“Hector,” Daisy said softly as Hector advanced.
Something in her tone must have reached him because all of a sudden he stopped. So I stopped too.
Hector and I squared off and went into stare down mode. While we were doing this, Daisy came forward cautiously but didn’t get too close to Hector or to me.
“Sadie, we’re here –” Daisy started.
Again I didn’t let her finish, my eyes broke from Hector’s dark ones and cut to her.
“I know why you’re here.” I motioned to Hector. “And I know why he’s here. You wanted to get a good look at how the mighty have fallen.”
Daisy’s body jerked like I hit her at the same time I saw her flinch.
Hector didn’t flinch. His eyes narrowed, his face went dark and let me just say, it was scary.
Nevertheless, I was on a roll. I was beyond Ice Princess. I was Sorceress of the Antarctic and a bitchy one at that.
It hurt me to do it. It hurt more than my body hurt. But I had to.
I didn’t know why they were there and I didn’t care. It started like this, people being nice, doing nice things maybe trying to be kind.
It never ended like that. Never.
I went on, “Well, you had your look. Now you can go.”
Totally ignoring my order to go, Hector took a step forward. I took a step back.
He stopped. So did I.
We went into stare down again.
Finally he said, “The police are here.”
That surprised me but I covered before it could show.
“Why?” I asked.
Then Hector answered, “So you can swear out a warrant so they can go after –”
At his words, Sorceress of the Antarctic disintegrated, melted in an instant and I lost it.
Utterly.
“No!” I shrieked so loud and shrill I was surprised the TV screen didn’t burst.
He couldn’t say it. Not out loud. Not to me.
I retreated again.
“Oh sugar,” I heard Daisy say, her voice trembling but Hector was coming at me and I kept my eyes on him.
His face wasn’t dark anymore, there was something else there, something I didn’t want to see.
I closed my eyes to block it out, lifted my hand to ward him off, all the while wheeling my IV stand thingie and walking backwards. My back hit the wall.
“Mamita,” Hector murmured gently when I stopped. He didn’t touch me but he was close enough I could feel his heat.
With nowhere else to go, I turned my head away.