Boyfriend From Hell (Falling Angels Saga) (17 page)

“Yeah, me too. Clear as a bell. I’ll keep you abreast of things. I can’t pull this off without you, Armando. Thanks again.”

Perfect, I thought as I hung up. He thinks I’m taking him into my confidence.

The trap was set.

#

“You okay?” Maudrina asked, as I slid in alongside her in English the next day.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“You were absent yesterday, and your friend, Erin, seemed out of sorts. I thought it was because of you.”

I smiled, partly because it was nice to know Erin was concerned about me, but mostly because my new friend had intuited so much. Still, I had enough people worrying about me. I had to put her off the trail.

“I had a touch of food poisoning. Some bad buffalo wings is all. I don’t know what Erin was bugging about. Drama Queen.” I began rummaging in my bag for
A Tale of Two Cities
.

Maudrina laughed out loud.

I looked up. “Was that so funny?”

“It’s just that…” She blushed. “It’s just that, up until recently, I would have pinned that label on you.”

Ouch!

“But that was before. Now that I know you, it’s obvious you’re not a Drama Queen.”

Or now that we’re friends you don’t want to call me one.

“Piddles and Sam say hi,” she continued, changing the subject.

A genuine smile crossed my lips. My day with Maudrina and her dogs was the best I’d had in a long time. Leave it to dogs to be non-judgmental. Man’s best friend, indeed.

“Ooh, how are my little buddies?” I found the novel and placed it, along with my notebook, on the desk.

“Fine. They both had bubble baths again last night.”

It was then I realized the ever-present doggy odor that clung to Maudrina was nearly gone. If she continued bathing them regularly, in a week or so, the odor would totally work its way out of her clothing. Good for her. Just then, I got a brilliant idea.

“You wanna come to a party Saturday night?”

“A party!” her voice rang out like shattered glass. She could barely contain her excitement. She looked around, lowering her voice. “Are you inviting me to a party?”

“Yes,” I said, matching her tone. “At my house. Saturday night.” Truth is, I needed a friend by my side, a friend who wouldn’t judge me. Maudrina was that friend. “It’s a surprise party for my mom. She’s turning the big four-oh.”

“I’d love to come. What a terrific daughter, giving your mother a surprise party.” She grabbed my arm and squeezed it tight. “I can’t wait to meet her. Your mom must be special.”

I’d been so bent on exposing Armando, I hadn’t stopped to think about why I was doing all this, why I was willing to risk my friends thinking I was insane. It was my mother. I’d do anything for her. Friends for as far back as I could remember. She was special, all right.

“Thanks for inviting me.” Maudrina continued squeezing my arm. It was obvious she didn’t get invited out much. This was a big deal for her. Come to think of it, it was big for both of us.

“
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” is the opening line in
A Tale of Two Cities
. That line pretty much summed up my life.

#

When I arrived in the stairwell, Guy was already there, gorgeous in a simple white Gap t-shirt and jeans. I swear, that boy could make a dish rag look good.

“Hi,” he said, smiling his smile.

“Hi.” All night I’d gone over in my mind just how I was going to tell him about Armando.

“Remember that party the other night? Turns out it was thrown by the devil.” or “You believe in hell? I think you should start.”

Now that I was in front of him, I could feel my nerve slipping away. I couldn’t stand it if Guy thought I was one card shy of a full deck.

“How ya doin’?” I said, moving in closer.

“Good,” he replied.

Did he just inch away from me?

I stiffened slightly. All of a sudden, I was getting the feeling Guy didn’t want to take me into his arms, didn’t want to kiss me.

“I missed you.” I moved closer. I was not going to allow some silly feeling that came out of nowhere to ruin the moment.

You were probably anticipating him thinking you were crazy, that’s all.

But I hadn’t told him about Armando. No reason to think I’m crazy—yet.  

“Missed you, too,” was his soft reply.

I was so close I could smell him, feel him, air had to struggle to pass between us, yet he hadn’t yet put his arms around me. Most days when I arrived in the stairwell, he couldn’t wait to hold me, to kiss me, to nibble at my lips.

I looked down at his bare left wrist. A hollowness sprang up inside of me. “Is something wrong?”

“No, ‘course not. We just haven’t been together in so long… I’m taking you in.” He smiled again. There was something counterfeit in that smile, like an expertly reproduced painting. It looked flawless, yet somehow it lacked sincerity.

I couldn’t tell him about Armando, not now, not with this strangeness hanging between us.

“Umm. You know, maybe I should get to class. I have enough tardies to last a lifetime,” I said with a forced smile.

“Good idea.” Guy has never allowed me to leave the stairwell without cajoling me for one more kiss. He was dumping me.

Once I allowed the thought to enter my consciousness, I knew it was true.

That’s why he was out on the street that night. And because I was so busy going on about Armando, he decided to let it wait. No wonder he wasn’t waiting for me when I came out.

“Well, guess I’ll see you later.” I do not know how I managed those words without my voice cracking.

“Righteeo.” He leaned in, our lips touched. It was like kissing a dead fish. The hollowness spread to my arms, legs.

I was a zombie for the rest of the day.

I recalled how devastated I had been when Danny Tambor rejected my ten-year-old advances. This was far worse. First off, I wasn’t a kid anymore. My feelings for Guy were far deeper than a little-girl crush. I was in love with him. Secondly, my emotions had already been ripped to shreds. I’d gone through so much over the past few weeks with my mother and friends. This was a serious blow to my already delicate psyche.

I wanted to sleep. Sleep, and sleep alone, could give me some relief from the mountain of troubles that weighed on my mind like an avalanche. But I knew better. Sleep was a way of avoiding what needed to be done. And there was much that needed to be done. I loved my mother too dearly to allow myself the extravagance of sleep. I had a party to plan. I had a deception to pull off. I had friends to convince. I had Satan to unmask. When that was all over, then I could sleep.

On Saturday evening, Armando asked my mother to accompany him to an art opening in Scottsdale. That would give me enough time to prepare the house and welcome the guests before they returned.

All week I had been sharing my plans with Armando over the phone. He seemed delighted with my new attitude  toward him.

I don’t know what I’d do without you
was a line I repeated dozens of times throughout the week. I even called and described the birthday cake I designed, and would bake from scratch, in great detail.

“Sounds marvelous.”

I neglected to tell him I’d be using holy water in the cake. Marvelous, indeed.

I went to the Catholic Church store on Thursday and bought a few gallons of the stuff. I used it in the cake, the punch, I even carried a small vial on me in case things got out of hand, and I needed to subdue him.

My research touted the power of holy water, as well as a blessed crucifix. These would be my weapons against Satan. If either came in contact with his flesh, his skin would blister and burn, causing excruciating pain, as the demon fried to a crisp.

I smiled as I envisioned Armando becoming a crispy critter before being sent back to hell. Then, I thought of Matt. Witnessing Armando frying ought to convince even the biggest skeptic the devil was definitely in the house.

While my thoughts may have been filled with bravado, I was scared to death. I told myself it was the same kind of nerves I had before a mathlete challenge. Mrs. Brewster always said a little nervous energy got the blood flowing. Right. My blood was pumping so fast it felt as though it was being pushed through a broken water pipe.

Maudrina came at six p.m. to help hang the streamers. I couldn’t ask Matt or Erin. They thought I was losing my mind.  Maudrina had no idea what was really going on. To her, this was simply a surprise party for my mother’s fortieth birthday.

“What a lovely house,” she said as she entered. She had been transformed from the dowdy Maudrina I knew at school, wearing the cutest charcoal gray empire-waist party dress. Her hair was swept up away from her face. She looked adorable.

“I love your dress,” I drawled.

“Really?” Her voice hinted concern. “I can’t tell you how many magazines I went through checking the fashions. I wanted to be sure I wore something hip.”

“You succeeded. And do I detect a hint of glitter on your face?”

“Yessss! I’ve always wanted to try it, but I never had any place to wear it until now.”

“You look fabulous.” Her smile was worth a million dollars.

By a quarter of seven, Maudrina and I had transformed our living room into a fairy-princess wonderland. A rhinestone tiara and scepter were placed on a small pillow in the alcove by the door. My mother loved princessy things.  She would be pleased. More importantly, Armando’s guard would be down.

Soon after we finished decorating, my guests began to arrive. Matt and Erin came together at around seven-thirty. As they entered, they eyed the decorations, their faces expressionless. “Nice,” said Matt flatly.

“Oh. Maudrina’s here?” Erin seemed surprised. Perhaps she thought I was replacing her as a friend.

“She was nice enough to help with the decorations,” I replied.

Matt leaned in. “Does she know?”

“Uh-uh. I’m trying to keep the people who think I’m crazy to a minimum.” I chuckled, but he and Erin didn’t respond. Guess it wasn’t such a good joke. “Thanks for coming,” I continued. “I really appreciate it.”

“Can we talk… alone?” Matt asked, glancing over at Maudrina, who was putting candles on the cake.

“Okay. Sure.” I instructed Maudrina to see to it that everyone had a full glass of punch and their share of Princess Puffs, which were really cheese balls. Then I retreated to the kitchen with Matt.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” I said as we entered. I was still trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

“Okay, Megan, we’re here.” The flame of anger ignited his words.

“I appreciate it,” I said, taken aback.

“I want you to know you’re the best friend I’ve ever had. But I…
we
can’t stay on this roller coaster any longer.”

“I know that. After tonight the ride is over.”

“You need help!” he said pointedly. “And I’m telling you, Erin and I are going to stop being your friend until you get it. We’ve made our decision.”

I was stunned at how angry he seemed. “What is this, some kind of intervention?”

“Call it what you like, but after tonight, if you fail to prove that Armando is
the devil
, Erin and I will be getting off.”

“Don’t worry. After tonight—”

 “That means you’re going to lose us as friends until you get help!” His voice was filled with rage. “No more making up. Erin and I have talked about this. We mean it!”

“They’re coming,” I heard someone call. “Turn out the lights.”

I hit the switch engulfing the kitchen in darkness.

Perfect timing,
I thought. I didn’t want Matt to see the tears forming in my eyes.

“Surprise!”

The lights came back on as soon as my mother entered. She looked around, her gaze bouncing from the decorations to the faces of her friends.

“Oh my!” she exclaimed.

Maudrina and I stepped forward. Maudrina held out the pillow that contained the tiara and scepter. Then she bowed. I removed the tiara from the pillow, placing it on my mother’s head. “Happy Birthday, Princess Suze,” I said, smiling.

“But… How?” Her face was a puzzle of delight. She turned to Armando. “Were you in on this?” He shrugged and smiled.

“Perhaps.”

I moved in next to him. “We did it together,” I said, wrapping my arm around his waist. The smile on her face was precious. She hugged us both.

With Maudrina’s help, I served food and drink, watching Armando out of the corner of my eye. He seemed to be watching me as well. Whenever our eyes happened to meet we both smiled and nodded.

He didn’t go near the punch. Did he know, or was he just being cautious?

“Armando, you look thirsty,” I said, bringing him a tall glass of the holy water punch.

“No thank you. I’m fine,” he said.

“It’s dee-lish.” I pushed the glass at him, and he seemed to jump back with catlike quickness. He moved so fast it was almost as if he hadn’t moved at all. But he had.

“Maybe later,” he said. There was an intensity in his eyes as he stared at the glass. “Do not waste that wonderful punch on me. Give it to one of our guests.”

A short time later Erin drifted over. “Matt told you?” Her voice was that of a child who feared her mother’s wrath.

“That you guys are dumping me? Yes!” I was hurting over the way Matt had treated me, and my voice reflected it.

“I’m sor—.”

“Save it!” I quipped. “Apologies will be accepted
after
I unmask the devil.”

I glanced over at my mother and Armando, standing in a small cluster of friends. Armando was looking at me. He was holding a glass. He offered a toast up into the air.

I toasted back with my own glass. He didn’t fool me. I knew it wasn’t the punch.

He took an exaggerated sip. “Yum-yum,” he mouthed. His eyes were laughing at me.

A while later my mother came over.

“Boy, am I surprised,” she said and hugged me. “You and Armando. How?”

“I called him. I apologized and then I asked for his help.”