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“No,” Birgitta said slowly. “I just think you’re over-exaggerating.”
Julia laughed hoarsely. “Why don’t you believe me?” She asked. “I know what I saw, as does Papa. We shared a lot of uncomfortable looks over dinner.”
Birgitta sighed. She stood up from the chair, slowly this time, and managed to walk away from the table. “You’re both just jealous that I have a friend now.”
“Why would I be jealous that you have a friend?” Julia asked.
Birgitta wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation, though. She walked past Julia, heading for the living room. Behind her, Julia began muttering to herself, but louder this time. Birgitta caught a couple of words but she ignored them, knowing that her daughter was jealous. Julia wasn’t the only person in Birgitta’s life anymore. She had other people to dote on now, and that clearly wasn't sitting well with her.
Both men were perched on the edge of the couch, on opposite ends. Malik was scrolling through his phone while Kent was watching TV. Neither of the men looked happy. Birgitta didn’t feel particularly happy, either.
She couldn’t get Julia’s words out of her mind. Had Malik been staring at Julia’s chest? Why would he do that? Didn’t he want Birgitta? Or was he going to chase after Julia now, seeing that she was younger and prettier than Birgitta?
It didn’t take her long to push the thought aside. Birgitta looked better than most women her age and she certainly had a better body than Julia. She worked out every day, while Julia allowed herself to turn soft and wobbly in all the wrong places. Julia just didn’t seem to care about her body. Why would anyone else?
Birgitta eased herself down on the couch, feeling her stomach roil as she lowered herself down. She sat in the middle of Malik and Kent, leaning back into the cushions. Neither of the men paid her any attention, which Birgitta was glad about. She allowed herself to rest her eyes to try and control her whizzing thoughts and dizzy head.
The light from the TV flickered through her closed eyelids. Both of the men were breathing heavily on either side of her, causing a strange lullaby sound. She was comforted, having them both beside her, and her body relaxed into the cushions. Her whole body started to go limp as her mind drifted off into darkness.
The next thing she knew, a horrible sound was piercing her ears. Birgitta sat bolt upright at the sound. She was dazed as if she’d just woken from a coma. The whole world around her was blurry and dark. As she rubbed her eyes, she felt Kent’s weight lift off the couch beside her. The sounds of his feet running through the house pulsed into Birgitta’s brain, making it ache.
Too much wine,she thought.I had too much wine.
When she opened her eyes, she turned her head to the left, expecting to see Malik beside her. He wasn’t there. Birgitta looked to her right and saw that Kent was gone, too. Confused, she rose from the couch and began to walk toward the kitchen.
She could hear voices shouting at each other angrily, as well as the sound of people grabbing each other’s clothes and yanking at them. She hurried her pace and found herself on the cusp of the kitchen, looking into a nightmare.
Kent had his hands near Malik’s throat. His pale skin was bright red and veins were popping out of his temple and neck. Kent was shoving Malik toward the front door, trying to get him away from Julia. She was standing in front of the sink, her limbs trembling.
“What’s going on?” Birgitta asked, her voice slow and slurred.
“Your precious friend shoved his hands down my pants,” Julia said.
Tears had filled her eyes and her cheeks were flushed. Birgitta stared at her daughter for a moment, wondering why she was being so hateful. Brigitta needed Malik—she needed a friend. Why couldn’t they understand that?
She finally let her eyes leave her daughter’s face, letting them sink onto Malik’s. His dark skin was covered in sweat and his eyes were darting around the room nervously.
“Let him go,” Birgitta shouted.
Kent looked over his shoulder, shocked at her request, which gave Malik the opportunity to slip out of Kent’s grip. Birgitta ignored her husband, only watching Malik’s sweet face. She wanted to ask him if it was true, if he’d really betrayed her like that but held her tongue. Kent composed himself and moved away from Malik. All of the anger was still inside him, bubbling beneath the surface, but now he was in control of himself.
“Well?” Julia snapped, looking between her parents. “What are you going to do about this?”
Kent glanced to Julia, then to Malik. “Is it true?” Kent asked. “Did you do it?”
Malik went to open his thick lips, revealing his pink mouth, but Birgitta spoke over. “Of course it’s not,” she snapped. “He would never do such a thing.”
“So you’re calling me a liar,” Julia raised her voice and stepped toward Birgitta, clearly fuming. “You’re going to believe some random guy you picked up over your daughter?”
“I won’t hear any more of this,” Birgitta snapped. “You’ve been vile all night. Both of you.”
She removed her eyes from Malik’s face, to look at the faces of her family. They had been awful. They’d been rude and unaccommodating and now Julia was lying to try and get this random brown man out of her house, out of her old, unused bedroom. Julia scoffed and stuttered, but she couldn’t form a coherent argument. That, in Birgitta’s mind, solidified everything. Julia was lying, racist, and jealous.
“Are you seriously going to take his side?” Julia finally asked, the hurt plain in her voice.
“He didn’t do it,” Birgitta snapped. “I know he would never.”
When Birgitta looked at her daughter’s face, she was shocked by what she saw there. There was a look of betrayal in her eyes, and tremendous hurt. Julia pressed her lips together tightly and tried to stop her tears from falling.
