Page 61 of Call Out
Zoe hunkers down, hanging the gun between us. With her free hand she hollows my cheeks, drilling her look of confusion into my eyes. I temporarily pity her struggle. Where she has battled addiction, I’ve only learned how consuming it can be. Danny is my drug, my liquor, my life source, and this woman wants to take it all away from me. I’d fight the devil to get my next fix of him.
“They don't know the truth,” she snarls. “How you cut me open, little Swann. He picked you. But sometimes people have to lose something to understand how much it really means to them.”
“Let me help you,” I croak. “Hurting me will only upset Danny. You don’t want to do that, do you? Not after everything he’s done for you?” I exploit her emotions for him, tapping into her heart.
Her head cocks to the side, and her gaze sharpens, surpassing reasoning. “If he doesn't want me, then why should he have a happy life with you?”
My breath catches. “What do you mean?”
Zoe snickers with an unstable wobble. “I want him. You want him. Blah, blah, blah.” Fingers dig deeper. “Then neither of us can fucking have him.”
My blood runs cold. All the frustration and anger within me rises to an unforgivable peak, seeping out from every cell. I bury my nails into her hand and drag it free from my face. “You’re crazy, Zoe. He’ll never forgive you for this. Whatever you have planned will backfire.”
The sneer that follows my outburst only serves to rile me even more. “I’ve got nothing to lose, Vivian. You have all this.” Tiny pupils dart around. “You think you have him too, don't you?”
It starts off as a tingle, spreading to my toes. Colors become vivid and dreamlike. I shake it off. “What did you give me?”
Zoe waggles her eyebrows. “You like it?” She shoves a hand into her hoodie pocket. “It's Donkey Dust.” A clear bag with brown powder dangles before me. In a beat, she uses her teeth to open the seal and shakes the last onto her tongue. “Be grateful I shared my shit with you, little swanny swan.”
“Donkey what? Is it drugs?” I hiss. That’s one subject Nonna didn’t have to warn me about. Everyone knows the dangers, the risks and the addiction. I’m not stupid or desperate enough to think chemicals are entertaining.
“Fuck,” she barks. “All I want to do is blow your goddamn brains out.” Her grin stretches wide. “Drugging you only adds to the fun.”
“Why? Why would you drug me?”
“What does he see in you?” Zoe bites out. “You’re little miss fucking boring.”
“I don’t need drugs to enjoy fucking Danny,” I snap back.
That statement earns a quick backhand. “Aren’t you forgetting I had him, too? He couldn’t keep his hands off me.” Her scowl brightens.
Bitch!
“Didn’t last though, did it, Zoe? He moved on. Greener pastures.”
“Which leads us to the grand plan.” I stare down the barrel of her gun. “It’ll take about twenty minutes for the Ketamine to kick in.” Her head dips from ear to shoulder on both sides. “How about we take your car for a drive instead of drinking tea?”
“Why? Where?” I curse the weakness in my voice. My brain dulls, even as the pain creeps to the back of my mind, becoming an insignificant niggle. I crawl back, heaving, into Nonna’s armchair. “I don't like this feeling. Please, Zoe, let me call Danny.”
Her head shakes from side to side, and her jaw juts out. “Not gonna happen.”
I’m desperate to move out of the chair, to wrestle the gun from her hand, to pull her hair, to call the police and run as far away as possible, but I’m trapped inside my body. Panic weaves inside my chest, tightened like threads so each rib is restricted. Tingles race down my thighs. All the great ideas of escaping become incoherent and detached.
“He thinks you’re his happily ever after, Viv.” Zoe kisses my temple. It's only the noise I hear. The sensation of her lips pressing on me isn’t there. Perhaps I imagined it. I don’t want her mouth anywhere near me, but it doesn't annoy me as much as it should.
“He belongs to me. He's my home and my familiar. Danny fireproofed my life, even though he's the guy who blew it all to pieces. I love him. I loved Jeff, too. Over time I understood the accident happened for a reason. Jeff's death was the catalyst that brought Danny and I together. He cares about me. We have a bond.” She sighs, blowing out her cheeks. “I'm done with all of it, Viv. He thinks you're the one. And I think he needs to lose you, to want me again. Or maybe he shouldn’t have either of us. Life has a way of breaking perfect, elegant swans. Grab the keys. You’re driving.”
“Drive?” When I stand, my heartbeat slams, and a rush of nausea hits me with a powerful wave. “Drive where?” I trip backwards.
Zoe presses the gun to my chin. This time the sting of carbon steel doesn't affect me. I frown when she smiles.
“You’re so fucked.”
“This isn’t right.” I dry heave, straining my insides. “Call an ambulance. I’m going to be sick.” A powerful jet of acid shoots from my throat and decorates the carpet. I watch in horror as it projects with force, as if I am having an out-of-body experience. A distant laugh echoes inside my head.
“Time’s up. Let’s go.”
“We’ve got another call out.” Johnny joins me at the back of the ambulance. “A car accident near the vineyards. Two females. Unresponsive.”
