The Diary 03 - 750 Word Project

This conclusion is for The BEAR 🐻 LT56linebacker. He has asked me a couple of times to finish this. I hope that it is what you were hoping to see. 750 words after the line.

Gloria's Response

Gloria stared at the photos Sam had shown her, printouts of pics of diary pages. Her pulse pounded in her ears. The words on the pages blurred, she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.

Katie? Katie's diary?

Phil's name was written over and over again in Katie's elegant script. Gloria wanted to believe that it was all lies, that it was fantasies of a demented mind. But they didn't read that way. They sounded real. They sounded genuine, and the details were too matter of fact. Gloria never should have had to read it, but it was all there in black and white.

Her stomach churned.

She looked up at Sam, he looked ashamed, as if it was somehow his fault. They weren't close, not really. They had only met a few times. He clearly loved and trusted Katie. And she had shattered him.

Just like Phil had shattered

her.

Sam didn't stay long. There wasn't much to say. He left the pages with her.

After he left, Gloria sank onto the couch, gripping the pages so tightly they crumpled.

She felt like a fool. Every moment she had spent defending Phil's odd behavior, every doubt she had pushed aside, every night he had come home late with some weak excuse?

A whole fucking year.

She thought of the life they had built together. Vacations, mornings with coffee in bed, the safe, comfortable love she had believed in.

Brian was already drifting off by the time they pulled into her parents' driveway. His head lolled slightly, his stuffed dinosaur clutched in his hands. For a moment, Gloria just sat there, watching him, his chest rising and falling in soft movements.

Their son. Their life together...

A YEAR!

She shut her eyes. Now wasn't the time to break. She had to get through tonight.

She gently shook Brian awake. "Come on, buddy. We're here."

He stirred, blinking up at her with sleepy confusion. "Are we sleeping over?"

"You are," she said, smoothing his hair. "Just you. Mom's gotta go home for a little bit, okay?"

He frowned, but he didn't argue. He trusted her.

Her mother opened the door before she could knock, her sharp gaze sweeping over Gloria's face before settling on Brian.

"Well, this is a surprise," she said, her question unspoken.

Gloria forced a smile. "Can he stay the night?"

Her mother's eyes lingered on hers for a moment longer before she nodded. "Of course."

Brian shuffled inside, pulling his dinosaur into a hug. Gloria bent down, pressing a kiss to his hair. "Be good, okay?"

He nodded sleepily. "Love you, Mom."

"Love you, too."

She stayed at the door for a moment, watching as he disappeared down the hallway. When she turned back, her mother was standing there, arms crossed.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Gloria hesitated. If she opened her mouth now, she might start crying, and she refused to let that happen.

"Not yet," she said instead.

Her mother pursed her lips but didn't press. "Call if you need anything."

Gloria nodded, swallowed, and walked back to the car.

The house was quiet when she got home.

Phil's car was there. The lights were on. He was here.

She shut the front door behind her and toed off her shoes. A few seconds later, she heard the faint sound of the TV from the living room.

She found him on the couch, one arm draped over the backrest, a half-empty beer bottle on the side table. He looked up as she walked in, he smiled warmly.

"You're late," he said.

"I took Brian to my parents' for the night."

A beat of silence. Then, "Why?"

Gloria didn't answer. Instead, she reached into her purse, pulling out the folded stack of paper, printed copies of the diary. She didn't hesitate, didn't give herself time to second-guess. She just walked over and placed them on the coffee table in front of him.

Phil frowned, confused. He leaned forward, grabbed the papers, and unfolded them.

The color drained from his face as his eyes scanned the pages, his grip tightening.

Gloria watched him, her heart pounding, but her voice was steady when she finally spoke.

"Anything you want to tell me?" Gloria asked, her tone light, conversational.

Silence.

"I..." he began. He looked up at her, his eyes looking like he was suddenly lost. "I can explain."

Gloria started laughing, her tears finally coming. It was all too much.