by K T Grant
She settled back again the cushions and the tension in her body dissipated. “I hate arguing with you. It leads to ugly things.”
“All right.” I shook my head, letting her link our fingers together.
Her entire face lit up in gratification. She must have thought she had won yet again.
“A lot of changes have happened recently that affect our relationship. What do you see for us and our future?” I asked in a serene tone of voice I hoped would placate her into giving me an answer.
“After you finish here, you return back to Boston, and we go on as we always have.” She and pressed her mouth along the ridges of my hand, leaving a damp trail.
“Bianca, you really can’t think I’ll remain your lover if you marry Dale. It’s not fair to me.” I swallowed, clearing the tightness in my throat.
“You don’t have to worry I’ll treat you different because of Dale. He knows what his role is and where he stands in my affections. He’s perfectly fine with the arrangement.” The corners of her mouth lifted, and she lowered our hands to rest on her chest. “He’s even interested in joining us.”
“Joining us? How?”
She snorted out a giggle. “Why, in bed, silly.”
I lurched to my feet, bowled over by what I heard. She couldn’t be serious.
“Are you delusional? You really think I would be fine having a-a.…” I flapped my hands around, unable to speak coherently.
She sighed and shook her head, showing her disappointment. “Calm down. It’s just a suggestion. When you return home, you, Dale, and I can sit down and talk about the arrangement—”
“I’m not returning to Boston. I’m staying in Delpoint indefinitely.”
She blinked like an owl, staring at me in bewilderment that quickly changed to bemusement. “There’s no reason to be jealous of Dale. He understands what we want from one another and accepts it. I don’t understand why you’re so upset. Throwing threats at me—”
“It’s not a threat, it’s a promise.” I backed away, sickened by her. I had allowed her to manipulate me for too long. That stopped now. “The only reason I’ll go back in Boston will be to give my notice to your brother and to pack my things.”
She slowly rose from the couch, twisting her diamond engagement ring around her finger, as if to taunt me with it. Other than irritation, I felt nothing.
“What if Dale and I have a long engagement, say for a year or two? You’ll have time to grow accustomed to the situation.” She walked back toward the bar and picked up her glass of wine.
“What if the only way I stay in Boston and with you is if you end your engagement with Dale and tell your family we’re a couple and—” I pressed my lips together. I almost said about us being in love, but that had passed. Bianca’s self-indulgence had eradicated whatever feelings I had for her.
Her high-pitched laugh was like fingernails on a chalkboard. I bit my tongue to stop from yelling at her. She didn’t take me seriously. Every snicker and eye roll proved that.
“I told you from the beginning of our association back in college we can’t be together in the open. You were fine with us up until you came back here to this bumblefuck town—”
“That’s not true. I’ve been unhappy for a long time, ever since last year when I volunteered at your father’s election campaign and since you and Dale…grew closer.” Each breath I took was like a jagged piece of glass in my chest, but I had to speak up and make her understand why her reasons and actions were so wrong. “I was going to recommend we take a break and reevaluate our association.” Tears burned in back of my eyes. How cold and callous “association” sounded. After so many years, that was what we were to one another?
She set her glass down on the bar with a click. Her neck and face had become splotchy and her eyes blazed with animosity. “If you think I’ll let you walk out of my life after all I’ve done for you, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“The guilt card won’t work on me. Name one thing you’ve done for me—”
She stormed over to me and thrust her face in mine. “I found you a good-paying job, and a condo you could afford only because my uncle owns the building.” She jabbed me in the shoulder, and I stumbled back. “I gave you social status and respect without asking for anything in return other than your friendship and staying dedicated to me—”
“As your mistress!” I roared and lifted both my fists, ready to punch something. Pain shot up my arms. I shook in anger, unable to look at Bianca. I twisted around to give us space, but she seized my arm, digging her fingers in deep.
“If you want to label yourself as my mistress, then go ahead. But your semantics are ridiculous. You can’t deny you’ve had a fulfilling life with me. Things will remain the same between us. The only thing different is my marriage to Dale. Once I have a child or two with him, which I plan on doing within the first five years of our marriage, I won’t have to sleep with him too often.” She drew both her hands around my arms and tucked me to her chest. “Then we can be together all the time, like we have been these past ten years. You’ll be a cherished family friend who will be a favored aunt—”
“I loved you once, I really did, but now you disgust me.” I yanked away and hugged my chest, wanting to fall to the floor and roll into a ball. “You’ve broken my heart in so many ways. This fantasy you have in your head isn’t normal or something I can go along with. We’re done. After today, I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Her color drained away and her eyes glossed over. My own vision blurred, and I wiped under my eyes. I would keep it together and break down later, when I was alone.
“If you leave me, I’ll make your life miserable. I’ll ruin everything you worked so hard for, and you’ll be out on the street—”
I laughed then. A big belly laugh. “Bianca, you no longer have any power over me. Your threats are baseless. Did you hear a word I said a few minutes ago? I have people in my life who care about and support me. I also have a savings I can tap into, and my grandmother left me her house and an additional inheritance. I can truly be free of you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You’ve lost me and now you have to deal with it.”
She stared past my shoulder with a blank expression, other than a twitching near the corner of her mouth. I waited for the explosion to follow. She would want to have the last word.
“You’ve fallen back in love with that dyke, haven’t you?”
I jerked, not only from the savageness in her voice but the insult she’d just hurled. Speechless, I stared at her in disbelief.
She stormed over to the bar, lifted her glass, and threw it at me. I ducked and it shattered against the wall behind me.
“It’s true! You’ve been with that low-class white trash bitch behind my back.”
My heart raced. I’d never seen her this furious. She turned away from me and slammed her palms down on the bar.
I couldn’t stay here with Bianca so out of control. She was past the point of reasoning with, lost in a haze of fury. For once, I was frightened of her and what she might do.
I snatched my purse and darted over the door. She jumped in front of me and backhanded me, her ostentatious ring cutting my cheek. Stunned, I gaped at her with my palm on my stinging cheek. I tasted blood.
She latched onto my arm and dragged me away from the door. I struggled, but she pitched me backward, and my hip hit the side of the bar, sending a ricochet of pain down my right leg. My knee buckled, but she took my upper arms and boxed me into the corner.
I gulped in air, wincing. When she lowered her face toward mine, I turned away. Her nose my brushed my cheek, and t her lips rubbed the spot she cut. She sobbed and then wrapped her arms around me. Her tears slid down her face.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me,” she whispered, clutching me.
“Let me go.” I stiffened in her embrace, my voice distorted as my mouth went numb.
“I can’t.” She lifted her head, and her fingertips trailed over my cheek as if to heal the d
amage she had inflicted on me. “I won’t lose you.”
“You once had me. I would have been yours forever, but you ruined…it.” I refused to say “our love.” I realized now what we had wasn’t love. It was all a sham.
“I don’t want to fight any more. Let’s lie down in the other room. Things will make more sense after we nap,” she said and bent toward me.
I twisted my face away and she ended up kissing my ear. She left another kiss under my ear, in the spot that had always made me respond to her advances in the past. I felt nothing but loathing for this woman who had gone off the deep end.
She wouldn’t let me leave unless I did what she wanted. If I fought her, I would end up with much more than a bruised cheek and aching leg. So, I pasted on a smile regardless of the horrible throbbing and stinging taking over my face and head, and kissed her throat. She sighed loudly, as if relieved.
“Let’s go into the bedroom,” I said, taking her hand, hoping I would come up with a way to escape before she caught on.
“Kiss me first.”
I dropped my mouth over hers and sucked gently. She moaned. I ended the kiss before she demanded more. She tugged me toward the bedroom with a vise-like grip on my wrist. I had to act fast before I ended up locked in a room at her mercy.
“When you return home to Boston, you should move in with me until my wedding.” She glanced over her shoulder with a huge grin. Her eyes sparkled with mischievous delight. “We should have continued living together as roommates after we graduated college, but I wanted my space. I want to see more of you than just a few days a week or an overnight stay here and there.”
“We can discuss it after our nap. Okay?” I slowed down my stride even as she sped up.
When we were less than a foot away from the bedroom, she yanked me to her and kissed me. I grabbed her by the back of the head and shuffled forward. She laughed and hung her arms around my neck, increasing the pressure of the kiss. She closed her eyes. I kept mine open, walking in the open bedroom. I stopped and grasped the doorknob with one hand while I pressed my palm on her chest. She moaned and whispered my name.
I shoved her toward the bed, and she gasped and stumbled to one knee. I slammed the bedroom door shut and ran, scooping up my purse and coat. Bianca screamed my name. To my relief, the door to the hotel suite was unlocked. Right when the bedroom door swung open and banged the wall, I opened the front door and shot out, closing it behind me. I sped down the hall, almost crying in relief when the elevator dinged and two women emerged.
Bianca cried out my name, a shrill that made my stomach liquefy. I swept past the two surprised women and darted into the elevator, jabbing the button to the lobby. The doors shut, cutting off an enraged Bianca. I bent forward, gasping for breath, my heartbeat drumming in my ears. Until I was far away from her reach, I wouldn’t be able to calm down.
When the elevator finally reached the lobby, a hysterical cry rose up in my throat. I shoved my way past a group of people and hustled to the entrance. A man blocked my escape. I cut off a startled yelp.
“What the hell happened to you?” Dale asked and reached to take my arm.
“Don’t touch me!” I lurched back, lifting my hands to block him from doing so.
Her folded his arms behind his back and scanned my face. The way he inspected me was disconcerting. I stared past his shoulder at the front door that was only a few feet away.
“What did she do to you?” he asked softly, his voice gruff with strain.
When one of the elevator doors opened, I flinched. I had to leave before Bianca came down to the lobby to find me. She wouldn’t start an altercation in public, but it wouldn’t stop her from trying to get me to come back upstairs to her suite.
“We had a fight. I’ve decided to break things off…our friendship that is, for reasons you’ll have to ask her if you want to know more.” I took a deep inhale to stop wheezing. “I told her I’m moving back to Delpoint to be with my aunt. She didn’t appreciate that.” I poked the edge of my cheek where it stung, and winced.
He looked mortified. “Why don’t we get some ice for your cheek and sit dow—”
“No, I’m done here. I’m done with Bianca. I can’t deal with her anymore.” My voice cracked and my bottom lip started to quiver. I had to get far away before I broke down.
“Is it because of our engagement? Didn’t she explain—”
“Stop. Just stop.” I shook my head, growing incensed. I didn’t want to hear his excuses or reasons why I should be fine with my ex-lover marrying a man and inviting me to be a third sexual party in their relationship.
“I’ll talk to her and calm her down.” He grabbed his case from where it sat propped against a chair. “You’re very special to Bianca. I would hate for her to lose you as a friend.”
She should have considered the possibility before she got engaged and stomped on my heart. I had given her so much of myself and asked for nothing in return. There was no way I would go back to her after our blowup and the way she reacted.
“Go ahead and do whatever makes you happy. But I’m not staying here a minute longer. Please don’t try and stop me.” I shifted past him to go outside.
“Your emotions are heightened right now. Why don’t you sleep on it? Things might look different to you in the morning.” He swept a hand over his hair and sighed. “Not that I’m making excuses for Bianca, but she—”
“I understand, Dale. You love her and want the best for her. Once upon a time, I felt the same way you do. But whatever feelings I had for your fiancée have been destroyed because of what happened between us in your suite upstairs.” I finally backed away, to keep from saying anything more. I refused to vent to him.
He opened his mouth and then shut it, shaking his head, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
“Good-bye, Cassandra. Take care of yourself.”
“It’s Cassie,” I threw over my shoulder and strode to the front door.
Chapter Eleven
By the time the taxi dropped me off in front of The Cozy Café, it was sleeting rain. I paid the driver and got out, hugging my arms to my chest as I looked through the front windows for any sign of Freddie. A woman with glasses and shoulder-length bright-red hair waited on people behind the counter. I stood in that downpour, waiting to see if Freddie would appear. When she didn’t, I opened the door to the café and entered anyway.
Soft jazz music filtered through the speakers in the corner and a few people sat either talking to their companions or typing on laptops. A younger man with arms covered in tattoos and wearing a Cozy Café T-shirt cleaned around the area. I stepped up the counter, my entire body tingling as I warmed.
The redheaded woman poked her head out from the dessert case and stared at me in concern. “You got caught in the rain.”
Her pointing out the obvious made me giggle. “Is Freddie around?”
Her eyes widened. “She’s upstairs in her apartment going over some paperwork.” She pointed to the door in the corner near the bathrooms. “You can take the stairs.”
“Thanks,” I said and turned away.
“Sure,” she responded, sounding more unsure than positive, but then welcomed a new customer.
I opened the door and climbed the steps. My cheek throbbed and black spots appeared in front of my eyes. Each step felt like putty. I almost sat down to catch my bearings, but I was afraid I would pass out so I carried on, reached the top of the stairs, and opened another door that brought me to a hallway and the door to Freddie’s apartment. I lifted my hand to knock, but then rested my forehead on the wooden slat, exhaustion setting in. The pounding in my head traveled down the back of my beck and embedded itself in my upper back. A spasm of pain hit me and I gasped. I hit the door with a hard rap.
I barely had time to move back before the door swung open. Freddie stood there in a hazy light. I whispered her name in relief. She wrapped her arms around me and she pulled me inside.
***
I li
fted my hand out of the water, wiggling my wrinkled fingers. I had been in the bath Freddie drew for me for over an hour. The jasmine-scented water had cooled, but it had thawed me out first. And the aspirin she’d given me for my headache worked wonders. Tears stung my eyes, and steam encased the small bathroom. I had blubbered on her while she helped undress me and ran my bath. She left me alone then instead of staying with me while I recovered from my sobfest. I would have loved to linger in the lukewarm water longer, but it was foolish for me to hide this way.
I stepped out of the old-fashioned sunken tub, much like the one in Grandma’s house, and wrapped a towel around my head then opened the window a crack to let the steam out. The sounds of sleet had lessened, and now snow fell. Grabbing another towel, I dried off, catching my bleary reflection in the vanity mirror over the sink. I wiped the condensation away with the edge of the towel as I stared at myself. My face was pale, with the exception of my cheek where Bianca had hit me. A nice black and blue mark had formed, and a long, red scratch cut my bottom lip and pointed down to my chin.
There was a knock on the door. “You okay in there?”
I reached out and opened the door, still staring at the mirror. “I’m alive.”
Freddie appeared behind me, and our eyes locked. She dropped her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I laid mine on top of hers and smiled.
“Your clothes are in the dryer. There’s a nightshirt on my bed you can wear.” She set a long white tube on the edge of the sink. “This cream should help lessen the swelling on your face. I have soup cooking on the stove and some blueberry scones if you’re hungry.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.” I studied the sink, fingering the tube of cream.
She rested her palm on my back, her thumb brushing my shoulder blade, then backed out of the bathroom and closed the door, leaving me alone once again.
I carefully rubbed the ointment on my cheek and near my mouth, the smell of aloe and honeysuckle drifting into my nose. It was pleasant and not too intrusive. I left the bathroom and entered the bedroom. The room was much more colorful than the living room. The walls were bright yellow with black and white photos of various outdoor scenes. Her bedding was piled high with colorful pillows. A small matted teddy bear with a pink and blue polka dot bow tie sat on top of the pillows. In the middle of the bed was the sleep shirt—a long pink one with two kittens in a basket in the middle.
