5. Tia
I froze in the doorway, acutely aware of three things. I was wearing Santo’s robe and nothing else. Kat looked like she was about to go full Real Housewives on me, and Zeus had positioned himself protectively at my side.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” I said automatically, clutching the silk robe tighter around my body.
Right. Because that line has never made anything sound more suspicious .
Santo remained lounging on his bed, watching the scene unfold with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher. Was that amusement playing at the corners of his mouth?
“Really? Because it looks like my friend is in my boyfriend’s bedroom wearing nothing but his robe,” Kat spat, her accent slipping as her voice rose. “After I specifically told you I was getting back together with him.”
My cheeks burned. “It was just—there was an accident with my dress. The maid is cleaning it—”
“Oh, that’s rich,” Kat laughed bitterly. “Did it accidentally fall off? Did you accidentally find yourself in Santo’s private rooms?”
I glanced desperately at Santo, hoping he would intervene, explain that nothing inappropriate had happened. Instead, he rose from the bed, his eyes never leaving Kat’s face.
“Is there a problem, Katalina?” he asked in a way that made the hair on my arms stand up. Something was happening here beyond my understanding.
Zeus pressed his warm body against my leg, as if sensing my distress. I placed my hand on his broad head, drawing comfort from the simple contact.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she demanded, her voice brittle. “Did you two plan this?”
“Plan what exactly?” Santo asked, moving casually toward me.
“I had an accident,” I repeated, trying to sound confident despite standing there in borrowed silk. “A period accident,” I clarified, figuring the truth might defuse the situation.
Kat’s perfect features contorted. “How convenient.”
“Actually, we were in the kitchen,” Santo interjected. “Tia was admiring the architecture, and I offered her a tour. We sampled some food, had some wine—”
“I don’t need the itinerary of your seduction,” Kat snapped.
“Seduction?” I sputtered. “Kat, I would never—”
A soft knock interrupted me. The door opened to reveal Maria, the maid who had helped me earlier, holding my freshly cleaned dress.
“Your dress, miss,” she said, seemingly oblivious to the tension as she handed me the garment.
“Thank you,” I murmured, grateful for the interruption.
Maria nodded and retreated, closing the door behind her. The momentary reprieve ended as Kat’s attention snapped back to me.
“Get dressed,” she ordered. “We’re leaving.”
“Don’t speak to her like that,” Santo said, his voice deceptively soft. He moved closer to me, his hand coming to rest at the small of my back.
I stepped away from his touch. “I need to change,” I said quietly, clutching my dress and retreating toward the bathroom .
As I closed the door, I heard Kat say something in Greek. I took a moment to breathe and pull myself together.
The dress slid on easily, warm from the maid’s careful press. The stain was thankfully gone.
When I stepped back into the bedroom, it was empty. No Santo. No Kat. Not even Zeus.
I gathered what little dignity I had left, squared my shoulders, and headed back toward the party. I’d barely taken three steps into the corridor when a hand clamped around my wrist.
“There you are.” Kat yanked me back without ceremony. “We’re leaving.”
I stared at her. “What about your parents?”
“They’re staying. My father’s talking business with Santo’s dad, and my mother’s probably on her fourth glass of ouzo. They’ll be fine.”
I hesitated, but Kat was already storming ahead. I followed her wordlessly and slid into the waiting car. The second the door shut, and the driver pulled away, she turned on me with fury.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Excuse me?”
“After everything I’ve done for you — bringing you here, letting you into my world — you show your gratitude by throwing yourself at Santo? ”
“I didn’t throw myself at anyone,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I got my period and my dress stained.”
“Oh, please.” She scoffed. “Don’t play innocent. You were practically glowing when you walked out of his bathroom. He looked at you like you were dessert.”
“I can’t control how someone looks at me,” I protested.
“You liked it. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”
Now, she was regarding me with enough venom to distort her beautiful features, almost as if she’d become another person. I pleaded with her to listen.
“Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” Her lip curled. “You said you didn’t want him, acted innocent, then seized the earliest opportunity to throw yourself at him.”
I groaned inwardly. There was no getting through with Kat. She believed me the villain and would stick to her story.
“You couldn’t resist, could you? You got an eyeful of the villa, took a guess at what Santo was worth, and made a play for him.
You wanted to steal him from me. You want to sabotage my future.
” She narrowed her eyes in contempt. “But let me tell you something, you fat bitch. No-account hoes like you are a dime a dozen in Santo’s book.
He could stroll down any street in Athens and have three thirsty bitches throwing it at him.
So don’t think for one second that what you did tonight had any effect. ”
Sure, Kat. I masterminded my own uterus betraying me just to get Santo’s attention. Period Seductress, right here.
I turned in the seat to face her directly. “I’ve spent this entire trip holding my tongue, apologizing for not fitting your narrow definition of beauty, for not being Tammy. But I’m done.”
“Oh, wow. The fat Black girl’s the victim?” Kat sneered. “That’s original, coming from someone who seduced my boyfriend behind my back.”
“He’s not your boyfriend! You broke up years ago!” I could feel heat rising in my cheeks. “And I didn’t seduce anyone. I had a humiliating accident with my period, and Santo was kind enough to help me.”
Kat laughed. “ So you admit you want him?” She leaned forward, her finger jabbing toward me. “You’re pathetic. Do you think a man like Santo would be interested in someone like you?”
The words stung, but I refused to wince. “Someone like me? You mean someone who doesn’t measure her worth by how many men look at her? Someone who has actual interests beyond marrying rich?”
“You sanctimonious bitch,” Kat hissed, her accent completely gone now. “You think you’re so much better than me because you waited to have sex? ”
“No, Kat. I know I’m better than you because I don’t tear other women down to build myself up.”
She recoiled as if I’d slapped her. “Get out.”
I stared at her, uncomprehending. “What are you talking about?”
“Get out of my car.”
She couldn’t possibly mean that. I moved to placate her. Calm her down.
“Look, Kat, I understand you’re upset, and I think we both need to cool down. I’ll get my stuff from your house and then go to a hotel.”
“I said, get out of my car!” Her tanned face was flushed deep red, blue eyes popping with rage. “I don’t want you stepping foot in my house, you two-faced traitor!”
Anxiously, I glanced out of the window. The car had been going for thirty minutes now, and we’d put some distance between ourselves and the Christakis estate. “I’m allowed to collect my belongings. You won’t have to worry about me—”
“Stamáta!” Kat shrieked.
The car immediately pulled to the side of the road. I heard the crunch of gravel, then the hum of the engine as it idled. What even is my life right now?.
My heart pounded against my ribs. “You can’t be serious. ”
Kat twisted in her seat, the silk of her dress rustling with the movement. Her diamond earrings glinted as she jabbed a finger toward my door. A motorcycle roared past, its headlight briefly illuminating the interior of our car before disappearing around a bend.
“What are you waiting for?” Her voice dropped to a menacing whisper. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
“Kat.” I breathed deeply to calm my racing pulse. My hands clasped together to hide their trembling. “I’m not getting out. I need my belongings from your house, and then I promise you’ll never have to see me again.”
“You think I’m stupid?” she hissed, her breath hot against my face as she leaned closer. “You’ll call Santo the second we get there.”
“I won’t. I swear.”
Katalina’s lips curled into a sneer. She barked something in rapid Greek to the driver.
The interior light flashed on as the driver’s door opened, then closed with a heavy thud. He circled the vehicle. The cool night air rushed in as my door was yanked open.
“Wait—” I started, but the driver’s strong hand was already gripping my upper arm, pulling me toward the opening.
“Kat, please!” I twisted in the seat, reaching for my purse on the center console .
Katalina snatched it before I could grab it, clutching the leather bag to her chest. “Since you want to be a whore,” she spat, “fuck the next man who drives along for a ride.”
I stared at Kat, searching her face for any trace of the girl who’d shared midnight pizza with Tammy and me during finals week, who’d laughed until soda came out of her nose when I’d accidentally dyed my hair pink instead of burgundy.
Instead, I found only a stranger’s cold fury in familiar features.
“Don’t do this,” I said, my voice rising as the driver tugged harder. “Please!”
“You should have thought about that before you fucked my boyfriend.” She turned away, staring straight ahead through the windshield.
The driver’s grip tightened on my arm as he pulled me fully from the car. The air had cooled considerably since sunset, raising goosebumps on my bare arms.
“Kat!” I lunged for the door, but the driver blocked my way with his body. “Tammy would be ashamed of you right now,” I said, a final desperate attempt.
She waved her hand dismissively and said something in Greek. The driver released my arm and returned to the front seat. The car door slammed shut with finality .
The engine roared as the driver accelerated away. Red taillights receded into the distance, then disappeared around a curve, leaving me in darkness.
Overhead, stars pierced the velvet sky in unfamiliar constellations. A light breeze stirred the nearby grass, carrying the scent of wild herbs.
I scanned my surroundings, squinting to make out shapes in the darkness. To my right, the road continued winding between shadowy hills. To my left, it curved back the way we’d come. No streetlights, no houses, no signs of civilization in either direction.
I began walking in the direction the car had gone, my heels sinking into the soft shoulder of the road with each step. The moon cast enough light to illuminate the road.
Each step in my heels sent small jolts of pain up my calves. Sharp pebbles worked their way into my shoes, but I kept walking.
“Just keep moving.”
Honestly? My Black ass should have stayed in America and cut off contact with Kat after graduation, just as I’d planned to. I knew this trip would be a mess.
“This is insane,” I muttered, kicking a stone into the darkness. “I’m in Greece. I was supposed to be fulfilling Tammy’s dream trip, not auditioning for a horror movie. ”
I remembered how Tammy had clapped her hands and squealed when we booked our tickets. “Three girls. One Greek summer. Nothing can stop us,” she’d said.
God, I missed her.
The memory sent a fresh wave of pain through me. “I’m sorry, Tam,” I whispered to the star-filled sky. “I tried.”
My legs began to tremble so violently I had to lower myself to sit on a nearby rock. The reality of my situation slammed into me. I had no phone, no money, no ID, and not even the ability to communicate in the local language.
I was seriously freaking out. Like, full-on panic mode. This wasn’t like getting lost in New York or Montrose, where I could walk into a coffee shop to use their phone.
Here, I was utterly, completely alone in a way I’d never experienced before.
The tears came suddenly, silent at first, then with heaving sobs. I pressed my palms against my face, tasting salt as the tears reached my lips.
“What am I supposed to do?” I whispered into the darkness.
I thought about my mother, who worked tirelessly to provide for me and who would be devastated if something happened to me on this road tonight. I thought about my father, whose absence from my life still hurt .
The memory of being in Santo’s kitchen, laughing, just hours ago, seemed like a dream from someone else’s life. I sank down on a rock, stretching my legs out, allowing myself sixty seconds of complete terror and grief.
Some time later, the sound of an approaching engine made me tense. Headlights appeared around a bend, their beams sweeping across the landscape. I stepped further to the side, half-concealing myself behind a tree’s gnarled trunk.
The older model sedan slowed as it approached. It crawled past, then stopped about twenty feet ahead. I froze, calculating my options. The nearest tree was too small to hide behind, the stone wall too far to reach quickly.
My heart jumped as the car reversed toward me.