Unhinge - Calia Read Page 0,99
and me through our entire relationship.
The small cabin has been transformed into a replica of our master bedroom in our old house. The same four-poster bed. Same bedspread. Same rug. The dresser against the wall has a wedding picture of us in a silver frame.
I feel like I’m in a funhouse. I won’t be surprised if the floor shifts beneath me and reveals a secret room with more surprises waiting for me.
Wes claps loudly. I whirl around. “Congrats on making it here.” He tucks his hands into his pockets and rocks back on his heels. “For a minute there, I didn’t think you had the courage to get up and leave. Pushing those women out of the way?” He whistles. “Ballsy.”
I stand perfectly still, gasping for air.
“I bet you want to know why we’re here. Don’t you?”
All I can do is nod.
“I wanted to show you where I lived all this time,” he explains. For greater emphasis, he lifts his arms and gestures to the small space. “Do you like how I decorated?”
He advances and without thinking I take a step back. It is my first instinct around him. He just laughs at my fear. “Why do you look scared? I won’t hurt you. I’m on your side, Victoria. I want to help you remember.”
Sinclair’s voice becomes louder. I take comfort that soon I won’t be alone.
“You didn’t want to help me!” I yell. “You made it look like I was making up your visits.”
“Not true. I walked in and out of Fairfax every single time. It’s not my fault that their security is complete shit. By the way, I came to see you because I care about you.”
My breaths even out but the beating of my heart doesn’t. “You’re lying.”
“Again, that’s not true. I care a lot about you. I love you.”
I point a shaky finger at him. This isn’t a time for him to twist things around and make me look like the crazy person. “You’re fucking crazy.”
“Now, come on. That’s a cheap shot, Victoria. Everyone is a little crazy. You have to be to survive in this world.”
“Why are you doing this?”
The floor creaks underneath him as he comes closer. “You’re my wife. I love you.”
The look in his eyes, the possession in his words shows that this cycle will never end. I’ll never be free of this man. If I ever am I’ll also be six feet under.
“No,” I groan. “No, no, no.”
Sinclair bursts through the door. His chest heaves as he looks me over. I’m too scared, too much in shock to walk toward him. He takes a few steps my way but stops when he sees Wes. His face goes pale.
Wes is nonplussed by this arrival. “Guest number three’s here. Good, good. We’re just waiting for one more person.”
“Wes?” Sinclair asks in disbelief.
“What’s wrong, Montgomery? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“What are you doing?”
“Why does everyone keep asking that? Have you not been paying attention to Victoria these last few weeks? The love of our lives wants the truth. So I’m going to give it to her.”
He continues to speak, but my past is waiting for me. Lurking above me like a hive of bees, it buzzes, the noise louder with each passing second.
It hasn’t touched me but I can already feel the sting of its truth.
Funny how just a mere hour ago I was anxious to escape. Anxious to seek the truth, boldly reach out and grab on to it. But now I’m terrified. Suddenly I can’t breathe. My heart starts to palpitate. My head starts to spin.
My vision is starting to blur and all those whispers from the past are growing louder in my head. I try to focus on Wes.
“At first, I thought we should all reunite at the house. I mean, that’s where we all met. That’s where the betrayal started. So that’s where it should all end, right? But I had it all wrong. That’s not where it started. Not by a long shot.”
Time starts to crawl. The air becomes thick. Stale. And it’s almost as if I’m breathing in the past.
“It’s clear you’re angry,” Sinclair says to Wes, talking to him as you would a child throwing a tantrum. “But let’s think clearly.”
“I am. In fact, I’m beginning to think I’m the only person in this fucking room thinking clearly.” He looks at me, his eyes beguiling. “Victoria is the catalyst. Everything begins and ends with her.”
That’s all it takes. Six simple words.
Six seconds to say.
Six seconds