Page 65 of Wicked Tricks

“Oh,” he said, looking down at his youngest son, “thank you.”

I smiled and stood from the stool, “I had better get going,” I said.

Grace reentered the room, looking fresh, she had washed her face and combed her hair. She had also put on bright red lipstick to camouflage the bruising of her lip. It seemed to have done the job, the kids ran to her and chattered away, obviously having missed her.

I watched the family as an outsider, and wanted to vomit. The pit in my stomach only grew bigger and I knew I needed to escape.

I needed to get back to the city.

I didn’t belong here.

“Grace,” I said, standing by her, “please, let me know if you ever need anything. And Beth,” I turned to her, “thank you for the coffee.”

“Oh, so soon? Are you sure?” Grace protested.

“You’re welcome to stay for a bite to eat,” Will said, brushing a stray hair behind his wife’s ear delicately.

“Thank you, but I really should get going,” I said flatly.

They nodded, smiling, and Grace walked me to the car.

“I don’t know how I can ever thank you, or Antoni, for this,” she said, crossing her arms and poking her head inside the car as I wound down the window of Antoni’s Rolls Royce. The engine purred, filling the quiet suburb with a vibrating hum.

“Just look after yourself, okay?” I said, putting the car in reverse, “just -” I sighed, “have a happy life.”

She smiled, putting her hand on my shoulder, “you deserve the same, Rome.”

I nodded once more, before waving as I reversed out the driveway. I didn’t know if I would ever see this girl again. Looking at her shadowy figure in my rear view mirror as I drove away, though I wasn’t religious - I prayed for her to be okay.

I drove back to the city in one long stretch, only stopping a few times for coffee and bathroom breaks. I just wanted to get home, I just wanted things to go back to normal and get on with my life.

Seeing Beth and Will and their family reminded me of that life, that it did exist.

After all this time with not-so-wholesome people, I forgot that families like them were real. It was easy to forget about the pieces of the world that you’re not a part of.

It’s so easy to think that your experiences are universal.

It was almost a mental exercise for me, trying to fathom what was actually a normal life. Maybe it was the city I lived in, maybe it was just my version of reality.

Maybe everyone felt this way.

I smiled as I saw the shadow of the cityscape against the hint of the rising sun behind it. The traffic was thin, it was nearly four a.m, and I didn’t know where to go.

Home?

Lilith’s?

Antoni’s?

I ended up driving around longer than I needed to as I fretted over the minor decision. I was in his car, after all. Sighing with dread, I pulled into Antoni’s extravagant driveway and parked among the other fancy cars. I summoned the courage to walk into his house and turned the car off.

As soon as I started to climb the stairs, the door flung open.

Antoni stood in the doorway, showered and in fresh clothes.

He rushed down the stairs towards me.

“Grace is safe,” I sighed, “her and her sister are going-”

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