Tainted Black, стр. 58

I gripped the phone in my hand, the urge to throw it at the wall overshadowing every shred of common sense within me, but I held off, sliding it into my back pocket instead.

Tonight was going to be a fucking disaster.

TWENTY-THREE

“Why are you driving so slow?” Izzy’s voice sliced through my thoughts. We had just left the store, picking up some fruit and desserts as well as the cheap firecrackers that didn’t do much but spark a little and make a ton of noise. Everything that could have gone wrong was happening all at once.

“I’m not. I’m going the speed limit,” I said.

“What person our age goes the speed limit,” Izzy teased.

I forced a laugh. I think she noticed my off behavior, but before she could ask me what was up, her phone buzzed, and she answered it. It was Drake, her boyfriend. I knew she wouldn’t be getting off the phone until we got back to Theo’s condo… hopefully.

I was purposely driving like I was chauffeuring Mrs. Daisy, hoping to come up with any kind excuse to get out of this evening. First off, getting Sterling seemed so wrong with all I knew. He’d slept with Mrs. Black! Theo’s wife! If Sterling saw pictures of her, he would surely speak on it. He’d ask questions. He’d lose the little trust he had in me for not saying anything beforehand.

When I pulled up to my home and he walked out, my face went stale. He was smiling, but that had quickly dissolved when he spotted my concern. “You sure you want to come?” I asked as I glanced back at Izzy who was too busy chatting on her phone to pay us any mind.

“Sure, why not?” He shrugged with a smile. “Figured you might need someone to distract your friend there.” His eyes bounced in Izzy’s direction.

“Yeah.” Sighing, I turned for the car and hopped in. Sterling slid across the backseat, and when his door shut, I put the car in reverse, my nerves on end.

“Hey, I’m gonna call you back.” Izzy hung up the phone once I was out of Primrose, peering over her shoulder at Sterling. “Hi, again, mister.” She flirted with him, as she always did when a hot guy was around, boyfriend or not.

“Hey.” I saw Sterling toss a light wave at her through the rearview mirror, and then he looked at me, catching my eye. I looked away, focusing on the road. He was probably thinking exactly what I dreaded. “Your best friend is here and you’re going to be around her dad—the man you love—all night long! What in the hell are you going to do?”

My heart pounded hard in my chest when I slowly pulled into the Remy Place parking lot. Izzy was eager to get out, rushing to the trunk to grab the few bags of groceries. I took a bag from her, and Sterling took that bag from me. “I got it. You don’t need any more weight on you right now.”

I thanked him with my eyes, but Izzy looked at us, probing with thin eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?” she laughed.

Surprisingly, Sterling covered up for it quickly. “Oh, you know, her dad and the Alzheimer’s and all. He’s been giving her and my mom hell lately.” He smoothed his curly brown hair back as we entered the building.

“Oh.” Izzy’s lips pressed, and when she walked ahead of us, Sterling gave me a look that said, “I don’t know how you’re going to get through this night.”

He may have thought that because Izzy wasn’t the type of person to hold her tongue. She talked a lot, but asked questions even more, especially when she was confused about something. She was a firm believer in the saying “There is no such thing as a dumb question.”

It was a good thing Sterling wanted to come. He could prevent any unwanted drama, quite possibly distract Izzy if something was said or done out of context between Theo and me. Izzy, after all, could be easily distracted.

We made it up to that familiar fourth floor, all with Izzy talking about how she’d hoped her dad grilled everything right and didn’t burn it. I started to tell her that he wasn’t going to mess it up because he’d gotten great at cooking, but I stopped myself. I had to be careful now. If Izzy didn’t know something about Theo, I had to pretend I didn’t either.

Opening the door, Izzy waltzed right in, going for the kitchen to place her grocery bag on the counter. Sterling followed in after me, murmuring, “Here we go,” as he shut the door behind him.

I walked to the kitchen with Izzy. Theo was nowhere in sight. “Dad?” Izzy called. She walked out of the kitchen, and we all heard him return her call from the deck.

“Come on, Chlo,” Izzy insisted. I went with her, stepping onto the deck. Theo was in the corner with his grill on, flipping burgers with an annoyed look on his face, and to his right, sitting on the brown chair was Trixie. She was fixing her makeup in her handheld mirror, but when she caught sight of us, she quickly stopped tampering with her reflection, releasing a gasp.

Theo noticed how she glared my way, pausing on grilling the food. She hopped to her feet, scampering towards us in six-inch heels. “Oh my gosh!” She hugged Izzy, and to my surprise, Izzy wasn’t pleased about it.

I laughed. She was the one that wanted to meet her. I guess I should have mentioned that Trixie was only like two years older than us. “Hi,” Izzy forced her greeting. “You must be… Trixie?”

“I am! And you must be Theo’s little Isabelle. He talks about you all the time.”

“Yep.” Izzy’s brows puckered, and she took a step back as she glanced from Trixie to her dad.

“And you,” Trixie said, stepping around Izzy. “Why, you must be Chloe. Her best friend, right?” She pulled me in and hugged me too tight for comfort. It took every ounce of strength within me to remain calm and hug her back like a decent, innocent person would. I couldn’t believe she was playing this game. Hadn’t Theo told her to behave? He needed to put his bitch on a leash.

“Wow, you’re really friendly,” Izzy noted as she looked Trixie over in her white romper and red wedges. Her earrings were dangly and blue, matching the headband that kept her blond curls behind her ears. Festive bitch. She’d dyed her hair, giving it a red tint. Wow. Did she want to be Mrs. Black or what? She must’ve caught a picture of her somewhere. I shook my head.

“Yeah, well,” Trixie sighed. “I like to make everyone feel like they can be themselves around me, you know?”

“Hmm.” Izzy walked around Trixie and grabbed my hand. “Well, it’s nice meeting you!” Izzy gave her dad a sharp look when Trixie pulled out her cellphone. “Chloe, come with me to change clothes?”

“Sure.”

We walked back inside where Sterling sat on the sofa watching a game of soccer. “Wow, you made yourself right at home, huh?” Izzy giggled.

“I guess I did, huh?” Sterling held his hands in the air with an innocent lift of his shoulders.

“It’s okay. My dad won’t mind.” So she thought. “Chloe,” she hissed, turning me in her direction, “Why in the hell didn’t you tell me she was like, twelve!?”

“I didn’t know! From far away she doesn’t look that young.”

“Ugh.” Izzy groaned. “I don’t like her. She comes across as phony to me. I read people, and I know she’s only with my dad because he makes good money. She’s a grubby little bitch.”

“Well, it’s who your dad likes, Izzy.” That hurt to say. I swallowed that bile down as quickly as it came back up. “If he thinks girls like her are what will make him happy, then you can’t be mad at him.”

She waved a hand. “Yeah, whatever. Now I see why he didn’t want to invite her to dinner. God… I’m gonna go change and wipe this disappointment off my face.” Izzy turned and walked down the hallway, entering one of the bedrooms.

I blew a breath, turning around. Sterling was still on the sofa, but his eyes were on me now, not the TV screen. “How’d it go out there?”