip is my favorite flavor IRL.)
No one was around to judge me, so I went back into the living room and switched on the TV. While eating my tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream, I watched a movie and sat there. The glow from the TV illuminated my face as I stared at the screen. What a peaceful night, I thought.
The night went on as per usual—just me, my ice cream, and my TV. After the movie ended, I sat up and turned the TV off. Click! I put the remote down on the small coffee table and walked into the kitchen, putting the ice cream away. I made my way to the counter where my phone was charging and turned it on to see what time it was.
7:30 PM
Was it just me… or was time going by super slow?
Now I actually wanted to do something productive to avoid staring at the clock. Why was I antsy all of a sudden? Was it because I was thinking of Shawn earlier and got upset, or was it because my promotion was tomorrow? Maybe both? I thought to myself, but regardless of what I felt, something about this night felt off—too off.
With a heavy sigh, I thought about organizing—maybe putting some of Shawn’s stuff in boxes. I hadn’t even been through his things ever since his disappearance six years ago, and I knew that was going to be a total shitshow. Shawn was a bit of a hoarder, and I’d tell him over and over again to get rid of some stuff, but he would just wave me off.
I started heading up the stairs, the wood creaking under my feet. Creak. Creak. I reached our bedroom. Seeing the emptiness of the spot next to me on the bed made a pang of sadness rush through me. I opened the closet door and started going through his clothes.
I didn’t realize until now that Shawn didn’t even wear most of his stuff. In fact, some of it was missing. That’s weird… nothing can just disappear, can it? Maybe I had packed it away already? Did I? No, I said, brushing the thought away. I couldn’t have. I hadn’t even touched Shawn’s things in six years, so this night got even stranger.
Suddenly, my iPad lit up from its spot on the nightstand on my side of the bed.
I shuffled over to it and picked it up.
Ring doorbell notification: Someone was in your front yard.
I gasped, and my chest tightened. Was I being stalked…?
I pressed on the footage, and from the view of the Ring camera perched outside, I saw a note flying through the air. It probably landed on my doorstep.
I rushed downstairs as quickly as my legs would take me. I unlocked the door and opened it. There it was—a small, crumpled-up white note on my doorstep.
I picked it up and read it.
My heart dropped.
I’m back – X