Beautiful Liar

by Natasha Knight

  “I’d love some.” I sat down beside Mel, who smiled at me with a big mouthful of the stuff. Just as Amelia set a plate in front of me, Dinah walked into the kitchen. The tension between her and Amelia was thick enough to slice.

  “Would you like a plate, Dinah?” Amelia asked her.

  She glanced at it. “No.” Then she turned to me. “What are you doing here?” she asked, opening the fridge and taking out a bottle of wine.

  “It’s my house, last I checked the mortgage payments.”

  She huffed, but truth was truth. I still paid for the house they lived in. I shook my head at my own foolishness. I did it for Mel. I did it all for Mel. And she and Nick had no trouble taking.

  “That’s not your first tonight, is it?” I asked as she poured herself a large glass of chardonnay.

  “What? Got here in one piece, didn’t we?”

  “What happened to you?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  She let out an exhale, lowered her lashes, and walked out of the kitchen.

  “You going to eat that bite, Uncle Slater?”

  Mel’s little voice came at just the right time, forcing me to check the anger building inside me. “You go ahead, Mel. I think I’ve had enough.”

  “You want more, honey?” Amelia asked when Mel started to eat what I hadn’t.

  Mel nodded.

  “I’m going to talk to your mommy, honey. I’ll take you up to bed when you’re ready.”

  “Okay,” she said. From the way she looked at me, I knew she felt everything I felt, knew she didn’t miss a thing. I planted a kiss on her forehead and headed into the living room. Dinah sat on the couch, flipping through TV channels, looking more pissed off than anything else.

  “Where’s Nick?”

  “At the office. Where he always is these days.”

  “Where were you? It’s past nine o’clock at night, and you’re just now bringing a five-year-old home after preschool?”

  “We went shopping then to a friend’s house. She was playing,” she answered without looking at me. “You may pay the mortgage on the house, but that doesn’t mean you can just walk in here whenever the fuck you feel like it and give me the third degree.” She took a swig of her wine.

  I grabbed the remote out of her hand and switched off the TV. “Look at me.”

  She sat back, liquid sloshing around the too-full glass from which she took another gulp before I relieved her of it.

  “What the fuck, Slater?”

  “Are you drunk?”

  She folded her arms across her chest. “No!”

  “How many did you have before getting into the SUV?”

  “None of your business!”

  “What the hell’s going on with you? You’re a mom. You just drove your daughter home fucking drunk. What the fuck, Dinah?”

  “I repeat: none of your business.” She reached for the glass, but I set it down at the far end of the coffee table and placed myself between it and her. She slumped back on the couch and looked me over, then turned her attention to a fingernail.

  “Dinah? Look at me.”

  She shook her head, averting her face, biting her nail. I remembered that. She’d do it when she was nervous, on the verge of tears.

  “Hey,” I said more softly, taking her hands in mine. “Look at me.”

  She did, biting her lip now that I’d taken her hand away, her eyes bloodshot and wet with unspent tears. In that moment, I felt something for her. It wasn’t what I used to feel, not even close. I just saw how sad she was. Somewhere in the last three years, any affection I’d felt for her had vanished. Love? No, nothing close to love there now. Not even like, I realized. In fact, I didn’t like this woman at all. But she was Mel’s mother. Mel would always connect us.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Because of Mel. I care about Mel.” I wanted to be very clear on that point.

  “Of course you do.” She shook her head, sadness masked by insolence.

  I squeezed her hands. “Dinah, tell me what’s going on.”

  “I think Nick’s cheating on me.”

  Why did this not surprise me? More importantly, why did it surprise her?

  “I guess you could say I had it coming.”

  In that moment, I realized something. I didn’t think that at all. And I didn’t wish it on her. Had I forgiven her somehow for what she’d done to me? I blinked. When had that happened?

  “He’s gone every night. Going to Disney—he spent all of one day with us. It was supposed to be a family trip, but all he did that day he was there with us was make calls. Disney World probably wasn’t the best idea, considering.”

  “Considering?”

  She shook her head. “He’s not really much of a dad, you know?” Her eyes reddened again. “I had a miscarriage a few months ago. He was happy.” She pulled her hands away to wipe away the tears.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She shook her head again and looked at me. “Probably for the best. He can’t stand Melody.”

  I glanced back toward the kitchen, hoping Mel was out of earshot.

  “You need to be careful. That little girl should be the most important thing to you.”

  “That little girl,” she mimicked, reaching for her glass. I blocked her way. “You know what, Slater? He only used her to hurt you. Getting me pregnant when I was your wife? That made your best friend’s fucking day.”

  I stood, hands fisted at my sides while venom spewed from her mouth.

  “After all was said and done, though, after that whore who ruined you—”

  “You and Nick ruined me, not the woman you and Nick paid.”

  She smirked. “That whore. Well, Nick didn’t give a fuck after that. After it was over and you left here a broken man.” She looked me over from head to toe. “Not broken anymore, though, are you? The whore making you feel good, Slater?”

  She must have seen the look of confusion on my face. How could she know I was with MacKayla?

  “Nick keeps track,” she said, as if having read my mind.

  I ignored it. “If you call her a whore one more time—”

  “What? What are you going to do? Tuck your tail between your legs and run away? That’s what you do, isn’t it?”

  I breathed in deep and slow, trying to manage the anger burning inside me. That was what she wanted, a reaction. And I wouldn’t give it to her.

  “You hurt me, Dinah. When you told me Mel wasn’t mine, you killed me. You fucking Nick?” I shook my head. “That was pathetic. Fuck whomever you want. But taking my child away? Lying to me about her all along? You won, you broke me. Tell me. What did I ever do to you?”

  Tears filled her eyes, and for one moment, she looked at me with desperation. All the venom, all the hate, it was gone.

  “You didn’t do anything to me. I just loved Nick. I always loved him.”

  A few years ago, that would have hurt. Hell, maybe a few months ago. But no more.

  “I want him, Slater. I want him back.”

  Tears trickled down her face, and I knew she told the truth. It had always been Nick for her.

  “Give me custody of Mel.”

  Amelia cleared her throat from the doorway. I turned to find her holding a sleepy Mel, who lay her head on Amelia’s shoulder and rubbed her eyes. I knew from the look on Amelia’s face, she’d heard what I’d just said.

  “I’m going to take Melody up to bed now.”

  “I’ll be up in a minute,” I said. Dinah didn’t say anything. Actually, she looked stunned when I turned to face her. “I’ll stay in the guest room.” I wasn’t sure what I’d do when I got here, if I’d go to a hotel or not. Actually, I’d assumed I would, but seeing the state of things, I was staying here. “I’ll go see Nick tomorrow. Tell him what I want.”

  “But—”

  I shook my head. “Get some Ibuprofen before you go to bed. We’ll talk some more tomorrow.” I got up and walked away, leaving her sitting there, her mout
h hanging open, perhaps shocked at what I’d just said. I may not be Mel’s biological father, but considering what Dinah had just said, how she’d acted, I would be a better caregiver than either she or Nick. I loved that little girl more than anything. And I’d be damned if I let Dinah or Nick fuck up her life out of their own selfishness.

  AT MIDNIGHT, MY cell phone vibrated on the nightstand, waking me. I hadn’t spoken to Slater since he’d gone and left it on, waiting for him to call. It worried me that I hadn’t heard from him, but I knew he needed time to do what he needed to do out there.

  “Hey,” I whispered, knowing Janey and Sadie were sleeping.

  “Hey. It’s late there.”

  “It’s okay. I was awake,” I lied. “Besides, it’s later there. How are you? How are things?”

  “Fucked up.”

  Neither of us spoke for a long moment. I had a thousand questions, but I needed to wait, to give him space and time to figure things out. I knew how important Mel was to him. I just needed to be there for him when he needed me.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “I’ll be okay. I need something.”

  “What?”

  “You in bed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Lock your door and take off your clothes, then FaceTime me.”

  “Slater…”

  “Just do it. I need to see you. I need to hold you. To be inside you. But I can’t, so give me this.”

  I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Five minutes.”

  I took those minutes to brush my teeth and wash my face then called him back on FaceTime.

  “Hey.”

  He was naked from the waist up—maybe lower too, but with the way he’d situated the phone, that was all I could see. He reclined on the bed with one hand behind his head.

  “Let me see you.”

  I put my phone on the dresser, resting it against the lamp to stand it up, and sat back against the headboard. His gaze scanned my body.

  “Stand up.”

  I did, adjusting the phone.

  “Turn your back to me and bend over.”

  “Slater…” I hesitated.

  He squeezed lotion onto his hand from a tube I saw him pick up off the nightstand and shifted the phone so I saw his lower half. He was naked, his big cock hard and glistening as he rubbed the lotion over it.

  “I can’t fuck you right now, MacKayla, but I need to come. I need to see you come.”

  He stroked his cock and let me watch for a few moments, his hand sliding up and down the thick shaft.

  “You know what I want to do?”

  “What?” I asked, my breath coming short.

  “I want to jack myself off while you watch.”

  I slid my hand down between my legs, and he shifted the phone so I saw his face again.

  “Good girl,” he said. “Rub that clit. Come closer to the screen and pull your lips wide so I can see.”

  I did as he said, stepping toward the phone, feeling lewd as I spread my legs wide and played with myself, opening my pussy lips for him to see.

  “That’s it. I bet you smell and taste amazing.”

  I could see from his face he was still stroking himself. “I wish you were here to taste me.”

  “Soon, honey. Now turn around. Show me your ass.”

  I’d been stripping for years, yet this, with Slater—a man I trusted—seemed harder than anything else. And more arousing.

  I turned and bent deep, taking my hand from my clit and pulling my cheeks apart.

  “Fuck, MacKayla,” he groaned.

  I rubbed my cunt with the fingers of one hand, keeping my ass spread. “This feels so good, Slater, but I wish it was your tongue on me. You cock inside me.”

  “Your ass is still red form your whipping. It made you hot, getting your ass whipped, didn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your asshole, MacKayla. Touch it.”

  I swallowed and dipped my other hand in my pussy, lubricating it before reaching for my back hole, circling it with my finger, remembering how he’d licked me there. How he’d fucked me there.

  “You know how tight that hole was when I fucked it?”

  I glanced at the phone so I could watch his face while he stroked himself, the sight of it more arousing than I could have ever imagined it could be.

  “Tight,” he said, without waiting for me. “Now get back on the bed and spread your legs wide. I want to watch you come.”

  “I want to watch you,” I said as I climbed up onto the bed.

  “Does it turn you on?”

  “Yes.”

  He shifted the camera to his cock, which seemed to have grown even thicker, even larger, in his hand.

  “I’m going to have you suck me off as soon as I see you.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “But instead of coming down your throat, I’m going to cover your face with it.”

  I was going to come.

  “Faster, that’s it. You like what I said? You like that I’m going to shoot my cum all over your face?”

  “Yes.” It was more a gasp than anything else. “I’m going to come, Slater.”

  “Wait. With me.”

  All I heard then was the sound of his breathing, the wet palm of his hand rubbing his cock. When I heard him grunt and watched cum spray all over his stomach, his chest, I came, my other hand gripping the sheets as I bit my lip, trying not to cry out, not to make any sound at all. When it was over we both breathed heavy, watching each other without speaking for a long time.

  “Go to sleep, MacKayla. I’ll watch over you.”

  I tucked myself into bed, and Slater smiled. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you, baby. So damn much.”

  When I wasn’t working, I focused on moving Janey and Sadie in. We went shopping for furniture for Sadie, things she didn’t have in New Jersey, and Janey planned her trip back East to pack up her things and tell our aunt that she was moving. She’d also started to look for work in the area, ideally looking for a day-care job, where she could bring Sadie with her while she worked. We were both excited about her moving in with me, and the only thing that dampened that excitement was Slater’s absence and what he was dealing with back home.

  I expected Lydia back late this evening, and Janey sat at the dining-room table in the process of making calls. We’d already had dinner, and Sadie was fussing, not wanting to go to bed but needing to.

  “Sadie, want to come with me to walk Zeus?” I asked as she tugged on Janey’s arm while my sister spoke with a mover.

  “Zeus?” she asked. She loved Zeus. He was the sweetest old dog and big enough that she could practically ride him.

  Janey mouthed a thank-you to me.

  “Come on, kiddo. Let’s get your shoes and coat on, and we can go take him out for a walk.”

  Sadie beamed and practically tripped over her own feet in her excitement to grab her shoes. I took her coat off the rack and waited while she sat down and pulled on her Chucks, even attempting to tie the laces.

  “Should I do that for you?” I asked, kneeling beside her.

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  A smear of chocolate pudding she’d had for dessert had dried on her chin. I wiped it off before tying her laces and helped her stand.

  “Come on. Let’s get your coat on. It’s cold out there.”

  After helping her with her coat, I put mine on, grabbed the keys to Lydia’s house, and took her little hand in mine to walk her across the street. She chattered the whole time, nearly running in her hurry to get there. Janey, Sadie, and I had walked Zeus together, and seeing how good the giant of a dog was with Sadie, how sweet and gentle he was even when Sadie tugged his tail or poked her fingers into his ears, was beautiful.

  “Here we go,” I said, unlocking the door, already hearing the clicking of nails as the German Shepherd made his way to us, his tail wagging, his speed slowed with age.

  “Zeus!” Sadie cried, throwing her arms around his neck while the
dog licked her face.

  I gathered the mail from the box outside the door and went inside, closing the door behind me as I sorted through junk I could recycle right away and leaving the rest for Lydia. I grabbed Zeus’s leash and attached it to his collar.

  “Ready to go?”

  “Sadie hold him.”

  “Why don’t we hold him together?” I suggested. Even at his age, when Zeus saw a squirrel, he took off.

  “Okay,” she said, taking hold of part of the leash as Zeus led the way out.

  Stars shone overhead on this cold but clear night and quiet settled around the neighborhood. Sadie babbled to Zeus along the way. Listening to her made me giggle. Although I couldn’t understand everything she said, I thought she was telling him all about moving to the neighborhood and how they’d be able to walk together every single day. It was about twenty minutes later, the tips of my fingers reddened with cold, before we headed back to Lydia’s house. There, Sadie poured Zeus’s dinner out and set it on the floor in the kitchen, petting him while he slowly ate. I refreshed his water and set that too alongside his dish.

  “Ready to go back, Sadie?”

  She shook her head.

  I took her hand. “We can come back again tomorrow night. Would you like that?”

  She looked up at me as if not quite trusting me.

  “And I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you give him a little treat, since he was so sweet on our walk?” At the pantry, I found his treats and handed one to Sadie, who held it out to Zeus. Zeus had finished his dinner by then and gently took the treat out of her little palm, slobbering all over it as he did.

  Sadie giggled as he licked all remnants of the treat from her hand.

  “Ready now?” I asked.

  Reluctantly, she stood and slid her hand into mine.

  “Good night, Zeus,” I called out as we headed to the door. It was when I opened it and saw the car parked outside my house that my heart leaped into my throat.

  No.

  I recognized the car. It stood out with its Philadelphia plates.

  “Janey.”

  As if Zeus heard the panic in my voice, he charged out the door, bounding with energy I had never seen from him before, almost toppling me in his rush. He barked loud enough to wake the neighborhood and he raced to my house. I hauled Sadie up in my arms and followed him, running as fast as I could. He stopped at my front door stood there and barked, continuously barked.