Page 54 of Pride
I didn’t deserve his wrath, and I hoped to God that he’d burn in hell and leave me the fuck alone.
Tentatively, I unlocked the bathroom door. The room was still empty, so I crept towards the door to leave. As I stepped out and began to head down the corridor, I could hear voices shouting. I reached the staircase, grabbing the banister tightly to help me stay upright as my head swirled and my legs threatened to collapse beneath me with the effort of walking. As I began to descend, I saw Alma march across the foyer with her coat on and a bag slung over her shoulders.
“Thirty-eight years I’ve worked here,” she barked. “And you believe her word over mine? It’s disgusting what you’re accusing me of.”
I froze, moving to stand against the wall so they wouldn’t see me on the stairs.
“The facts speak for themselves,” Alex snarled, coming into view as he stormed towards her. “I invited a guest into my home, and she was injured. The only person who I can attribute any responsibility for that happening to her is you. You served the tea that she drank right before she passed out. She was fine up until that point. And I knew, I knew in my gut that something was wrong. So, I’ll ask you again, is there anything you want to tell me?”
As he advanced towards her, she backed up towards the door.
“I don’t have to answer to you,” she spat. “And I’m not going to stand here and listen to your ridiculous accusations and defend myself because I don’t have to. My reputation and my work ethic here has always been first-class. It speaks for itself. I won’t stay here for a second longer and have you tarnish my good name. Good luck finding a housemaid as conscientious as I am.” And with that, she turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind her.
I didn’t know how to feel about her leaving. She said she’d worked here for thirty-eight years. That had to mean something. But Alex was right; something must have been put into that tea.
Was she really the one that drugged me?
I started to walk down the stairs again, and catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Alex turned to face me.
“You fired her,” I stated, not sure what else to say. “After thirty-eight years, you just fired her.”
“She failed in her care,” he stated plainly. “She’s lucky that’s all I did.”
“But you don’t know for sure it was her.” My throat went dry, and my stomach rolled as I replied, “You poured the tea. You had your back to me. How do I know it wasn’t you who drugged me?”
He gasped. “For fuck’s sake, Emma. I wouldn’t do that. And I know my word means fuck all right now, but Jesus, I’m not a fucking monster.”
“I don’t know anything anymore,” I said, holding the staircase rail to keep me steady. “For all I know you could be S.K.A.M., sending me threatening emails and... other stuff.”
“I saw the article in the newspaper about you being harassed.” His face screwed up in disbelief. “But I thought that was just paper talk. Gold exaggerating to make a bigger story.” He glanced up at me in confusion as he took a step closer. “Has he really threatened you?”
“Yes. I’ve been threatened and I’m truly scared of him. I’m scared for my life. I’m scared right now if you really want to know.”
Alex blew out a breath and walked forward, sitting down on the last step of the stairs.
“I had no idea it was that bad.” He ran his fingers through his hair and then threw his head back and said, “Fuck! No wonder you don’t trust me. You don’t trust anyone. And why should you?”
“I just want to go home,” I stated, staying frozen to the step I was standing on, hoping he’d move to let me pass and let me go.
“I hate to think of you being scared. The last thing I’d ever want is to hurt you or make you feel like you weren’t safe with me. I know actions speak louder than words, but trust me, I intend to show you through every fucking action I can that I’d never harm you. I might like his art, but that doesn’t mean I have to like everything he does, especially not this.”
“And what about Sirius Bell?” I asked, and Alex’s brows shot up.
“What about him?”
“I’m not stupid. I know S.K.A.M. was involved in that. I know... details about the killing. But I also know, he had to have an accomplice to do what he did.”
“And let me guess, you think that was me?” Alex looked shocked, then distraught. “That murder happened on Sunday night, maybe the early hours of Monday morning. Sunday night, I was at charity event to raise money for the homeless. I spent the night in the hotel where the event took place. There are witnesses that can attest to that and CCTV that can prove I didn’t leave the hotel until nine thirty the next morning. The same morning that I got a message from you to tell me you’d left the newspaper. If it makes you feel better, I can drive us to the hotel right now to watch the CCTV. I know the owner; he’ll give me access.”
He was so adamant, so convincing in his words, that I wanted to believe him. And he said he had proof that he was willing to show me.
Why would he go to those lengths to lie?
It had to be the truth.
“You’ve been threatened,” he went on, “And now you’ve been drugged. I feel ashamed for what has happened. But I wasn’t the one to do this. I invited you here because...” He paused and stared up at me, his eyes penetrating like he wanted to break through my walls and soothe my fracturing soul. “I like you,Emma. I enjoyed meeting you at the gallery, and I wanted to get to know you better. So, I asked you here with the intention of helping your career, but I can’t deny, I had an ulterior motive. Maybe I was selfish, but I wanted to get you alone so I could be with you. Talk to you.”
“Drug me?”
