Ashley sped long the two lane highway. It was an hour to the Sartis River, but she didn’t care. She had to get there. Speeding ten miles over the limit, her heart pounded. She had to get there. A thought struck at that moment. Josh, her husband’s best friend. She could use his help once she got there. Why her husband didn’t take him along she didn’t know. Usually the two of them are inseparable, but this time he insisted on going alone. The pink shiny stone continued to bounce the light around the car’s dashboard as the sun beamed down on it. She wondered if this lone trip had something to do with the stone. She decided to stop at Josh’s anyway.
She pulled in the driveway. Leandra, Josh’s wife, straightened and looked up, as Ashley stepped out of the car. She walked over to her and Leandra met her half way.
“Hi, Ashley. Everything ok? You look pale.”
“No, I think something has happened to Tim.”
“Oh he’ll be ok. Josh is with him.”
“Wait a minute. Josh is with him? How is that? He told me, no, he insisted he go on this fishing trip by himself.”
“No, yesterday when he stopped to pick up Josh he acted as though this trip between the two of them had been planned for a while.”
He lied to her. That had never happened before. Or had it? She spun on her heal and stomped back to her car, got in, turned the ignition, threw it into gear and hightailed it out of there and back onto the highway. Under an hour later she arrived at Tim’s fishing spot. Not wanting him to know she was there, she parked the car off to the side of a small clearing.
She opened her door and slid out, clicking the door shut. Step by step, her tennis shoes crunched down on the forest floor. Her husband’s tent stood fifty yards awy through the small clearing where her car sat and down the small drive. She could see parts of its blue exterior through the trees. On her tip toes now, she placed each step with care. Twenty-five feet away now. Not hearing any voices, she though they might be on the boat on the river. Then a woman’s voice caught her off guard.
“Come on, baby. You know I loe it when you do that,” said the woman.
“Shhh, slow and steady sweet heart,” said Tim.
The woman giggled.
“Alright, just a little more guys. Yeah, that’s it,” said Josh.
Ashley raced around the corner of the tent to the open flap and peered inside. What she saw horrified her. Tim and another woman lay atop a sleeping bag naked in each others arms and Josh was filming. The three jerked their attention her way, eyes wide.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 