Didi
Talia holds my hand as she guides me toward the keg, which is set up on the side of the yard surrounding the house. She waves off the boys hovering around it and they move away from her as if she’s made of liquid.
She grabs me a drink as the yard fills with people from school, and I run my hand down my hair. No one gives me a second glance, not until a drunken athlete falls into me and I fall onto all fours, my wig nearly falling off.
A few people laugh.
I breathe in and out as my chest constricts under their watchful eyes. Talia helps me up as a couple of girls walk by and snicker, and I desperately claw at my wig, putting it back in place.
Talia waves them off. “Carry on,” she says, and the girls hurry away. I can almost sense the dark thoughts she’s having about them. My body trembles…and my chest fills with water. Holy Water. And I choke on it. The memory floods my mind of when both Cindy and her father nearly drowned me.
“Ignore them,” she says, handing me a drink. The horrid memory stays swirling in my mind while I stare down and take a small sip of beer.
The alcohol burns my throat and goes straight to my head.
I nearly spit it back up, but I don’t want to appear rude, so I drink it anyway, forcing it down while Talia stares at me curiously.
Admittedly, I don’t drink. I also barely sleep, because sleeping reminds me of death, and death will bring me to hell, where my soul will forever be in torment.
Finally, our eyes meet. “I can’t ignore them. You don’t know what it’s like being different.”
“Physical differences are a social construct. They are scared because they are weak-minded. Everyone in this town is weak-minded. That’s why they need us.”
I lean back against an enormous tree trunk as the canopies above wrap around us. “They think I’m Him…they think I’m going to bring them death.”
Her eyes sparkle and her eyebrows lift in a silent dare. “That’s because you are.”
I swallow as a cloud covers the moon and my body starts to buzz.
“Come on,” she says, taking my hand again. “Let’s go for a walk.”
I accept her invitation and slide my hand into hers. After all, she’s only being nice, and none of them have actually hurt me.
I spot someone waving, calling my name and running over to us. My heart sinks…it’s Tina. “Rose, you actually came!” She squinches her eyebrows together. “Who’s your friend?”
Talia stands back and watches her, almost defensively. “I’m Talia. This is my party.”
Tina’s demeanor shifts immediately. “Oh. Cindy told me about you. It’s swell to meet you, Talia.”
Tina seems oblivious to Talia’s dark undertones, and I give Talia a pleading look. Tina is innocent. She’s been kind to me.
Tina purses her lips and smiles. “See you in class tomorrow, Rose?”
“Yes, of course.”
She’s already disappeared into the growing crowd, seemingly not wanting to spend a minute longer with Talia.
Talia merely glances at me. “See, Diana? You’re not the only one with a reputation.”
A darkness spreads over her, or maybe it’s just a cloud covering the moon shining above us. Either way, that makes me feel more content.
Despite my skepticism of Talia, she wasn’t around when I was here before. She had nothing to do with what happened to me. Surprisingly, she’s the one I trust the most.
“Do you want me to show you the house?” she asks.
I stare up at the dark window where Remy’s room is and say nothing of the fact that I’ve already been inside.
The curtains shift as we approach the front door, hinting that someone is watching us. I startle when I notice a wrinkled face peering back at me.
Talia squeezes my hand. “Don’t worry, that’s just Maribel. She’s one of my housekeepers. Her granddaughter Lucy works for us.” Maribel looks unhappy to see me, staring out the window like a ghost.
Perhaps Lucy is who I heard Remy talking with the evening I spent here.
We pause inside the entrance, and Talia pushes the door open. The shifting light momentarily blinds me when I step inside, and I lose my balance before catching myself on Talia’s arm.
“Take your time,” she whispers as I compose myself. And I wonder if my disability is that obvious.
I hood my eyes, focusing on the pretty wallpaper, and by the time I lift my eyes, the room comes into focus. Nothing has changed.
My gaze is fixed on the large photo on the wall. A photo of a man with a thick dark mustache. “This is all yours?”
She nods. “Mine and Remy’s. This was my family home; my parents gave it to me when I started college.”
Remy… Just the name sends my heart racing. He wouldn’t even look at me at Rollerland. For six months, I’ve been consumed with thoughts of Tommy…but every night, sleepless and filled with shadows, it was Remy I was dreaming of.
“Tommy lives here, too.”
I don’t react to that, even as a wave of emotion overcomes me. Tommy’s lips, his hands running softly over my hips. How badly he used to want me. I refuse to forgive him. Remy never whispered promises to me. Remy was always honest.
My heart nearly stopped as I watched him bury me.
My vision starts to blur again, a speck of sweat forms on my brow, and Talia watches curiously. She grins at me, dark devilish eyes that would have Mama rolling in her wet grave.
“Are you okay, Diana?” Her voice comes out distorted.
I take a deep breath, coming back into myself, and realize it was just a vivid memory—although, suddenly, everything looks rather vivid.
I grab the ornate railing, trying to take control of my vision, appreciating all the small details of what makes this house so stunning.
What’s happening to me?
“So where is Tommy’s room?” I regret asking it the moment the question leaves my lips. Why do I care?
Her lips quirk into a smile. “He’s in the basement. My room is the master upstairs, and perhaps you already know where Remy’s room is?”
A tiny bit of comfort comes from the knowledge that at least they don’t share a bedroom.
She walks in front of me and runs her hands over my shoulders.
Then, she runs her hands down my arms, taking each of mine in hers.
I can’t deny that I like the way she touches me.
It’s been so long since I’ve allowed anyone to touch me.
In fact, I swore the next person who did wouldn’t live to see another sunrise.
It should be weird having Tommy’s girlfriend touching me like this, but something tells me that she’s more than just a girlfriend… She and I are playing such a dangerous game.
She stares right into my eyes as if searching for something. I’m not sure what she’d find if she truly looked. The light I once carried has faded to black. I try my hardest every day to conceal that darkness from everyone else.
“Your eyes…” she says. “I’ve never seen anything like them. Now I understand why Tommy and Remy won’t talk about you.”
“They’re just eyes,” I tell her. “I was born this way. I’m not a witch or color blind. When in focus, I can see the world just as clearly as you can.”
She kisses me on the cheek. “You are like starlight, and I think they are beautiful.”
I stand in utter shock, and my hand cups my cheek where she kissed me. Everything is so sensitive…tingling.
“I’m glad you came tonight,” she says. “This is a place where you can be free and safe. Never let anyone dim your light, Diana.”
Music blares from outside, and more people trickle into the house. A cool breeze sends shivers down my spine. I turn my head, eager to see if it’s Remy. He hasn’t talked to me since I arrived an hour ago, and I want to steal a glimpse of him.
As Talia stares, I can sense her watching me. Finally, she asks, “Do you know who I am?”
My pulse upticks. “Yes, you’re Tommy’s girlfriend.”
She tilts her head back and laughs, the darkness exuding from her. “Anything else?”
I release a slow breath. “I understand there is something happening here greater than all of you, though I don’t understand exactly what that is. You burn buildings down and scare people.” I pause before I say, “You sacrifice people. You killed your boyfriend.”
Her eyes flash as she beholds me, and she neither admits nor denies. She pulls out a joint and lights it. When she passes it to me, I almost want to say no. But Talia isn’t the type of girl to take no for an answer.
“Take it, Didi. It will help you through it.”
Didi.
I take a much bigger inhale than I did before, and my world instantly fuzzes.
Wait…what do I have to get through?
She snaps her fingers. “Lucy. Come here, please.”
A young woman appears out of nowhere, and unlike her old grandmother, this housekeeper is stunning. Young, dark, and beautiful, just like Talia. I’ve seen her around town, always near Remy.
“Please get Diana a glass of water; she’ll need to stay hydrated.”
Lucy’s eyes flash and are anything but welcoming. She gives me a once-over, then bows her head. “Of course. Be right back.” She walks through a set of double doors to what I’m assuming is the kitchen and lets the door slam behind her.
Talia merely smiles. “Sorry about her. She’s Maribel’s daughter and gets paid very well from the family estate, so don’t have sympathy for her. Although, I will be having a conversation with her about her manners.”
Lucy arrives with the water and hands it to me. “Will there be anything else?” She smiles sweetly at Talia.
“No, Lucy. You may go.”
Lucy’s eyes linger on the doorway just as Remy walks in—dark and brooding as always. His eyes swirl with emotion, and I can barely breathe.
Talia steps aside, waving her hand. “I’ll leave the two of you to get reacquainted.”