Page 37 of Dahlias, Sapphires, and Cool Autumn Dusk
“Is your granny’s this big?” I stared at it open mouthed.
Phoenix didn’t answer, but Jeremy got on his hands and knees to look under the bed. “I can’t say that I’ve ever been in my granny’s closet. Have you, Phoenix?”
“Found the filing cabinet I was looking for,” he replied, ignoring the question. “Red, come over here. There are two. You grab one, and I’ll grab the other. If you find your birth certificate, see if they have anything else about you, okay? Anything they already have is something we don’t have to order.”
My knees hit the plush carpet, and at first I mostly found a lot of folders pertaining to my cousin. Papers for her husband…then finally, I stumbled on one that said Alatheia.
I caught my breath, excitement making my hand shake slightly. “Found something.”
“What?” Jeremy came up behind me, his head leaning on my shoulder.
The front door opened and closed, the noise as loud as gunfire in the otherwise silent apartment. I caught my breath, somehow managing not to scream.
The guys heard it, too, both going still. “Move.” Phoenix whispered, pushing us all into the closet and closing us inside. Jeremy pushed me back against the wall of the closet, so that we were somewhat hidden against the plastic covering dry cleaned dresses and gowns.
He tucked me behind him, while Phoenix remained somewhere on the other side of the closet.
My aunt came into her bedroom, her voice resounding as she chatted on the phone. “I have to change shoes, Amelia. I won’t make it all night in these. I don’t even know why I bought them. I should just wear Rossis all the time. I am getting too old to put up with the other brands cutting my feet.” She paused. “What? Are you serious? If I’m having surgery, it’s to fix my nose finally, not bothering with my feet.”
I realized she likely talked to my other aunt in Chicago—the one who didn’t believe her boyfriend, Ted, tried to rape me. He currently faced charges from other people, but she was still a bitch. Just months ago, she tried to ruin my life in the Hamptons.
Jeremy squeezed my leg, obviously feeling me going stiff. His meaning was clear. He didn’t want me to make a noise, but I didn’t want to get my aunt’s attention. Truthfully, I didn’t even want to breathe. I closed my eyes, imagining her finding us.
She won’t get to beat me. Jeremy and Phoenix won’t allow it.I breathed just a little bit easier knowing they offered me a modicum of safety.
Please don’t let this be the biggest mistake I’ve ever made.
I put my head on his back and tried to hold on.
“Once I change shoes, I’m going. It’s going to be boring. It’s always boring. Oh, did I tell you I saw one of those Lent brats inthe lobby when I came in?” She paused again. “No, I don’t know which one, but how can anyone tell them apart? I don’t know if she’s sleeping with him, either, before you ask. I don’t know which one the little bitch is fucking.”
Julian.She must have seen him talking with the doorman. I winced at her word choice, since I hated her speculating anything about us. I also hated that she used that word in a way that made anything about our relationships sound so awful.
She opened the closet and walked over to her shoes, grabbing a black pair of Rossi’s without otherwise looking up.
“No, I don’t know anything about what she is doing, but I can say we need to hire a better PI. Surely, we can afford better than this.” There was silence. “She’s ateenager. I hate that it’s come to this, since it should’ve gone away all those years ago. It was supposed to go away.”
What is she talking about?I couldn’t ask her for answers and the closet door closed, making her voice fade into the distance as she exited the room.
Jeremy held his hand up, gesturing for us to stay still. I didn’t have any intention of moving, struggling to even think past the thousands of questions flooding my mind. Somewhere in the distance, I heard a ding.The elevator. Okay. All right. She’s gone.Phoenix jumped up at the noise. “Dude, what were the chances?” He burst into laughter.
With me? Unfortunately very high. My luck wasn’t nearly as good as that of the Lent brothers. I moved from behind Jeremy, wanting to get out of there before she decided to swap purses. I grabbed the folder with my name on it and rushed toward the door.
Jeremy was right on my heels. Quietly, I closed everything up so that she wouldn’t know we were ever there. It was only luck that she hadn’t gotten naked. That would have been awful, andeven though I hated her, a violation of her privacy.Changing her shoes is one thing, her clothes another.
I wanted out of the apartment, and I hoped I would never have to see it again. If life was kind, maybe I wouldn’t have to.
In silence, we boarded the elevator and Phoenix met my gaze. “You okay?”
“No.” I gripped the folder against my chest with no idea what was inside it. I wasn’t going to look until we got to their granny’s.
Jeremy squeezed my shoulder. He grinned, as if the adrenaline was still rushing through his system from almost getting caught. “Can you believe it? I mean, shit. What were the chances?”
Darkly, I said, “High.”
Julian’s face was pale when the elevator doors opened and we joined him in the lobby.
“I just don’t think they have a pitcher this year,” the doorman said, clearly continuing an ongoing conversation with Julian.
