Page 39 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
Chapter Sixteen
Iris
I pace. My tummy’s feeling weird—something between fluttering and cramping—from too much anticipation. My palms are damp.
Tony pours himself a drink. He offers me one, but I shake my head.
God. I can’t believe that girl is here. How did she find me? Does she live in the city? Someplace close?
Crazy excitement is streaking through me. When Tony showed me her picture, I thought I was hallucinating. How could she just magically appear in his office, of all places? Is it because I’ve been thinking about her a lot? Other than the girl in the blue dress, she’s the only person I’ve been able to see in my old memories.
Without any other clues to discover who she is, of course. I still have no idea why we were watching porn together or what she decided to do after finishing high school. I don’t even know if we went to the same high school. She isn’t in my yearbook.
I’ve met people who claimed to be my friends from past. All I felt was curiosity and hope when I met them. I wanted to know about people who used to be my childhood and school friends, but had become strangers in my mind. I also prayed that seeing them would jog my memory, making me remember other things, too. But nothing came up.
There was one girl, a pretty redhead named Debra. Claimed we were best friends, told me stories about how we hung out all the time, ran wild with some of the hot boys from school. But I couldn’t muster an ounce of emotion.
“You look like you don’t care much about all that,” she said.
“It’s just so long ago. It’s hard to feel much about, you know, juvenile stuff.” I didn’t want to tell her I didn’t recall any of those things. Or that my gut was telling me something was off.
She stuck around, and I let her, hoping maybe one day, my old memories would come back just through sheer force, like a tsunami overwhelming a dam. Besides, unlike some of the others who approached me, she didn’t try to get to know Sam or show an interest in his money.
Then I caught her in bed with Marty. She wanted him, and he’s young, rich and a better catch than Sam. She didn’t care about resuming our friendship. After all, I didn’t seem that interesting to her, and she had a goal—marrying a young, moneyed guy.
Another disappointment. Another bitter memory. And Sam told me—again—it’s hard to trust people when you’re related to somebody rich. Eventually, I quit trying to meet friends from my past. It just wasn’t worth it anymore. Traveling around the world seemed preferable.
But unlike the previous “friends,” this woman is definitely part of my past. I remember her! The Buddhist monk I ran into in Austria was totally right when he told me my past would find me if I stay in the same place long enough. He said the past is about people—and relationships I have feelings for—not just a string of events that happened.
Tony takes my hands in his. “Just so you know, she understands that you don’t remember her. She knows that’s why you never looked her up.”
“Oh no.” I didn’t want her to know that. What will she think? It’s pretty weird, isn’t it, that I still don’t remember all of what happened? On the other hand, she’s here, so maybe she thinks I’m worth seeing anyway.
“She got in touch with Sam before coming to me. She only realized who you were after seeing the video from the restaurant.”
Oh, great.I press my hands over my forehead. Sam wouldn’t have told her anything nice. Is she here out of some lurid curiosity, then?
“Do you think she’ll like me? What if I’m not the person she remembers? What if I’m too different now?”
“She already likes you. Why else would she come visit?”
“But… What if she’s here for some other reason?”
“What other reason? She flew here all the way from Korea to see you, Iris.”
From Korea? That’s a lot of effort just to satisfy a little curiosity. Suddenly, I wonder how badly she wants to use me. “Is she rich?” I demand, needing to know before she shows up. I should’ve asked this first.
Tony stares at me like I’ve just spouted wings. “Yes, very. At least, her family is.”
“How rich?” Rich enough to not want to use me to get to Sam or Marty?
“Her family probably has more money than I do.”
The answer unwinds some of the tension. Maybe she really does just want to see me, nothing more.
The doorbell rings, and I look around quickly. The place is immaculate. But there’s a pillow that isn’t straight. I rush over to set it nicely on the couch, then run my hands through my hair. Maybe I should’ve told her to come in an hour so I could make sure I looked perfect.
“This is it,” Tony says. “If you don’t want to see her, just say so. I’ll make her go away.” His smile is warm as always, but there’s a tightness in his gaze.
