Frayed Silk(58)

She climbs out of the car and slams the door. Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

“Lola!” I whisper-hiss, jumping out of the car as she beelines up the sidewalk to the front doors.

I scrub my hands down my face. Okay. Looks like we’re really doing this then. I slam my car door closed and run after her.

“Lola, Jesus, don’t …” I say once my ballet flats slap onto the front porch. But it’s too late. She presses the doorbell then grabs the huge knocker and slams it against the wood. The sound reverberates throughout my stiff body. I can’t do this. Not yet.

The door flies open and Fiona stands there, her brown hair clean and tucked behind her ears and her gym gear on. Of course. Of course, she looks so put together now. I suddenly want to puke all over her stupidly tight clothes.

“Hey, ladies. Come in. I’ve been meaning to call you both actually.”

Lola doesn’t say anything; she just grabs my hand and tugs me inside. My feet drag the whole way, but they don’t move past the entryway. I can’t. Knowing what she did to Leo here, in this house, has my feet firmly rooted to the floor as Lola glances over at me then sighs, giving up.

“Cut the shit, Fiona. We know what you did.” Lola dives right in.

Fiona’s pretty face scrunches up in confusion. “What are you talking about?” And that’s apparently all it takes for red to blur my vision. My body starts trembling as rage and disbelief battle their way through my bloodstream.

“You, raping her fucking husband.” Lola points at me, and I step forward, all fear having left my body as Fiona’s wide eyes turn to me.

“What the hell do you mean? Rape him?” She cackles, legitimately cackles. “Come on, as if you can even rape a man.” She wipes underneath her eyes, still laughing softly. “That’s totally stupid. They all want sex, right?”

I walk right up to her and slap the shit out of her. And when she rights herself, I slap the other cheek with the back of my hand for good measure before Lola pulls me back.

“Are you fucking kidding me? So that’s why you put something in his drinks, right? Because he fucking wanted it?” I screech at her.

She visibly pales even after I’ve slapped her in the face. She takes a step back, rubbing at her cheek. “I don’t know who told you that, but they’re lying.”

I scoff. “Your husband. He has the tapes, you fucking psycho.”

Lola sucks in a breath next to me as Fiona’s jaw hangs open. And I’ve had enough. “Let’s go,” I say quietly, turning and grabbing Lola’s hand.

“You sick fucking bitch,” Lola snarls over her shoulder before slamming her front door closed behind us.

“Oh, God. I’m gonna puke.” I grab my stomach and stop halfway back to the car, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Do it,” Lola says, “Right here on her precious garden. Tapes? Un-fucking-believable. Leo had better be on top of getting those.”

She grabs my hand when I finally manage to get myself together enough to continue walking back to the car. “I don’t know what he’s doing with them. Dylan apparently has them. Leverage against her or something.”

She pulls her seat belt on, and I do the same. “Let’s hope he ends up getting the disgusting woman put behind bars then.”

I lean forward, dropping my head onto the steering wheel.

“You okay?” Lola rubs my back.

Nodding my head, I sit back up and wipe the tears from underneath my eyes. “Yeah, it’s just been so damn hard to wrap my head around.”

“And seeing her has made it sink its filthy claws into you, huh?” she asks softly.

“Yeah, I guess.” I sniff, turning the car on and checking my mirrors before driving away from that house of nightmares.





“Did you have a good day?” Leo asks, coming up behind me and kissing my neck after dinner. Which he came home in time for, despite being busy.

My lips curl into a smile as I shove the memory of Fiona out of my head. “Yeah, it was … productive.” I rinse the pot and put it on the dish rack.

“Oh?” He kisses my jaw and spins me around. “What did you do?”

I know he’s probably going to be concerned about my whereabouts for a while, and I know I deserve that. The call at lunchtime and the text message this morning were proof enough that it will take some time for him to get past what I did. But today? He doesn’t need to know. I think it was more for me than for him anyway. The pain her actions have caused affects us both. And I think I needed to confront her after all.

Leaning in, I kiss the center of his stubbled chin. “Not much, just hung out with Lola this morning then came home to catch up on laundry and cleaned the house.”

Which isn’t really a lie. Cleaning is a great way for me to work out my frustrations. Well, that and chocolate. And sex, but we’ll get to that tonight, I’m sure.

He hums and I squish my face into his throat to feel it vibrate against my nose. “I know where you went,” he says with a quiet that both terrifies and excites me.

Well, shit. Fucking Lola, I bet she told Trey.

“Do you, now?” I ask his skin.

He folds his arms around me, burying his nose into my neck and squeezing me. “I do. And I love you.” He places a soft kiss underneath my ear then releases me and walks out of the kitchen. Feeling cold without his warmth, I rub my arms and smile to myself.