Divine Deception"Done"
The night had gone off without a hitch. I had grown close to the Altos and even closer to the man who destroyed my family, tearing my parents from my youthful hands. I thought I was unstoppable. When I returned home, I had been pulled into the arms of the man that I would kill in an attempt at avenging my family. I had kissed him passionately the moment he dropped me off at Gobias's house. I didn't think I had a problem until I tried to get inside the house and found all doors locked. I didn't have my keys on me, I didn't think I would need them after I specifically told the jerk that I would be coming home late. Gobias never disappoints when it comes to him being somebody I have grown to despise. It's not completely bad. I remember I had left my sleeping bag in my car the last time I went and slept over at Marnie's. I retrieve it and lay it out.
The night is long and unforgiving. By three in the morning I am pelleted with hail and soaked by rain. The sleeping bags tears, leaving my feet hanging out and by four o'clock I decide that I don't care anymore and leave them out to freeze. By five o'clock I come to the realization that maybe sleeping in the garage would have been a smart idea, but I push the thought away. With how my luck has been going tonight, Gobias would decide to go for a morning drive and not do a look around the car before backing right on over my frozen body.
Once sunrise comes and I see Gobias through the window open the back door, I get up, leave what is left of my sleeping bag on the patio and stomp inside, searching for my prey. He's on the couch watching some soap opera and I come to a halt right in front of him.
"You didn't leave the door open last night," I explain, holding back as much of my anger as I possibly can. The image of me throttling his dopey-looking head with my fist continues on a loop at the back of my skull. "I asked you to keep the door unlocked before I... LEFT!"
Gobias's tired eyes scrutinize my body, scanning my soaked pajamas and hair. "Well, I thought about it and I really didn't think it was a good idea to keep any of the doors unlocked. I don't like it when I am going to bed."
"You... You don't like it?" I can't take it anymore. His idiot face and the stupid ducky pjs he thinks are cool. Heck, even the way he speaks so nonchalantly as if nothing bad has happened. Forget about the Altos for a minute. Somebody call the police because I am about to take this man out completely. "I spent the whole night in the pouring rain! The whole night, Gobias!" I pause, just long enough to catch my breath before I go off again. "Do you even think before you do something? No, everything is always about you! No wonder you're alone."
"I was worried about my well being." Gobias has jumped to him feet in attempt to hold his ground, throwing his hands around like some puppeteer. "Non stop!
'Keep the door open, don't wait up, blah, blah, blah!' You always want me to bend over backwards for you, Sadie."
"One night, that's all I asked for. Don't make it out like I ask for so much," I tell him. "Might I remind you that I sleep on the floor in a bargain deal sleeping bag?"
Gobias crosses his arms. "If you don't like it, maybe it's best if you find somewhere else to stay. I'll give you two weeks."
"Don't bother," I growl. I walk off to the washroom where I have a quick shower, get the little I have together and head out.
I drive out of anger. I don't know where I am going, where I have gone. I head over to Marlie's, although she isn't home so I keep moving. To be completely honest, I don't know what I am going to do. The place where I have gotten my best work done was Gobias's. Maybe not his house exactly, but whenever he was out, it was just me there and it gave me time to plan what I was going to do with the Altos. Now I am homeless and I doubt I can get enough done inside my old, beat up car. There isn't enough room to plan a party with the boxes of my clothing and personals I have inside. To organize a mission to tear a family apart from the roots seems like a rather large pile of work within the car's limits.
By four o'clock in the afternoon I stop by at the autumn festival at the park. I spot Marlie right away. She's reading a book at one of the campfires.
"Hi, Marlie," I say as I walk up to her. She's too focused in her book to notice me so I say, "Marlie," when I get close enough.
"Oh, Sadie, how are you?" She asks, looking up.
"Not the best." I take a deep breath. "Gobias is being a jerk."
"Again?"
"Yes," I say. "He kicked me out and I was wondering if you would mind letting me stay a few nights... Until I got back on my feet again."
From just Marlie's expression alone, I know something is wrong. "What?" I ask.
"I can't. I don't have the room right now." Something buzzes behind me and she looks over at it. "I met somebody a little while ago and he moved in... Maybe I can try and find somewhere--"
"No, don't. It's all right. I'll find somewhere else." I can tell something else is on her mind because she gets up in a rush, hugs me tight and tells me that she'll be right back to talk. Then she runs faster than I have ever seen her move before. When I look over my shoulder, I know why.
Some things never change. I take her seat and poke the fire.
Maybe I shouldn't have left my ripped sleeping bag at Gobias's. From how things are looking, it would seem that I just might be sleeping in the park tonight. On the bright side of things, I'll have lots of room to organize this mission. The fountain. The grass. Even some of these booths I can use to make my crime board of connections. I smirk at myself sourly. Even if that was possible, I'd need everything down by sunrise, before everybody woke up or else mission blown.
"Hello, Sadie." I look up. Vita has taken a chair on the other side of the campfire. "What are you doing here?"
"Don't ask."
She doesn't listen. Instead, Vita urges me to tell her what is ailing me like the good friend she seems to be. So I do. I tell her about everything since the moment I became Gobias's roommate and how hard he had made it to live with him. "I shouldn't have lost my head," I say finally. "I was just so furious."
"And rightly so." She inhales deeply, giving the fire a good few pokes at the same time. "I've wanted to tell you for a while, Sadie, but things just came up. Gobias has never been a nice person. He is bad to the core and looks to hurt others. He's always been passive, though."
I snort inwardly. I have to stop myself from questioning the little teakettle in front of me about who she's calling black. She's the one using her power as mayor to finance her husband and his criminal business. I say nothing of the sort, however. Instead I say, "Well, it doesn't matter. I have no clue where I am staying tonight."
"Nonsense, you'll be staying with me."
I don't turn down the offer even though, for some reason unknown to me, something tells me to do it. Before I can answer, Vita is on her feet and tells me that she is going to use the washroom. Once she's done, both of us will head to her place.
I walk over to the nearby bench and take a seat, passing Charlie and Marlie on the way there. We exchange smiles and walk in separate directions. When I finally get a seat, I go over what has just happened.
Over the past twelve hours I have been kicked out of Gobias, driven around aimlessly and found Vita, who should fear me with every ounce in her body but instead offers me a place to stay. There is a feeling inside of me that I can't shake. I can't figure out if it a good one or a bad one. It, for the time being, has no effect other than being present. Excitement or nervousness? Giddiness or anxiety? I can't say.
"I was wondering when I would see you again."
People keep appearing no matter where I go. People I wouldn't think I would ever see again. Victor is one of them. I recognize him from Gobias's pool party immediately. If he's here to tell me off after "hurting" Gobias, he knows what he can do. I know he's not, though. I learned early on how much of a kind guy Vic is. We embark in small talk instead. The weather and what festivals in the past were like.
"I was wondering, if you weren't busy one time, if you'd like to go out or something."
I look at him in those deep blues of his. He is rather cute, like a little boy given a valentine card for the first time. For how much of a looker he is, I find his innocence surprising.
"Look," I say. I pull my eyes away from his because I know my next words are going to feel like a slap to his face and I don't want that. "I've just gotten out of a bad, long-term relationship..."
I may not be looking at him, but I can feel Vic's eyes lowering. His eyebrows knitting together as concern washes over his face.
"You seem like a really nice guy." I stop myself. "No, you
are a nice guy, and if times were different, I would say yes a million times, but..." I look up at him with a brief glance of apology.
"Timing's off," he finishes my thoughts.
"A bit."
I notice Vita in the corner of my eye. "It's not a no because of you, Vic. I know how cliché it sounds, but it's the truth. I hate the saying with a passion, but it is the only thing I can think of saying. It
isn't you. It
is me."
I get up from my seat and place a hand on his shoulder. I can surprise myself sometimes. For how much I hate certain people and how much I show it with what I do, there is still a piece of that little girl inside of me that doesn't want anything to happen to those who play the game of kindness. The pain I feel when I look down at Vic is real. Seeing him just stare off into blank space is like a jab to my ribs or a kick to my shins. It's not nice, especially when I have to push away somebody like Vic, one of the nicest people I have met, for somebody like the Altos.
"I
am sorry, Vic."
"Hey, it's all right."
But I know it's not. I can see it in his eyes that it's not, and that is the reason why I say nothing else, find Vita and make my way back to my car.
