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I poured myself a glass as well, taking both upstairs to Nika’s room. The shower was running, but she was sitting on the edge of her bed, tears running down her face, shoulders shaking.
What the hell was she crying about? She’d carried this secret for this long, and now she wanted to be emotional about it?
“Hey,” I greeted softly.
Her head flew up, brown eyes already puffy. “I thought you’d leave.”
“I needed a minute to think Nika. Thought this would help.”
“You hate wine,” she sniffled, using her arm to wipe a dribble of snot from her nose.
Gross.
“I’m not too picky as of late. Here.” I held her glass out to her, but she didn’t take it. glancing from my hand to my face. “It’s just wine Annika.” I forced a laugh and brought her cup to my lips, pretending to take a healthy swig, doing the same with mine.
“Sorry,” she chuckled, accepting the goblet. “I know you’re upset right now, and I wouldn’t blame you for trying to hurt me. For what it’s worth, I did love him.”
I almost dropped my glass. This girl never knew when to shut up. Why would that change anything? I loved him. My mother loved him. I’m sure quite a few women did. They probably hated him too. I knew I did. To save face, I took another small sip of my wine, watching Nika down hers in one giant, endless gulp.
“Of all the men Nika, why him?”
She cleared her throat and wiped her mouth, shrugging defeatedly. “He was handsome, charming…”
“Married,” I interjected.
“That was between him and your mom. I didn’t take those vows or owe her loyalty like he did. I know that’s hard to hear because he’s your dad, but--.”
“We’re going to need more wine.” I stood abruptly, snatching the empty glass from her hand. “Go ahead and take a shower, I’ll be out here when you’re done.”
I left the room barely able to stop myself from smashing the goblet into her damned face. What a vapid, self-centered bitch. The more she spoke, the angrier I got.
Rage rolled through me like a chaotic water currents, increasing the tempo of my pulse, and canter of my heart. I hadn’t felt anything like this since the day I got the news of what Mom had done.
I took the stairs two at a time, pausing at the bottom to try and calm myself. With my eyes shut, I counted to three, drawing a breath and then slowly expelling it with each number. I had to keep my shit together just a bit longer.
I returned to the kitchen after doing a quick check of the front yard. Everything looked as it should. Maybe Rhett wasn’t going to come after me at all. When I thought about, it wasn’t as if I could do him any harm. I hadn’t discovered anything all that incriminating.
He had various passports under a few aliases, my necklace, and a few stacks of cash. That made him suspicious, but it wasn’t anything to run to a person of authority about. Though I was pretty sure the passports were Illegal. But who was I to waltz into a damn police station? If anyone could be accused of a crime, there was far more evidence against me. In about fifteen minutes there’d be more.
I returned to the kitchen, tossing the glasses into the sink without care. The sound of them shattering was music to my ears. I took my time returning upstairs, ignoring the soft call of my name. There was no reason to rush this. I almost wished I would have brought some things to paint with as I waited. This relaxed paced couldn’t last long, though. Sadly, time was not on my side. Emery would be arriving at our rendezvous point thinking I abandoned her if I didn’t wrap this up quick enough.
She and I needed to have a chat as well.
I paid little attention to the grumbling of my stomach, and the siren call of the pie, heading back upstairs. I walked through Nika’s bedroom to her attached bath, not bothering to knock. Steam filled the room, fogging up the mirror and causing the walls to sweat.
I drew the shower curtain back, revealing her huddled form. She was leaning against the back tiled wall like a drunkard, eyes half lidded. I reached past her and pushed the shower nozzle down so the tub would fill instead.
“What did…you….do?” she mumbled, a soft lisp curling around her words.
Ignoring her, I plugged the bathtub, sitting back on my hunches to watch the water level rise. It didn’t take too long. I let it get to an acceptable point before cutting it off.
I stood up, staring down at the girl I’d known for most of my childhood. This is what it had come to. There wasn’t a time machine to go back and undo what had been done. With little effort, I took hold of her shoulders’ and forced her body down.
“Why?” she managed to get out before I completely submerged her.
What kind of question was that? She knew why. And unlike in the movies, or what was shown on TV, there wasn’t a need for some long drawn out speech. I didn’t feel the desire to have one last heart to heart before handling my business.
She had a prominent role in destroying my family, thrusting me into this never-ending nightmare. She was supposed to be my friend, one of my best friends. What she’d done was unforgiveable. Our friendship ended the day she let my father stick his dirty dick in her
