One of Us Is Dead(46)

And the biggest buffoon of them all, Bryce. What did I ever see in him?

Dean relaxed and nodded.

“Does your mouth taste funny, Bryce?” I stood up from the salon chair and faced him. It was like I put on a pair of glasses and could finally see him for what he truly was—an asshole. I was no longer blinded by his charm, good looks, or his gaslighting. Bryce redirected his attention and took a couple of steps toward me. Crystal rubbed her head as if she were warding off an impending headache.

“No, why?” Bryce’s face was smug.

“Huh . . . just figured it would with all the bullshit you’ve been spewing.” I placed my hands on my hips and stood up tall.

“You should be pretty familiar with the taste. You ate it up for years,” Bryce said with his crooked politician smile.

“Bryce, stop,” Crystal begged.

He waved his hand at her. “Shannon’s a big girl. If she can dish it, she can take it. Isn’t that right? You can handle yourself?”

“You know I can.” I raised my chin.

“That’s not what you said the other night when you proposed marriage to me.” Bryce looked around the room with a sly smile.

Olivia started laughing, and Crystal’s mouth fell open.

“You proposed to Bryce?” Crystal asked.

I knew then that she hadn’t seen the video and that this was news to her. I felt like an absolute idiot.

“I wasn’t serious,” I said, but my face reddened, betraying my words.

“Right, sweetheart, right.” Bryce straightened his tie.

“I thought you said you two worked everything out . . .” Crystal furrowed her brow.

“We did. Shannon just isn’t over me,” Bryce said.

“I am so over you, and one day Crystal will be too. Because you’re a fucking asshole, Bryce!”

“Shannon, stop. Please don’t talk about my husband like that,” Crystal spoke up, surprised by the words that came out of her mouth.

“Don’t be an idiot, Crystal. He did it to me. He’ll do it to you too. The next woman always thinks they’re the special one. Trust me. You’re not, and you should know better than anyone.”

Crystal gave me a peculiar look, as if she were trying to figure out if I knew. I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to convey that I in fact did. I had been keeping a secret of hers for a very long time, one she didn’t even know I had.

“All right, that’s enough!” Olivia stood from her chair and walked over to Crystal, putting her arm around her. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to you talk about her that way. Crystal is my BFF, and I won’t stand for it.”

Crystal furrowed her brow. It was obvious she was unaware of her supposed close relationship with Olivia.

“Get off your high horse, Olivia,” I said.

Dean stood from his seat. He grabbed Olivia by the arm and gave it a pull. “Let’s go. I told you to stay out of this.”

“Get your hands off her.” Mark jumped out of his seat.

“No, Olivia’s right.” Bryce pointed a finger at me. “You’re not going to talk about my wife like that.”

Mark grabbed Dean by the shoulder and spun him around. He pulled back his clenched fist and launched it right into Dean’s face, knocking him to the ground. Without missing a beat, Dean got up and tackled Mark, crashing into a pedicure station and spilling the tub of water onto the floor. Crystal yelped. Bryce took a few steps away from the commotion. Olivia screamed at Dean and tried pulling him off. As Dean cranked his arm back for a punch, he elbowed Olivia right in the eye, and she fell onto her back.

Karen and Keisha waltzed into the room with glowy skin and bright smiles. Their faces dimmed and their mouths dropped open when they saw Olivia on the ground, holding her face and crying. Dean, realizing what he just did, climbed off of a bloodied Mark to tend to his wife. Crystal scurried over to Olivia. Bryce was off to the side like a true politician—causes a commotion and then just watches the chaos unfold, keeping his hands clean while everyone else got dirty.

“That’s enough. All of you!” Jenny grabbed the empty glass pitcher and slammed it against the ground. It shattered into a thousand shards. Everyone froze in place and looked at Jenny, eyes wide, mouths open. None of us had ever heard her raise her voice, let alone break something. Like Olivia’s entire body, it was completely unnatural. However, I reveled in it. Women weren’t meant to be quiet.





37

Karen


My first instinct was to run to Mark, who was sitting on the floor holding his bloody nose. Regardless of what had just happened between Keisha and me, Mark was my husband. I grabbed a wad of napkins from the refreshment table and held them against his nose. Jenny was frozen in place, just staring off, while Keisha tried to talk her out of her trance.

“Oh God! Are you okay?” I asked, helping Mark tip his head back to stop the bleeding.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he huffed.

“What the hell happened?” I asked Mark.

“He started it.” Mark pointed accusingly at Dean.

“Yeah, well, maybe next time you’ll keep your mouth shut when it comes to my wife,” Dean said in between planting small kisses on Olivia’s face. He apologized profusely in quiet whispers, calling her his baby and telling her how much he loved her.