Chrysalis (Dangerous Secrets) (16 page)

As Sydney reached outside, she grabbed Maria’s arm.

Maria turned to her, her flushed face reflecting the broken paths of tear streaks.

Sydney held out her arms and Maria went into them.

“Aw, Mary, it’s okay,” Sydney said.

“Mary?” Nicholas repeated, looking confused.

Sydney and Maria turned and studied Nicholas’s perplexed face.

“Yeah—you’ve never heard me call her that?” Sydney asked. Then she remembered that she hardly called Maria by that name anymore at her request; the name hadn’t slipped from her lips in years.

Meanwhile, Nicholas looked as if he had seen a ghost.

“Nicholas, what’s wrong?”

Even Maria had snapped out of her state as she saw Nicholas’s face.

“I...had a dream...” He stopped and shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he said. “Nothing.”

Sydney watched Nicholas’s face for a few more seconds before returning to her friend.

She gave him a look, indicating for him to leave her and Maria alone for the time being.

Once he was gone, she asked:

“Are you okay?”

“Of course not Sydney—I can’t believe he’d do this to me. I know he loves me—why is he going against himself like this?”

“What do you mean, M?”

Sydney also wanted to ask what possessed her to show up in the first place, but she decided to leave that until later.

All Maria said was:

“I hope Nicholas is nothing like that creep.” Then she let out a burst of air. “God, he is so going to regret this Sydney, he will.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Utah - Summer

Maria watched her mom dry the last of the dishes.

“How are Sydney and Nicholas?” she asked with a conspiratorial smile.

“Oh they’re fine mama.” Maria sighed. “Just fine.”

Her mom frowned.

“You don’t sound too happy about that
hijita
.”

“No, it’s not that—I’m happy for her, really. It’s just that I can’t help being sad too, for myself. I miss her. I used to have her all to myself but now...Yes I know mama, it’s her turn. Hey have you heard from Hector?”

Her mother’s face brightened.

“Yes! He called just the other day. He’s so excited about the baby—she’ll be here in a few weeks. They plan on naming her Sofia, after me.” She beamed.

“Don’t remind me,” Maria mumbled to herself. She hated feeling jealous about her niece’s pending debut. “But where was I?” she said out loud. “How come I didn’t get to speak to him?”

“You were in the shower. He said he’ll call back, don’t worry. As for Alejandro, his family—they’re fine too. He wrote me recently.”

“He wrote you?” Maria laughed.

“Come now Maria, you know your brother is very busy; his job is very demanding. And then there’s his wife,
los dos ninos
...what is it sweetie?”

Maria sighed.

“Mama, why do people consciously give up something that makes them happy? That doesn’t make any sense to me. As far as I’m concerned, life shoves enough unpleasant things in our faces. Why, when you have the choice, would you bring unpleasantness on yourself?”

Her mother’s dark, aging eyes looked at her with a hint of sorrow.

“
Hijita
, sometimes it’s a choice between one thing that brings joy and another.
Desafortunatamente
, we’re not always the best judges of the degree—for our own choices, and for those others make.”

“
Pero mama,
I don’t understand what can bring him more happiness than me,” she said to herself, or so she thought. Her mother’s knowing eyes seemed to indicate otherwise.

“Come now sweetheart. We must all make our own mistakes...and let others make theirs. In the meantime, we must make the best of our situations. Like now: you have more time on your hands than usual—I’m sure you can find a way to use it.”

Maria smiled at her mom. As usual, she was right; even if she didn’t realize to what extent.

Maria decided then and there to go full-steam ahead on her plan to find out the identity of the threesome who violated her best friend, her schoolmate and herself.

***

Maria began her research by locating the newspaper articles about Sarah who had gone public with her report. She found them quickly in the library, already knowing the range of dates to look for. She perused them for clues.

June 22nd 2005

POLICE SEARCHING FOR RAPE SUSPECT

A sixteen-year-old high school student was kidnapped and raped yesterday evening.

The victim told police she had been out jogging when she was attacked. It is believed the attacker used chloroform to knock the victim out cold.

She awoke to being raped but had been bound, gagged and blindfolded, and could neither fight off, nor see her attacker or location.

The kidnapper-rapist stripped her of all her clothing and later dropped her off on the side of a road.

She was later discovered by a fifty-eight-year-old man driving through the area who noticed her meandering on the roadside.

Police Chief Henry Smith said he was saddened by the incident.
“This was a cruel man,” he said. “My sympathies go out to her (the victim) and her family.”

Smith said the department was using all its available resources to find and arrest a suspect in the case, optimistic that they will track down the perpetrator, despite not having any leads.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to please contact the local police.

August 28th 2005

RAPE VICTIM PREGNANT

It has been discovered that last month’s sixteen-year-old rape victim is pregnant.

Although there has been speculation about whether or not she will go through with the pregnancy, she has vehemently stated that she will. Police have still found no clues as to the identity of the rapist, but are optimistic about the DNA evidence possible by this new development.

If you have any information regarding this case, please contact the local police department.

March 19th 2006

RAPE VICTIM GIVES BIRTH

The seventeen-year-old victim of last summer’s unsolved kidnapping and rape, has given birth to a girl. The seven-pound, one ounce baby has been tested against previous evidence from the victim’s rape kit, leading to a positive identification of the baby’s father as the rapist.

The victim has said she is looking forward to raising her child, while also looking forward to putting her violator behind bars.

Although the articles didn’t reveal much, Maria printed out copies and called Sydney to share the news.

***

As Sydney hung up from Maria she found Adam looking at her, no longer deeply engaged in his television show.

“Is Maria coming over?” he asked, a strange expression on his face.

Sydney nodded.

Adam shifted before speaking again.

“I heard she was with that other Dhalton guy—your boyfriend’s brother,” he said.

“Not anymore.” Sydney shook her head. “That jerk dumped her without even telling her. Just flaunted his floozy around.”

Normally, she knew Adam would have laughed at her attempt to insult someone, but this time, as she looked up, expecting to see a wide grin and his eyes filled with mirth, she saw that they were filled with sadness instead.

“Why does she always get involved with these assholes,” Adam said in a soft voice that she hadn’t heard in a while. “She’s worth more than that.”

He shook his head and turned and left the room.

Sydney stared after her brother in wonder, a wave of realization washing over her.

After a few seconds of absorbing this new information, she got up and followed Adam.

“She needs someone like you, you know,” she said as she caught up to him as he was nearing his bedroom.

“No she doesn’t. She’s got what she needs: that rich Dhalton guy. Who wouldn’t be happy with that?”

“Yeah but he dumped her remember?”

Adam shrugged.

“But he is who she wants, and that’s all that matters. Am I wrong?”

Sydney was unable to answer. Her silence was perhaps all the answer he needed for he continued walking away.

***

When Maria arrived, she went out of her way to say hello to Adam who took a second from his Nintendo DS to wave at her in transparent, spurious nonchalance.

“How’s it goin’ Adam?”

Maria went right up to him and stood there in his space, grinning.

“Oh, all right—yourself?”

He was answering without looking at her.

“I’m okay. It’s nice to see you again!”

Maria finally went back over to Sydney who was standing outside the room, waiting.

Now that Sydney’s eyes were opened, she could see that Maria was deliberately messing with Adam as she smiled and batted her eyes.

When they entered Sydney’s room, Maria said:

“You know, I still don’t understand how your room makes me feel happy and sad at the same time.”

Maria looked around as if trying to figure it out.

Sydney looked around the room too, wondering what she was talking about—after all, her room always made her feel happy. Her carpet and walls were a cheerful pink, she had stuffed animals on and near the bed which was covered with pink and white sheets and a comforter with a pink and white design. Her keyboard was in a corner, there were two stacks of shelves with notebooks and textbooks from high school and college on one of the shelves, and reading books on another. Opposite that, sitting in a corner was a trunk containing things of sentimental value: elementary school items, laminated old drawings and certificates and awards, photographs of her and her brother, her and Maria, and of her family. She also had a shelf with her five-disc CD player on top, and classical and jazz CDs filed below it.

Her room was full of her favorite things and she loved it.

“I think it’s ‘cause there’s no TV,” Maria continued. “Or the teddy bears. Anyway, looks like your brother’s still sweet on me.”

“And amazingly, I didn’t even realize it until today,” Sydney said, shaking her head. “But how could he not feel that way when you do what you always do?”

Maria looked at her oddly.

“You didn’t know he was in love with me? Man you are blind as a bat; I’m not sure it could have been more obvious. Ever since we were kids, Syd.”

She laughed.

“Anyway,” she said, “here are your copies. Not much info—nothing we don’t still remember about the case that is. So what’s the plan for tonight?”

“I don’t know. Nicholas might make me meet his mom tonight.”

“So what’s wrong with that?”

Sydney thought she might have been imagining it, but it seemed there was an envious edge to Maria’s tone.

“It’s obvious isn’t it? I’m so different from them...in more ways than one.”

“If Nicholas doesn’t care about your differences, they shouldn’t,” Maria said.

“Yeah. I’m not sure it’s that simple though,” Sydney replied.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Just as Nicholas pulled up to Sydney’s house, he saw her about to insert her key in her car door. She paused and glanced in his direction, her face looking confused for a moment which didn’t surprise him—he was driving a different car this time, she wouldn’t recognize it.

She stood and waited for him to come up to her, her face still retaining a confused expression.

Once he jogged up to her, he said:

“Hey, you’re going to that class again?”

She lifted her eyebrows.

“Yeah Nicholas, I have ‘that class’ almost every day.”

“Well why do you go to it so faithfully if you never do anything with what you learn?”

Sydney remained silent.

Nicholas was afraid he offended her; after all, she had only recently opened up to him about her stage fright. He tried again.

“I mean, can’t you skip it for once and spend some more time with me?”

“It’s part of my routine Nicholas. You have me after seven, I told you that. And after I get off from work, there’s that hour before piano remember?”

“Yeah but it’s too stressed because, you know, there’s this deadline. Too much pressure.”

Sydney sighed.

“Look, I’m sorry we’re not all like you. Some of us have to work and live on earth the time in between.”

Nicholas felt like he had been slapped.

“Well, that wasn’t very nice, was it?”

Sydney sighed.

“Nick, I’m sorry. I just want you to understand that I can’t stop my life because you’re in it. I’m sure you have commitments you must stick to.”

He shook his head.

“Not really.”

“So what do you do during the summer holidays?”

“You know, travel, see the world, have fun.”

“And?”

“What do you mean?”

“And that’s enough for you? Eddie too?”

“Well Eddie usually interns or something; he’s always training himself for the business. He comes with me sometimes.”

Sydney’s expression embarrassed him.

“Well, I’m not really sure what I want to do so I...I never know where to go or what to do in the meantime,” he said. “I enjoy the life that has been afforded me.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Really? And you feel fulfilled? Because I just don’t understand how you can reward yourself before you deserve it.”

Nicholas sighed.

“Is it that time of month or something? Sydney, I don’t know what’s eating you, but I guess I can see now why you keep this class up—it must be one heck of a stress reliever.” He let out a deep breath.
“So
can I come?”

Sydney laughed then, lifting the dark mood that seemed to have settled on her and was spreading to him.

“I can just see the faces of Madame Dubois and the other dancers now.” She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s allowed.”

“Are you kidding me? I’m a Dhalton.”

Nicholas folded his arms and smiled at her.

Sydney rolled her eyes.

“There it is. I knew it—underneath that down-to-earth exterior, you’re just another cocky bastard.”

She was kind of smiling, but her face didn’t seem to agree so he wasn’t sure if she was kidding or not.

“I’m serious, I want to see you dance. And since you told me you don’t perform in the shows, this is the only way I’ll get to see you at work.”

The look on her face convinced him she would relent.

***

She moved like water in a stream, naturally, gently, gracefully shaping her own path as she parted the air. Her arms floated above her head, her legs stretched away from her and took turns hugging her as she spun.

She was a swan most of the time, her neck stretched, her limbs extended, but a butterfly at others, as she fluttered here and there. Her hair was combed back away from her face, pulled into a rigid bun, the smallest he had seen her hair reduced to.

She wore a black leotard, pink tights, and pink shoes with what looked like ribbon tying them to her leg.

She was a human top.

She walked on her toes, flew through the air.

She was magnificent and more beautiful than he had ever seen her and it’s all he wanted to tell her, show her. How could she not be aware of her own magnificence beyond her intelligence?

Watching her only confirmed that he was nothing compared to her. She could do things, be somebody without having a trust fund, a lucky last name.

When he was able to take his eyes off of her, he noticed all the dancers seemed quite talented, catching on to new moves with relative ease, moving in unison when required, emoting appropriately. It was like watching a different breed of girl—light-footed, graceful, otherworldly creatures, like fairies, sprites.

Debutants had nothing on these girls.

What he saw was a magical world that he wished he could see made even more magical by costumes and the make-up of stage.

Why wouldn’t she dance in the shows? Forget stage fright—she clearly had nothing to worry about in terms of her movements.

He hoped he could convince her someday.

As Nicholas went back home to allow her to get ready for their date and to get ready himself, he continued thinking about what he could do to make her feel special.

He figured giving her things she wanted and taking her out to different places would do the trick; after all, she was so happy when they went out over the Christmas break—it couldn’t hurt to repeat such events. Still, he wanted to come up with something different to bring a smile to her face.

***

The next day, as he was waiting for Marla to finish preparing his lunch still thinking about what he could do for Sydney, Allison walked into the kitchen.

“Hey bro! What are you sitting there looking so pensive about?”

She headed to the refrigerator and pulled out her soy milk.

“Sydney.”

Allison looked confused for a moment. “Oh you mean your girlfriend? I thought you meant Australia for a second. I can’t wait to meet her! Hey, Jake’s gonna be here soon—don’t go trying to give him the third degree.”

“Why not? That’s the fun part of this whole big brother thing.”

Allison rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, so what about Sydney—you guys okay?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking about what I can do for her—something special, you know?”

Allison looked like she was thinking it over as she drank her milk. “Well, what have you done so far?”

“Well, I’ve taken her on a cruise, we spent the Christmas holidays doing winter sports, we went to that big New Year’s thing...”

“How about our cabin?” she asked.

Nicholas thought it over but it only needed a second. He ran to Allison and kissed her on the cheek.

“Brilliant! You really do come in handy sometimes,” he said as the doorbell rang.

Allison grabbed his arm and led him towards the front door.

“You can pay me back by being nice to my boyfriend.”

Nicholas allowed her to drag him to the hallway where Benjamin had escorted in a tall, stocky, blond who looked like he belonged on a football team.

“Oh hell no,” he whispered to his sister.

“Nicky,” Allison whined.

“Okay, okay—I’ll be nice. For your sake. Does this guy bench-press you and your friends?”

Allison slapped him on the arm.

Then she hurried over to Jake’s side.

Evelyn appeared out of nowhere and Allison introduced the two.

When Nicholas saw how Evelyn responded to Jake, he started feeling a bit apprehensive about Sydney’s impending meeting with her.

Evelyn seemed absolutely delighted with the jock, fixating on his appearance. All she could talk about was how handsome he was, what beautiful eyes he had, what a perfect head of hair—how she had tried so often to attain that shade of blond.

All Nicholas could think was the big buffoon better never raise his huge hand to his sister.

***

Since the lesson about the importance of her engagements was hammered into his head, Nicholas decided the best day to introduce Sydney to the Dhalton cabin was Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon he couldn’t get her to stop asking questions, and he didn’t try to. He let her guess, question and assume all the way there.

When they pulled up to the cabin, her eyes widened, and her mouth hung open slightly.

They drove up the long driveway to one of the three garage doors but Sydney refused to go inside right away.

He followed her as she exited the garage and examined the outside of the cabin, a three-story of rich, dark wood.

“This is absolutely beautiful!”

“I’ve always admired your great taste,” he said, kissing her on the cheek.

She looked around.

“I imagine you get a lot of deer out here.”

“Where in Utah don’t we get deers?”

“Deer,” she corrected him.

“Yes hon?”

“I mean...” She looked at him, catching his smile.

She mock-pouted.

Nicholas steered her toward the inside, starting the tour from the bottom up. It began in the basement, with a laundry room and a foosball table. They played one game where he wiped the floor with her, then he led her up the stairs toward the main floor, but instead of stopping there, continued up to the next floor since the main floor was the ultimate destination.

He showed her the bedrooms, each with their own queen-sized beds, flat screen televisions, wet bars, mini-fridges, microwaves, and bathrooms.

“There’s a loft upstairs with twin beds, a futon...”

“So the whole town can sleep here then, is what you’re saying,” she interrupted, smiling.

He led her back downstairs, showed her the actual game room with a pool table. The bedroom on the main floor also had a queen-sized bed, sofa sleeper, TV, XBox and Nintendo video game systems and games, as well as a six person hot tub outside and a BBQ. Then Nicholas dragged her to see the kitchen. Finally, he led her back to the living room and she was able to get a good look at it. He pointed out the DVD and stereo system near the huge TV.

She seemed uninterested in the ‘toys;’ instead she looked around and examined the decor.

“I like that,” she said, pointing at the wood-burning fireplace. “And I like the colors—the yellows and the blues.”

She paused at one of the paintings.

“Yeah, I don’t understand what Evelyn was thinking. Who puts a painting like that in a cabin?”

Sydney looked at another painting.

“Claude Monet’s stuff,” she said. “
The Japanese Footbridge
...
Waterloo Bridge
...
Water Lily Pond
,” she said, pointing at each in turn, spinning to examine the third painting. “I actually like them—I saw these in one of Maria’s art books. I think they fit the place perfectly.”

“Fine, I’ll concede. But only because they’re better than what was here before.”

“What was here before?”

Nicholas suddenly felt as if a violent battle was being waged in his brain. He didn’t know who was fighting, but felt relieved at whoever won out for his sudden anxiety seeped out of him.

“I actually don’t remember,” he said.

He noticed Sydney gazing at a vase on a small table near the kitchen.

“What’s the matter Syd?”

“I’m not sure...” she began, her voice trailing off. She walked closer to it and bent down, examining the vase further. “This is gonna sound weird since this is probably like, a million dollars, and I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see one of these up close, but this vase looks familiar.”

Nicholas looked at the vase. Nothing special as far as he could see—teal with some flowers on it.

“Well, it’s...nice I guess. Maybe you saw it in your dreams.”

He smiled at her.

She didn’t return his smile, too busy studying the vase. Then she stood up and shook off whatever had transfixed her.

“You’re right,” she said. “I must have seen it on TV or something.”

He scoffed.

“Yeah, like you watch TV.”

“Ha ha.” She turned to come back toward him.

“There used to be another one over here,” he said, “but it broke. I broke it.”

“Yeah? How?”

He shrugged.

“I don’t know, some freak accident. Evelyn was so mad. It’s some antique vase...Rose something-or-other.”

“Couldn’t she just buy it back?”

“Not the point. She doesn’t want to have to replace anything until she’s ready to. Anyway, it left me with a scar.”

“Oh, that’s how you got it!”

He looked at her.

She looked sheepish.

“Well, I was running my hands through your hair some time and I felt it.” She looked away with an almost smile on her face and was blushing a little, so he knew during what type of event it took place.

“But how did you hit your head?” she asked, looking up at him again.

“There must have been some water on the floor or something because I tripped, hit my head on the edge of the table, and knocked over the vase in all that commotion. Something like that anyway, I don’t remember much.”

She was silent for a few moments.

“What were you doing here?” she asked at last.

He laughed.

“Look at you getting all jealous. I was here with some buddies of mine. I can’t remember why we came here to be honest.”

She looked confused but made no further comment on it.

They sat down on the light yellow couch.

“So, speaking of Evelyn—are you ready to meet her yet?”

She laughed.

“I guess I can’t run away forever, huh?”

He studied her for a few moments.

“Why are you so afraid to meet her?” he asked.

“I guess I just...I know she won’t accept me.”

“And you have to know I don’t give a damn whether she accepts you or not. Heck, I wouldn’t even bother to have you meet her if
she
didn’t insist.”

“She wants to meet me?”

“Yup. In fact, she just asked about you yesterday, wondered when I’d bring you over.”

Sydney sighed.

“Will I get to meet your father too?”

“Ha! Will I? I highly doubt it Syd. You’ll probably meet Ally though—she really wants to meet you too. S’mores?”

An hour later, Sydney seemed agitated. Everything had been going so well, Nicholas was more than a little confused.