***This is an excerpt from Embracing Calla by Tamara Mapstead.
Chapter Three
Benedict: Monday, June 14th, 2021
It’s been two weeks since I told Calla what happened, and even though I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders then, I still feel like I’m suffocating in this apartment. It’s evening and tomorrow I have my therapy appointment.
I don’t really know what therapy is going to be about anymore. I can’t believe I even told her. But she didn’t seem to hate me like I thought she would. Fuck, who am I kidding? She’s my therapist, I pay her not to hate me.
Things would’ve been totally different if I just walked up to her at the coffee shop. I bumped into her and was like ‘Hi! I’m an asshole and accused my girlfriend of cheating on me, but really she was raped. Can we be friends?’ I hide my face under my pillow and squeeze, hating myself more.
I hear the locks on my front door rattle. Sebastian comes into my room just to squawk orders. “The sun is still up. Why’s it so dark in here? Get up, let’s go!” He opens my blinds.
“I’m tired, Sebastian,” I mumble into my pillow.
“Get up. I met some cool people and we’re all going to get a drink.” He pulls the pillow off my head and smacks my shoulder.
“I don’t feel good,” I lie.
“Bullshit. Let’s go, now. I’m not leaving without you. You need to get your ass out on the town and live a little.”
“Fine,” I groan. I roll myself out of bed for the first time today and get ready to ‘live a little.’
We end up at Scratch with two other computer nerds. It’s late now and the place is crowded, even for a Monday. I’ve been nursing this second IPA for about an hour and all I really want to do is go home.
I down my final sips of my beer and tell Sebastian I need to use the restroom. Once I’m down the hall to the bathroom, I see that there’s a line. I wouldn’t call it much of a hall though. It’s just a wall cutting off the bathrooms from the rest of the brewery. There’s no ceiling and I can hear bits of conversations from the other side if I focus. I wait even though I don’t have to go that bad, but I’d rather stand in line than listen to those two men we came with for one more second.
When I’m next in line, I hear a man around the corner talking. “I think I should take you home, you’re drunk.”
I can’t see them but the woman with him giggles. “No, I’m not,” she snorts. I don’t even have to see these people to know that yes indeed, that woman is drunk.
“Come on—“
I hear chairs skid across the floor, followed by, “No, Luka! Leave me alone. I can take care of myself.”
That voice sounds really familiar.
“No you can’t. You have never been able to take care of yourself. Come with me.”
“Let go of me.” A flash of red hair catches my eye past the end of the wall.
The man behind me tells me that it’s my turn to use the restroom, but I tell him to go instead. I step back past the corner and see Calla trying to pry a man’s hand off her wrist. “Luka, let go.”
“You are so drunk, Cal, I can’t let you go. I will take you home.” It sounds like he won’t loosen his grip on her, even though she’s trying her best to tell him to fuck off.
I’m not a hero, but she clearly doesn’t like what he’s doing to her and I’m not going to let him hurt her. I run back to where the fake hallway ends and I walk around the corner, deliberately bumping into the man.
“Oh shit! Sorry.” I fake it until I make it. “Oh my God, Calla? Hi!”
Her mouth drops open, but not in a good way. I think I was the last person she wanted to see.
“Ben—“ She looks frightened, actually. “Um, Mr. Anderson?”
“Hey, I’m just here with some buddies.” I don’t know what’s come over me. I’m not drunk, but let’s pretend I am, so I can blame this burst of courage on that. “It’s good to see you!” I hold out my arms to hug her. The man lets go of her wrist and she hesitantly hugs me.
I can feel her fingers twitching on my back. In fact, her whole body’s trembling.
“Will you let go of my wife?” Oh shit!
“Oh my God.” She’s breathless. I let go of her and he instantly grabs her wrist again. “Let go of me.” Her voice is louder. “I’m not your wife.”
What the fuck is going on? I’m so confused. Maybe I really am drunk…
