Chapter 26 Amelia
Amelia
I watch as one by one the guests make excuses to leave the kitchen.
Jamie, who has been pale and withdrawn since her failed attempt to resuscitate Brett, stretches her arms in the air and stands up.
Her pickleball outfit is covered in a mixture of mud and dirt, mud from the swimming pool water, dirt from the dust storm.
“I’m taking a shower and then a nap,” she says and walks out of the room.
I don’t blame her. It looked like hard work, what she did, and all to no avail.
It must be tough on doctors when their patients die.
I mean, not that Brett was actually a patient of hers, but still, she was the doctor who tried to save him.
And they were pickleball partners for a moment.
“I’m going to go check on the latest weather report,” Greer says, following Jamie out of the room. “Maybe the phone service is better in our room.”
Zach has been staring at his mom ever since Ryan left the room.
I’ve watched as Celeste tried to console him, but he’s clearly beyond angry, and beyond words.
Zach doesn’t bother with an excuse when he leaves the room.
He simply shoots his mom a look of betrayal as he flees the room with Celeste and Beth hurrying after him.
Finally, it’s only me and Roxy, Roxy still standing by the oven, me sitting at the kitchen table.
“I guess it’s just us,” I say. I stand and walk over to Roxy. “Are you OK? That was quite a bombshell Ryan dropped.”
Roxy begins to laugh, a maniacal chuckle that gives me the chills.
She points at me, a long, thin pointer finger sporting a huge diamond and sapphire cocktail ring.
“Spare me your fake sympathy. I know you’re only worried about yourself and your little monthly allowance.
Well, you should be, because I won’t be paying you a dime of hush money from now on.
I’ll be too busy trying to get enough money for myself, to live on, and I won’t be funding your lifestyle too. It’s over.”
I stare at Roxy and see her clearly, the woman she actually is.
The blackmail hasn’t been about the money, but she clearly doesn’t realize that.
I have plenty, especially now. It’s been about revenge.
Because it’s always all about her, always has been, always will be.
We are all props on her stage. I remember the last night of spring break.
It was before dinner and I knocked on Sunny and Ryan’s hotel room door, hoping to borrow a dress to wear for dinner and to go out that evening.
I hadn’t brought along enough sexy, desert options, and Sunny had looked spectacular every day and night.
The door opened and it was Roxy standing there. But I’d knocked on Sunny’s door.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, confused. There was no way she was there to borrow a dress like I was—Roxy would never have been caught dead in someone else’s clothes. Roxy looked uncomfortable, like I’d caught her with her hand in a cookie jar.
“Get in here I need you,” she said, grabbing my arm and dragging me inside and closing the door behind me.
“OK, but what’s going on?” I asked. And then I found out. Something was wrong with Sunny. Her hair was a mess, and she was mumbling to herself, walking in a circle. I rushed over to her to keep her from bumping into the wall. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Um,” Roxy said and shrugged.
“Sunny? What’s going on?” I asked but her eyes were glassy; she didn’t seem to see me or hear me.
“Ryan?” Sunny says in a whisper.
“We need to get her to bed,” Roxy said. “Can you help me?”
“Sure, but tell me what happened?” I said again.
“I’ll tell you later. For now, let’s get her settled,” Roxy said.
“Sunny, let’s get you to bed. Sound good?” I asked her, still holding her arm to keep her from walking into the wall.
“Find Beth,” Sunny mumbled.
“You need to go to sleep, Sunny,” Roxy said, grabbing her other arm. Together we positioned her next to the bed and gently pushed her down. “That’s it, sleep. Everything will be OK in the morning. Promise.”
“Ah, sa, boke,” Sunny mumbled incoherently.
“Sunny, we can’t understand you. Was it too many margaritas?
What happened?” I asked but she couldn’t speak any longer.
Sunny’s typically sparkling green eyes were dull, lifeless.
Her shiny blond hair, usually falling in waves down her back, was pulled up in a messy bun.
She was barely recognizable, poor thing.
“You need to take a nap, girlfriend,” Roxy said.
“It’s the only thing that will help,” I said, although a thought did cross my mind about finding a doctor.
With both of us urging her, Sunny finally agreed to close her eyes and, hopefully, clear her head. I felt sorry for her; she was so disoriented, so out of her mind. Roxy and I sat on the bed together and watched as Sunny finally fell asleep.
“How did she get like this?” I whispered. “Should we call a doctor?”
“No, she needs to sleep it off. I’m sure it was the double margarita.
Those Desert Sunrise specials are strong,” Roxy said before walking across the hotel room to the dresser.
I watched as she rummaged through Sunny’s purse and found her phone, sending off a quick text to someone.
Then she dropped the phone back in Sunny’s purse, grabbed my hand, and dragged me out of the room.
“Come on, she really needs to rest,” she said once we were outside the hotel room with Sunny safely tucked inside in bed.
“OK, now that she’s sleeping, do you mind telling me what the hell happened to her?” I asked.
Roxy looked at me with a small smile. “I might have brought a couple of those signature margaritas to Sunny’s room. I thought we’d pregame before dinner. Sunny thought it was a great idea.”
“Those margaritas don’t cause that kind of reaction,” I said.
“No, they don’t, you’re right,” Roxy said, tossing her head. She looked at me with a devilish grin. She was quite pleased with herself for some reason.
“OK, why are you grinning? What have you done?” I said.
“You’re right. Margaritas don’t do that to people, but roofies do.
Did I not mention that I slipped some into her drinks?
My bad. I probably forgot to tell Sunny that too.
I mean, it’s our last night and you know I’ve had a crush on Ryan since freshman year.
This was the only way to get him alone, away from her.
She’ll be fine in the morning, and meanwhile, I have my chance at true love. I’ll make him fall for me tonight.”