Chapter 39
I keep trying Ari, but her phone goes straight to voicemail. It’s been a whole day since she’s answered.
I keep pacing back and forth.
Julia showed up last night, begging me to let her in. She said the sewer backed up in her house, and she needed a place to shower. She couldn’t ask anyone else. I didn’t want to be a dick and tell her to go to a hotel. I was tempted to give her money so she could leave, but she whined and begged me she would be quick.
Javier was going out but promised to wait until she left. He said he was going to his room to get dressed, and I disappeared to my room, hoping it would encourage her to leave faster.
Javier has a grim expression on his face. I pinch my brows together and pull out my phone.
Rey: What’s wrong?
Javier: Check the cameras.
I open my home security app and pull last night’s feed, and my stomach drops. My insides clench in fear. I see Ari pull in and notice Julia’s car. She walks up, Julia opens the door, and they exchange words .
I pause the recording, zoom in, and see the expression on Ari’s face. No, baby. I wouldn’t. I would never do that to you.
I look up from my phone. “You need to find her,” Javier signs.
“She isn’t answering my calls.”
“Go to her. Explain that it wasn’t what she thought.”
I nod and grab my keys to head over to her apartment.
After an hour, I head back to the house and plop myself on the couch with my head in my hands. I’m fucking defeated because she isn’t home. Her car was gone, and I waited in the parking lot.
If something happened to her, I don’t think I could forgive myself.
Javier nudges my shoulder. I glance up, shake my head, and sign, “She wasn’t home.”
I’m angry and disappointed. Who knows what Julia said to her, but I plan on finding out.
Rey: What did you say to Ari last night?
Julia: I didn’t say anything.
Rey: Don’t play games, Julia. I saw you both on the security camera. You opened the door to my house.
Julia: When she drove up, I noticed the lights flashing and knew someone was at the door. I told her that you were in the shower and that I was in your bedroom. I explained to her that we have known each other for a long time, and that we always come back to each other.
Rey: Translation. You made it seem like we were fucking.
Julia: We have been fucking, Rey, for years. She is a woman you have just met.
My nostrils flare. I can’t stand her, and I don’t ever want to see her again.
Rey: You have let the woman I love think the worst of me, Julia. I will never forgive you for this. You have crossed a line, and there is no coming back. I told you I don’t love you, and I meant it. I don’t. Never talk to me again or go near her spilling lies. We are done as friends. I don’t want to see you ever again.
Julia: Fine, Rey. You deserve it. You hurt me, and you deserve the same fate. To be alone.
I walk over to the kitchen, and Javier is sitting on the couch watching TV. He looks up at me, and I sign, “Julia made it seem that we were screwing when Ari showed up. If Julia shows up...”
“I’ll throw her out.”
“I don’t know where Ari is, and she won’t answer my calls.”