The Starkest Truth (A Breaking Insanity Novel Book 2) (31 page)

She grabbed the sides of my soaked T-shirt, begging for me again without saying a word, and proceeded to break down my cool resolve with a sledgehammer. “Fuck, Nikki. I said no,” I told her firmly and shoved her away.

“Is it really because of the abortion?” she asked through a sob. “Because I never would’ve done it.”
 

I looked up at her, making sure I showed her not one hint of emotion. “It’s because you tried to screw with me. I don’t care who you are, no one fucks with me in that way. You never should’ve been the one to fuck with me that way. You’re my goddamned wife. When the hell are you going to act like it?”
 

I turned my back on her when she slipped down and cried the hardest I’d ever seen her cry since her mother died.

BEYOND MY REFLECTION in the mug of decaffeinated coffee I couldn’t drink, I could see my distorted brown eyes, holding more melancholy than one person could endure. The coffee shop used to be my favorite. I never cared about how often the coffee was burned, or tasted stale. I could always count on it being nearly empty.

Since Trent—my ex-boyfriend—killed himself, I hadn’t been able to return. I was scared the memory of him would make me remember our pact and what was said. As I recalled it now, the words we exchanged never felt truer. Sometimes living is more painful than dying.

After several weeks on bed rest, stuck between working and taking up trading again from the confines of my bed, I had to do something. I received the clearance from my doctor earlier in the morning, allowing me to take short walks; I’d finally felt safe enough to do so. It seemed whatever Preston had planned, Eric was correct in saying I had no reason to worry about him any longer. Eric had successfully pushed Preston off his path of destroying me.
 

The visit to the coffee shop became the highlight of my day. It was an attempt to get myself out of the dark place my mind wanted to succumb to; it wasn’t working.

Seated closest to the window, I touched the ice cold tempered glass while I watched the first falling leaves of the season drift to the ground. The crisp, first day of fall wind made a whistling sound against the glass.

When I observed the scene at the coffee shop again, I spied a familiar face. “Melonie?” I blurted out before I could really ponder the idea of reconnecting with her.

Accompanied by a statuesque brunette with a modern mullet and very dark smoked out liner, Melonie’s purple hair whipped around her face as she shot me a furtive glance. She whispered something to her friend that made them both leave in haste.

Confused, I forgot about my coffee and followed her outside. “Melonie? You know me, and I know this place is way out of your way. If you came here to see me, why are you just walking away?”

When she reached a fair distance away, she turned around. “I’m sorry. That was really rude of me, but can you blame me?”

Stunned, I nodded. “Yes. I didn’t do anything to you.”

Folding her arms, she gazed at me through half-closed eyes. “Is there something I can do for you, Nikki? My friend and I have to get going.”

I scratched my neck at a loss for words. I refashioned my black knit scarf around my neck as the temperature began to affect me. “I think I need someone to talk to. You were the only person in my life who said anything that remotely made any sense. I…want to talk.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her words filled with perceptible regret. Turning on her heels, she walked away.

“Preston raped me,” I blurted out.

Melonie paused in her stride. Her friend shook her head vehemently and mouthed to Melonie, “Don’t forget what that sicko did to you for helping her. Don’t do it.” Her friend then turned to me. “I know a great therapist,” her friend said to me. “She does singles and couples. She did wonders for a friend of mine. I’ll give you her contact information if you need someone to speak with. But please, leave my girlfriend alone. She’s been put through enough thanks to your boyfriend.”

“Husband,” I corrected her.
 

Melonie swirled around quickly. With her mouth agape, she shook her head in slow motion.
 

“I didn’t do anything to you. Why am I being punished as if I did?”
 

Unable to return my gaze, she closed her eyes and lowered her chin.

“I never said you were there the day Estelle confronted me. I tried to protect you by keeping quiet about your involvement. If Eric did something to you, you didn’t deserve his wrath. Can you talk to me? It’s really unfair of you to make me pay for something I didn’t do.”

Her red-streaked eyes narrowed at me. “Did you drive here?”

Having never had the keys to my mother’s cars returned to me, I was forced to walk. I shook my head. “I…had to walk here.”

Her girlfriend grabbed Melonie’s arm and firmly shook her head.

“Eric doesn’t exactly like me right now,” I said to Melonie. “If you’re worried about a repeat of what happened to Estelle or Tamala—or whatever he did to you—don’t be.”

“I’ll be home in an hour or so,” she said to her girlfriend.

Her girlfriend glowered at me prior to kissing Melonie sweetly, and continued her strides through the small parking lot of the mostly unoccupied shopping center.

MELONIE DROVE ME HOME in silence. She parked down the street and refused to step foot inside my mother’s—
my
—home. Together, we walked a trail I hadn’t visited in a very long time. Kifo came along, constantly tugging at the leash with her need to chase every stray leaf that skirted across our path.
 

I’d avoided the trail since Eric proposed to me there. The place held too many memories for me. Memories I couldn’t deal with. It didn’t bring me the comfort it once did. Memories of standing at this very spot, having lost my mother, on the verge of losing my dog, broken by a woman Eric destroyed, thinking things couldn’t get worse, came back to torment me.

I knew what I was getting into when I married Eric—then again, he had no idea what he was getting into. I knew the Nikki who was relationship inept would rear her head. I’d never regretted anything more than my visit to the clinic.

After telling her about what Preston had done, I confessed my misdeeds and Eric’s to Melonie while we sat on the park bench overlooking the field and the very parking lot where I discovered the first morsel of truth about Eric; he was willing to kill anyone who stood in his way.
 

“I’m sorry about what Preston did to you. I’m even more sorry to say I’m not surprised. Don’t let your guard down. You should be careful about Preston. He has a volatile nature with women. What he did to you is nothing compared to what he did to Estelle, or any of the things Estelle told me he did to other women. If he thinks he has nothing to lose, he will come after you again. His father is very good friends with a powerful man—that for some reason the Feds won’t touch. He’s the kind of man that makes detractors stay quiet. He’s not someone you want to cross. He’s worse than Eric. Very much worse.”

“Is his name Victor?”

She nodded. “Victor Mejía. Wow, saying his name gives me chills.”

She wasn’t alone in the sentiment. I wished I could’ve figured out why hearing, or saying the man’s name brought me into a place that made it difficult to breathe.

“Eric will say he’ll protect you,” Melonie continued, “but he couldn’t protect you from Preston and he can’t protect you from Victor. Eric will never say it, but I think he’s scared of him, too. Eric aligns himself with very dangerous men. Men you should be afraid of.”

“Despite the mess standing in the way of me and Eric, I know he would never
let
anyone hurt me. He would protect me from others. Not all bad things that happen to us are directly because of him.” I scarcely believed my last words, but left them said as they were anyway.

She rolled her eyes. “In some shape or form all the bad things that happen to you—
will
happen to you—are because of Eric. It will only get worse as you two go along, Nikki.”

“That might be true but—”

“Don’t do that. Don’t blame yourself for Eric’s inability to be a human-being. Preston isn’t done with you, thanks to Eric.”

“What did Estelle say Preston did to her?” I inquired.

“The things that went on between the three of them. It’s so disgusting, I can’t retell it. And Eric? He degraded them both. Preston is waiting to explode, and when he does, I’m afraid you’ll get caught up in the wrath. You can blame Eric for the damage Preston will cause and the wreckage to follow.”
 

“Why didn’t you tell me this when you were first asked?”
 

Sighing deep and slow, she fingered a stray strand of her purple mane. “I thought Eric and I were friends. I was deluded. So very deluded. If I had told you then, would it have mattered?”

Unable to give her an answer, I stared off into space.

“You won’t tell Eric about this meeting, will you?”

“As I told you earlier, Eric has changed in some ways. If he hadn’t, Preston would’ve long been dead by now.” My words wavered, because while I’d like to think it was the truth, I knew it was unfathomable. An unscrupulous and determined man like Preston would’ve came around one more time to finish whatever he had planned for me and Eric.

“No, Nikki,” Melonie moaned. “Don’t let him get to you and change you that way.”

“You don’t really know me, Melonie. You don’t know what I’m capable of—the reason Eric was drawn to me in the first place.”

“I guess I don’t.” She shrugged. “My friend was telling you the truth. If you need counseling, she has very good resources. Besides the therapist recommendation, I don’t know what else I can do for you.”

My entire face sank as I regarded her. “You used to want to be my friend.”

“A lot has happened since then.” A quiet sadness seeped through her words. “Since Eric left me no choice but to cut ties with him and anyone associated with him, my life became simpler. It’s funny how he can bring about an addiction to him, no matter who you are. There’s a side of him he shows people that makes you want to be around him, and then when he takes it away…” She looked off into the distance, stuck in the moment.
 

“I suppose he always knew the ones to pick,” she continued. “The ones who would be receptive to his ways.” She dusted off her lap and stood. “I didn’t realize how much better my life would be without Eric Brenton as a friend. I love it this way. I need it to remain this way. I want to help you, but I can’t. I know what being in your life will cost me—it’s not a price I want to pay again. I’ve lost a lot of friends and connections thanks to Eric. I don’t want to lose what I have now. While I’m very sorry for what you’ve gone through, I tried to warn you. I even offered my help to get you away.” She looked at the rock on my finger and my slightly protruding belly. “I suppose none of it mattered.”

The blaring writing on the wall that faced me at every corner couldn’t be ignored. “I’ve become Estelle, haven’t I?”

“Not yet, but from what you told me, you’re only in the beginning stages. Get out now before you find out what drove her mad.” Her gaze drifted to the ground. “Take care of yourself, Nikki. I wish the best for you.” She took my phone and punched in a number. “It’s the therapist my friend recommended—Dr. Erin. If anyone can help you, she can.” During the stretching of her spine in preparation for her walk back, the hem of her shirt lifted, giving me a glimpse of several jagged scars etched into the skin of her abdomen. The scars were too irregular to have been the result a surgical procedure. They were also too defined to have been scars caused by some sort of an accident.
 

I jumped out of my seat and exposed her stomach before she could protest. The word “cunt”—that I used to think rolled sexily off Eric’s tongue—became the source of ire so blinding, I could barely speak.
 

The scarring was slightly faded, possibly through skin resurfacing.
 

“D-did he do this to you?” I asked, swallowing hard.

“Would my answer matter?”

My eyes darted up to hers. “Very much. Why did he do this?”

“He…found out about me helping Estelle. I had no idea what Estelle had planned for you, and I explained it to him. Having been in the same vicinity of two people who tried to hurt you didn’t exactly help my case.” She brought her hand up to her face and choked on the emotion.