Chapter 108: Who Are You Saying Goodbye?

Nathan tucked Crystal into bed, and when he climbed in beside her, she didn’t think she had to worry about him forcing her. She assumed that when she was menstruating, he wouldn’t be interested in having sex with her. She lay on her back, and he laid on his side beside her so that he could look at her and rub her distended belly. His touch felt nice, and it alleviated some of the pain from her cramps. Before long, though, his hand began to wander up towards her breasts.

What the fuck? - thought Crystal - This man is relentless! She rolled over to her side and brought her arms to her chest to protect herself from his advances. She could hear his huffing behind her. He was obviously displeased, and after a few minutes, he said, “Are you sure that you want to sleep on your side? Aren’t you afraid of side leakage?”

“You seem to know a lot about period hygiene,” Crystal said accusatively. She assumed that he’d gained his knowledge by being with other women.

Nathan: “You can lie down on your back. I promise I won’t touch anything except your stomach.”

Crystal sighed and rolled back onto her back, and he placed his hand on her stomach. And before she knew it, she’d fallen asleep.

***

The next day, when Crystal woke up, Nathan was gone. It was at half-past nine. She sat up slowly and reached for her phone, and when she turned it on, she saw that there were dozens of missed calls from Eric and Serenity. The ones from Serenity were asking if she was okay. She messaged back to say that she was, but she didn’t even bother to open the ones from Eric.

Crystal was hungry, so she got out of bed, washed up, dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. She had a toasted bagel with cream cheese and a cup of peppermint tea, which she enjoyed while watching the ten o’clock news. She tuned in just in time to catch a bit about the stock market, and the news anchor was talking about how The Henry Group had taken a significant hit. For two days in a row, their shares had been at an all-time low. She wondered how much worse things would get and if Nathan was to blame for what was happening.

Crystal finished her bagel, and she was turning off the TV when her phone buzzed.

She’d received a text message from Serenity that said, “Thank god! I can finally catch my breath. As soon as you get this message, come to school!”

Crystal replied that she was on her way. Then she grabbed her backpack and left the house. A blue Buick was waiting in the yard, and the driver came out to open the door for Crystal.

“Why did you change cars?” asked Crystal.

“Mr. Davis specifically ordered me to drive a low-key car,” replied the driver. “The last time you were offered a ride, you turned it down because it was luxurious. Do you remember?”

Crystal nodded and said, “Well, this car looks a lot nicer.”

The driver was speechless. He didn’t understand Mrs. Davis’s strange preference in vehicles.

“But I don’t want to take the car today,” Crystal continued. “I want to walk by myself.”

The driver was beside himself, and she was gone by the time he thought of something to say.

Crystal chose her favorite songs on her phone and put them on her earphones. She liked to listen to music while walking. As she passed a bus stop, a massive motorcycle stopped in front of her. The driver was dressed in black leather, and his helmet was red. He called out to her: “Hey, pretty, get on my motorcycle!”

Crystal took two steps away from the road and continued walking without saying a word. The motorcycle kept pace with her, and when the driver took off his helmet, she was shocked to see that it was Eric.

Crystal frowned and said, “Leave me alone, Eric. I’m not getting on your motorcycle.”

Eric: “Are you in a bad mood? Come drag racing with me. It’s the coolest. Come on, give it a shot!”

Crystal stopped suddenly. She turned to him and asked, “How fast does your bike go?”

“Up to 370,” Eric replied. A sinister smile appeared on his face as he spoke, and he offered her an extra helmet. Crystal took the helmet, put it on, climbed onto the bike, and wrapped her arms around him.

“Hold on tight,” Eric said. Then he revved the engine, and the bike shot out like a bat out of hell. In less than a minute, Eric had the bike up to 100, and he quickly brought it up to 260. They were going so fast that everything was a blur. Crystal would have thought that she’d be afraid, but the rush from the speed and the feeling of the wind against her face and her body pressed to Eric’s back had a calming effect on her. Somehow, the faster they went, the less real her problems seemed. “Faster! Faster!” she shouted, not knowing if he could even hear her.

Behind them, they were being followed by two off-road vehicles, but Crystal didn’t notice them. Eventually, they stopped at a clearing at the top of a mountain. They took off their helmets as they got off the bike, and Eric lit up a cigarette that he’d drawn from a pack in his pocket. He took a drag, held it for a half minute, and let it out in a series of O’s. Then he turned to Crystal and said, “I can give you whatever Nathan can give you. And more. Do you want to reconsider?”

Crystal sighed and said, “I’m not interested in either of you. As far as I’m concerned, the two of you may as well fall in love with each other!”

After hearing Crystal’s words, Eric began to cough and choke. Once he was over his shock, he said, “That’s not funny!”

“Anyway,” Crystal continued. “It’s not me that you love, it’s the chase. There’s something about the competition that turns you both on. This has happened before, hasn’t it?”

Eric sighed. “It has,” he admitted. “Nathan and I fell in love with a woman that no one could replace.”

“It is just as I expected,” Crystal said. There was a cliff nearby, and she walked to the edge. Then she looked down upon the valley and shouted, “Goodbye!”

Eric looked at Crystal as if she had gone insane. “Who are you saying goodbye to?” he asked.

Crystal: “I’m saying goodbye to you and Nathan.”