So she was angry. Eve couldn’t blame her. And perhaps anger was better than grief. “What I know is, I’m no longer going to stand in your way,” she said evenly. “Things with Jack are going well. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Just because things are going better with Jack, doesn’t mean I don’t still need you, Eve,” Lainey said. At least she could be honest even if Eve was determined to play games with their relationship.
“You made love with Jack last night.” It wasn’t a question. Neither was it an accusation. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of, Lainey,” Eve continued. Eve rose and, standing in front of Lainey, leaned against her desk, folding her arms across her breast. She shrugged. “Look, what we did was fun. But, we knew it couldn’t last.”
“Fun? ‘What we did was fun’? You make it sound like it was nothing more than an experimental fling.”
“Isn’t that what it was?”
Lainey recoiled, as though she had been physically punched in the stomach. At that moment, Eve hated herself more than she ever thought possible.
“It was more than that,” Lainey said accusingly.
Uncrossing her arms, Eve gripped the edge of her desk for support, hoping Lainey didn’t notice. “Look,” she said. “I was intrigued by you the moment I saw you. That was the artist in me. The lines of your face, the curve of your lips, I always knew you’d make a beautiful portrait. You opened your mouth and your voice and intelligence only intrigued me more. I admit that I was attracted to you, and I was curious to know what it would be like to kiss that mouth.”
Eve couldn’t keep her eyes from moving to Lainey’s mouth when she said that. How could she bear never kissing her again, never making love to her again, or never having her cherished friendship again.
“That kind of feeling was new to me,” she went on. “It became something I wanted to explore more. I could tell you were attracted to me, too. So, I thought, ‘why not take advantage of the situation’. I’ve never had this kind of experience before, so I took the chance.”
“Stop it! Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what? I’m telling you the truth.” Eve’s grip tightened and she leaned forward slightly, closing the gap between them a fraction. “You’re making this too personal. Telling me you’re ‘in love’ with me, lying to your husband to stay with me. It was just an experiment, Lainey, something different to try. You weren’t supposed to let your feelings get involved.”
Lainey leapt to her feet. “Are you telling me that your feelings aren’t involved?”
“If you knew me as well as you think you do, you’d know that I have no feelings,” Eve responded flatly. She wanted to move, to go back to her chair and sit down before her legs gave out beneath her, but she couldn’t move. “It was different, being with you. Nice. And fun,” she added with another careless shrug. “A lot of fun.”
Before she knew what happened, Eve felt a hot sting on her cheek and her head whipped to the side as Lainey slapped her, hard. Slowly, Eve turned her head back to Lainey and locked eyes.”I’ll give you that one,” she said quietly, licking the trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth.
The slap shocked Lainey as much as it did Eve. What Eve had told her had cut her straight through to the heart.
“Look me in the eye and tell me that you don’t care about me,” she said. “That you don’t love me.”
Lainey’s voice shook with anger and hurt as she watched Eve’s lips curl. Suddenly it was as though she were a stranger, someone Lainey had never really seen before.
“I don’t love you. It was sex, it was fun, it was experimental. And you can’t tell me that it didn’t feel good, that I didn’t do things to you that made you feel alive again. You should be thanking me. Can you tell me that sex with your husband isn’t better than it was before we were together?”
“Thank you?” Tears fell in a rush down Lainey’s cheeks. “How can you do this to me? Why did you make me fall in love with you? Why did you treat me as though I were more than a friend to you?”
“I didn’t make you fall in love with me, Lainey.” Eve had to force the words. “I may have taken advantage of the situation, but you didn’t fight it. You wanted it as much as I did. You were just as curious as I was.”
“You bitch!” Lainey whispered vehemently. “You goddamn bitch.” She was having trouble breathing and her heart was beating too fast. “I hate you.” She had to get out of Eve’s office, to breathe in fresh air before she collapsed.
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Eve’s voice was cavalier, her composure relaxed, but inside she was dying. Every part of her soul was falling apart as she saw hate and disbelief in Lainey’s eyes. Suddenly she remembered seeing that same hurt in Adam’s the night she told him goodbye. And at this moment, Eve didn’t care if her father made good on his promise to see her dead, because, at this moment, she was dead.
“I can’t even look at you anymore,” Lainey said, grabbing the framed photograph off the desk. “All of this was just bullshit, wasn’t it? Did you use my sons to make me trust you more? They love you, Eve. What am I supposed to tell them now? How do I tell them that you’re not the woman I thought you were, that we all thought you were?”
Her anger and hurt grew with every second she stood there in front of Eve. She threw the photo on the floor, shattering the glass that held the photo in place. “I have to get out of here,” she said. “I can’t bear to be in the same room with you anymore.”
Eve wanted to reach out to Lainey, to take her in her arms and hold her until Lainey knew just how much Eve really did care. When Lainey left, she would take Eve’s heart with her.
“I trusted you, Eve. I loved you,” Lainey told her, not looking back because it hurt too much for her to bear. “I was there for you. I gave you everything, all of me. You were the one person I thought could never hurt me. How could I have been so wrong about you?”
It was with an effort that Lainey resisted slamming the door after her and running out of the gallery. As calmly as she could, she walked down the stairs, bypassing the customers, and ignoring Mikey who called her name.
Lainey couldn’t get away from the gallery fast enough. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably as she tried to open her car door, and start the engine. She couldn’t breathe and her eyes blurred from the tears.
Inside her office, Eve was trying to catch her own breath, but every intake hurt like hell. She felt like she was dying a very slow and painful death as she kept hearing Lainey’s voice in her head. ‘I hate you.’ The words, repeated and over, shattering what was left of her soul. The rapes, the beatings, everything that she had endured in life before this moment, seemed like nothing compared to the way she was feeling now.
Through the shards of glass from the broken frame, she saw Lainey’s face looking up at her. All of the strength she was trying to hang on to, poured out of her in a rush, and her hand flew to her mouth just as a sob escaped. Her legs finally gave out, and Eve, the woman who everyone saw as strong and unaffected, unemotional, fell to her knees, uncontrollable sobs racking her entire body. She didn’t notice, or maybe didn’t care about cutting her hands as she brushed the glass away and took the photo, holding it to her aching heart. “I’m sorry, Lainey,” she whispered. “I’m so very sorry.”
Hours after he saw Lainey leaving the gallery in a hurry, Mikey flipped the switch to the last light shining in the gallery. He hadn’t seen Eve leave, but when he knocked on the door of her office and there was no answer he assumed that she had left. Locking the gallery door behind him, he headed home.
The pounding in her head wouldn’t stop. Eve hadn’t moved from the spot where she had collapsed after Lainey had left. She wanted to go home, and bury herself under the covers of her bed, but she couldn’t gather the strength to get up. For a long time she was aware of nothing except the throb in her head and the excruciating pain in her heart. And then she thought of Tony. This was all his fault. He had better kill her, because when she had the chance, she w
as going to kill him for what he’s put her through. And she would make certain that his death was as unbearable as the pain she was experiencing now. Her life had been one incredibly difficult journey. And then, for the first time, she had found something to believe in. She had finally found a way to open her heart and care for, not just one person, but two. And that had brought her so much happiness, so much joy. And now it was all gone. Everything was gone, she thought sadly as another hot tear slid down her tear stained face. Somehow she would find the strength to make her father pay, but now, all she wanted to do was sleep. At this moment, she didn’t care if she ever woke up again.
After leaving Eve and the gallery hours before, Lainey finally pulled into her driveway and switched off the ignition. She sat there for a few moments, absently wiping away the never-ending tears. The drive she had taken did nothing to calm her. Everything seemed to remind her of Eve. Even the music on the radio made Lainey remember being with Eve so vividly that she had to turn it off. She had gone over and over every word Eve had said to her, but she couldn’t understand what had changed, what had happened to make Eve treat her that way. There were no answers. Only questions, questions that she could no longer bear to ask.
Lainey rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment. She knew that her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and she had to get a hold of herself before facing her family. She had been so excited about taking a job, had fought with Jack about it, had fought with Jack about Eve, and for what? And now there was no one to turn to. She needed to just be held and told that everything would be fine, but the arms she wanted to be in were closed to her forever.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her car door and slowly stepped out. She wasn’t sure if she could put up a happy façade, but she could try, at least, to appear as though nothing had happened. Lainey braced a hand on the car when a wave of dread and sadness swept over her. Once she walked into that house and told Jack she no longer had a job, it would all be true. This horrible, horrible nightmare would become reality.
Lainey squared her shoulders. Given the way Eve had treated her, she should feel lucky that it was all over, she told herself. Eve’s true colors were finally in the open. Lainey just wished she could be sure that the woman whose lip had curled when she looked at her was the true Eve.
Rufus met Lainey at the door, but instead of jumping on her, he sat and observed her sadly, whining when she bent to pat him.
“What’s the matter, boy?” Lainey asked.
He whined again and licked Lainey’s cheek, scarcely thumping his tail as he usually did when she scratched behind his ears.
“Am I that obvious?” she asked him with a sad smile. “She’s gone, boy. I loved her so much, and now she’s gone,” she whispered. Lainey felt the tears coming again. She wanted nothing more than to go upstairs, lay down in her bed, and sleep away all of this hurt.
“Mommy?”
Quickly, Lainey wiped her face with her hand. “Darren, honey,” she said. “You startled me.”
“Are you sad, Mommy?” Darren’s bottom lip poked out in a small pout.
“No, honey. I’m not sad.” Lainey forced herself to smile and took Darren in her arms. “How can I be sad when I have a son like you?” She kissed his whole face until he started giggling. It was so good to hear his laugh. She needed to hear it. “Now, I know you’re not home by yourself. Where is everyone?”
Darren giggled again. “Daddy and Kevin are in the kitchen, Mommy. We’re making macaroni and cheese for dinner!”
“Macaroni and cheese? From a box?” Darren nodded, and Lainey shook her head. “I’m sure we can find something better to make for you to eat. Come on. Let’s go show them how to make a real meal.” She lifted Darren in to her arms, holding him there for a minute. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too, Mommy.” Darren kissed her on the cheek.
When Jack turned from the stove and saw Lainey standing at the door with Darren in her arms, he frowned slightly. “You’re home early.”
“Yes.” She set Darren down on a stool, and turned to Kevin. “Hi, honey,” she said, kissing him on the top of the head.
“Hey, Mom! Dad’s making us some macaroni!”
“So I heard.” She walked past Jack, afraid to look him in the eye. Picking up the pot of boiling water, she dumped it in the sink. “Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese? Is this what you’ve been feeding our sons while I’ve had to work?” She couldn’t keep the bite out of her voice.
“I’m doing the best I can, Lainey,” Jack responded quietly. “Why are you home so early?”
“Now you don’t want me here?” She walked to the refrigerator and took out items she thought would make a healthy meal.
“I didn’t say that. Boys, why don’t you go upstairs and wash up for dinner.”
Both boys left the room without a word. It was clear that they sensed that something was very wrong.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve this attitude...”
“Macaroni and cheese, Jack? We have all of this food in the refrigerator and all you can come up with is something unhealthy for the boys to eat?”
“If it’s so damned unhealthy, Lainey, why do we have it? I can’t believe you’re getting this upset over something so trivial.”
“Our sons’ health is trivial?” No matter what she did, she couldn’t stop the anger from taking over. He didn’t deserve this, she thought to herself. In a huff, she turned off the stove and pushed the food away from her. “Order pizza. Order whatever the fuck you want. I’m going upstairs.”
“Lainey!” He watched, confused and angry as she stormed out of the room. What the hell was all of that about, he wondered, and looked at all of the food she had brought out. Surely there was something he could cook to make her happy.
Lainey hurried into her bedroom and shut the door, leaning on it for support. The sobs were catching up to her again. She took three deep breaths, trying to calm herself, but the goddamn pain just wouldn’t go away. Walking to the bed, she caught a glimpse of the Buddha that Eve had bought for her, sitting on the nightstand. Sorrow filled her heart as she picked it up. “Why did you do this to me?” she asked quietly. “How could you hurt me like this?” The urge to throw the sixty-thousand dollar little statue was so strong that she tightened her grip. God, how was she going to make it through this?
He found her sitting in the chair, staring out the window. Jack thought that he had never seen her look so sad.
“You’ll be happy to know that I won’t be going back to work,” Lainey said quietly. She saw his reflection in the window, and knew that she had startled him, not by what she said but how she said it. But it was impossible for her to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
“I don’t understand.” The set of her shoulders told him that she didn’t want to be touched.
“What’s not to understand?” she said. “You got your way. You should be happy.”
“I never told you to quit.”
“Bull shit, Jack.” She wanted to yell, but didn’t have the strength to do so. And she didn’t want the boys to hear. “You told me multiple times to quit. Not that it matters. I’m not going back, so you got your way. Happy?”
“No. If it’s making you this miserable, why did you quit? And, please don’t blame me. If I asked multiple times, you’ve refused just as many. Why now? And, how does Eve feel about this?”
Just hearing Eve’s name made Lainey’s pulse jump, and her heart ache. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Jack saw her close herself off and knew that he wouldn’t be getting any information from her now.
“Well, maybe you’ll be happy to know that I cooked something healthy for the boys to eat,” he said. “There’s some chicken and rice downstairs if you get hungry.”
It only made Lainey more miserable to hear that he had gone through the trouble after she was such a bitch to him. But she remained silent until she heard him sigh, and walk into the bathroom, shutting the d
oor with a distinct click. Only then did Lainey let the tears flow once again.
“I’m going to watch some TV,” Jack said when, having showered, he found her still huddled in the chair. Although he was beginning to worry about her, he had decided that she needed a little more time to deal with whatever it was that was bothering her. Switching on the eleven o’clock news, he sat back in bed with a book. It was another one of his routines that Lainey found annoying. “You’re either watching TV or reading. You can’t do both.” She would say.
But tonight she didn’t notice or simply didn’t care. Clearly she had other things on her mind.
“In our top story tonight, Eve Sumptor, owner of Sumptor, Inc. whose employee, Jackie Sawyer, was found murdered in her home earlier this month, has made her first statement to the press. She talked to our own Dee Cummings about who she thinks is responsible for the young woman’s death. Dee?”
The mere mention of Eve’s name snapped Lainey out of her trance.
Thinking that hearing about Eve might somehow upset Lainey even more, Jack switched off the television.
“What are you doing?” she cried. “Turn it back on!”
Dee Cummings’ face filled the screen. “In a recent interview with Ms. Sumptor,” she began, “she stated how terribly sorry she was for the loss of such an excellent employee and wonderful young woman. Ms. Sumptor has extended her condolences to Miss Sawyer’s family, and has offered to help them in any way she can. Recently, Miss Sawyer’s family has been told conflicting stories about Ms. Sumptor’s involvement in their daughter’s death, resulting in a lawsuit against her. In light of new evidence, this lawsuit has since been rescinded. I asked Ms. Sumptor about the allegations made against her, and she has told me – and I quote ‘I had nothing to do with the murder of Jackie Sawyer, and will do everything in my power to bring down those who are responsible’.”
Something About Eve (An Eve Sumptor Book 1) Page 42
