“Fucking Christ, Eric, just spit it out.”
He parks the car and I take his continued silence as my cue to get the fuck out. Ignoring the heat of his stare on me through the sliver of mirror, I grab my purse, about to open the handle when I hear the click of the doors locking.
Meeting his fiery stare, I try to unlock the door, but it's no use. He has his hand on the button, pressing it every time I try to drag the lock up.
“Open the Goddamn door!” I shout.
“Sorry, it’s just that don’t you find it a little odd that he asked you here on the anniversary of your parents’ murder?”
I pause. Of course, it’s a strange coincidence. But that’s all it is, a coincidence. What, is the world supposed to stop every Halloween because that’s the day my world ended? I’m not understanding what Eric is trying to get at.
“It’s a coincidence, that’s all,” I brush him off, suddenly not sure if I am trying to convince him or myself. “Now let me out,” I urge, as I notice a sadistic sneer begin to form on Eric’s usually pleasant face.
For someone who is supposed to be warning me of some supposed danger, he suddenly looks like he is basking in whatever it is he is trying to insinuate.
“I don’t know. I just don’t think it’s a coincidence that he also invited you to attend the exact gala they were killed at.”
“Eric, what are you talking about?”
“Sienna,” he hisses. “You don’t remember?”
Fear and agitation are mingling in my stomach. I feel like I am going to be sick. “Yes, Eric, it was a gala in the city that my parents were killed at. It could have been any fucking gala. Now, let me out!” I demand.
“But it wasn’t just any gala. It was the Annual Halloween Gala hosted by the Morettis,” he says as he contorts his body once more, so he is facing me, looking as though he is basking in providing me with such information.
“How the fuck do you know that?” I press him, but I can tell he isn’t going to flinch. For some reason, he wants me to work for this information.
“A little birdy told me,” he sneers, before turning back around to face the windshield.
Despite wondering the same thing, since I first learned about the gala today, there is something in the way that Eric is warning me that I just am not buying. If his goal is to warn me, he is doing it in such a half-assed way that it makes me wonder if whatever he is trying to warn me of is just a punishment for not wanting to be with him.
Exasperated, and now even more anxious for what tonight has in store for me, I try unlocking the car door once more. Once again, he presses the lock button quicker than I can lift the lock on my own.
“As pleasant as this has been, I would love if you stopped being a fucking dickhole and let me out of this Goddamn car, ok? Thanks.” My voice is sarcastic, but on the inside, I feel queasy. I just need fresh air and to get away from Eric.
Finally, I hear the click of the locks as they unlock. I grab my shit and scurry out of the car as Eric just sits there, wallowing in whatever the fuck has overtaken him. I don’t care to ask him anything else, or even talk to him, for that matter.
I’ve always known Eric to be protective, but that, whatever the fuck that was just now in the car, has unveiled a completely different side of him to me. A side that makes me wonder if it was there all along and maybe I was too naïve to notice.
Almost to the lobby door, I hear a car door slam, followed by my name being shouted in a deep baritone. Knowing full well it is Eric, I quicken my pace, reaching for the heavy glass door.
“Sienna!” Eric calls out, but I ignore him. I open the door quickly, hoping it slams behind me and stops him from following me in.
I quicken my pace, though before I can hear the slam I so desperately was wishing for, I hear Eric run in, sounding out of breath.
“You forgot something!” he shouts, so loudly that everyone in the lobby looks my way.
I rotate my heels to face him. He is dangling the garment bag Elaine put the dress in for this evening.
“Thanks, have a good night.” I go to snatch the dress out of his hands, but he doesn’t let up.
He clicks his tongue, raising the garment bag just out of my reach.
“What the fuck, Eric?”
“You aren’t getting rid of me that easily,” he says as he finally hands me the garment bag. “Take your time, I’ll be waiting to take you to dinner. Boss’ orders.”
“Awesome, can’t fucking wait,” I say through a fake smile.
