Remember to Forget Read Online Free PDF

over in her head.
    The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round . . .
    They’d been on the road for hours, and with each mile she breathed a little easier. She dozed off again briefly, but the vacuum-pressured wheeze of the bus’s brakes roused her. Passengers rustled around her, gathering their possessions in preparation for the stop.
    After pulling off the interstate, the driver parked at an all-night diner. Maggie followed the other passengers off the bus. The stench of diesel made her cough, and she jogged away from the fumes and toward the building.
    Once inside, she waited in line to use the rest room, then washed her face and neck in the grimy sink. She tried to do something with her hair, but without a hairbrush, her efforts were wasted. She ended up slicking the limp strands behind her ears. Maybe she could pick up a few toiletries in the store adjacent to the restaurant. She wandered into the shop and selected a wide-toothed comb that would fit in her pocket, along with a toothbrush and a tube of ChapStick. Her stomach tried to remind her of its empty state as she walked by a display of candy and potato chips, but she ignored it. She didn’t know how far the wad of cash in her pocket would have to stretch, but she could hold off at least until they got to Columbus.
    She turned toward the checkout and stopped short as a row of pay phones outside the windows caught her eye. She paid for her items and took the bag outside. The bus was idling in front of the building,but several passengers were still inside the store. She had a few minutes.
    Slipping two quarters into the far pay phone, she dialed the apartment.
    The phone rang half a dozen times before a voice croaked, “Hello?”
    Maggie’s heart thudded at hearing Kevin’s voice. Was it possible that she actually missed him? He sounded strangely subdued and, for a minute, she felt a little sorry for him.
    But she pushed away the unwelcome thought when he barked, “Who’s there?” into the phone.
    She heard the all-too-familiar tone of agitation in his voice, heard him rattle the lamp on the nightstand. If Kevin was in bed, it must be after ten. Or else he’d gone to bed with a bottle. She peered through the window at the clock in the rest stop. Twenty minutes after nine. Whatever concern she’d felt seconds earlier vanished on the breeze.
    “What the . . . ?” The voice in her ear spewed a curse and confirmed her suspicions. He was drunk. She heard his breathing, could feel the tension.
    “Maggie? Is that you, Maggie? Where are you?” In a few seconds his terseness would turn into a string of curse words and he’d start kicking things around the apartment. Her resolve stiffened. If she were there, if she went back, how long would it be before she was the thing he was kicking around?
    “Where’s my car? Where’s my fifty bucks? And where’s my Jack Daniel’s?” His voice gathered venom. “I don’t have time for this. I have to work in the morning, you know. So help me, Maggie, you lousy little—”
    She dropped the receiver back in place. Had she really thought for a minute that he might be worried about her? That he might miss her or be concerned that something had happened to her?
    She was a fool.
    Again.
    The grinding hiss of compression brakes made her look back to thebus that sat idling at the edge of the parking lot. A terrifying thought struck her. What if Kevin could somehow trace her call? Did pay phone numbers show up on caller ID? Kevin was good with the computer. If there were a way to trace where a call came from, he would figure it out. Had she blown her cover before she’d tasted even twenty-four hours of freedom?
    Her gaze flicked around the parking lot as she made her way through two rows of parked cars. She was being ridiculous. She’d ridden the bus for hours. Even if Kevin left New York right now, he’d never catch up with her. She should feel relief that he was at the apartment, that