Make Believe: A Novella (8 page)

“I don’t understand. What did I do to make you so angry?”

“Angry?
I am
not
angry. I am heartbroken. You took everything from me. You ripped my heart all apart, shredded every last bit of it.”

“What are you talking about?” I
was so confused. Her blue eyes locked on mine, and as she uttered her next words, chills shot through my entire body.

“An eye for an eye, April
. I’m not mad anymore or at least I won’t be, once I’m rid of you!”

“What?” I gasped.

“Oh calm down. You look so pathetic with all of those tears pouring down your face. Don’t worry, you still have a couple more hours to live. See, I want you to understand my reasoning because I am not a bad person, you know, or at least I never used to be. Not before...before….” She cut herself off, began to pace up and down the basement, and with an impatient hand, wiped the sweat off her brow.

Listening to Leah
ramble on reminded me of how little I actually knew about her, how little I knew about this entire situation. It is almost impossible to comprehend. No amount of time or preparation can truly ready you for this, for the end. You can’t make a checklist or schedule this in your calendar. This was Leah’s raw, uncensored truth, and honestly, there could be no way to prepare.

Tied to the chair,
I watched Leah lean her back against the dirty wall. I was still trying to figure out where we were, whether it was worth screaming, or trying to escape. How would I know which way to run or how to get out? She was smart; I knew that now. She works meticulously and so there is no room for errors or mistakes in her world. Everything has a purpose, and everything fits into her final plan.

The sound of
a chair leg scraping across the floor interrupted my thoughts. She was dragging it slowly and carefully toward me, her eyes burrowing into mine the whole way. She then gently set the chair down, turning the back of it toward me. She acted as if she didn’t want to hurt it or cause it any pain. It seemed to be more than just a piece of furniture to her.

She
straddled the chair so we were face to face. Only five inches of air, if that, separated our faces. She stared at me for what seemed like hours before folding her arms at the top of her chair and resting her head on it. She stayed in that position for two silent minutes before taking a deep and meaningful breath. Every part of my body was on alert. It was as though a warning siren had been sent to the inner core of my body, letting it know that there was about to be an invasion.

“To understand why everything has to end this way...to end with
you
, you have to understand how it all began.”

Her hand moved slowly to retrieve something from her back pocket.

“Do you know what this is?” She said as she waved a small green book in my direction.

“A diary?
” I whispered. I had no idea where this was going and neither did I like it.

“No, it’s a record, a detailed record.” She opened up to
a page, near the middle of the book with a look of pure hate on her face.

“What is it a record of?
” I asked nervously.

For a
moment, there was silence and no movement. Lifting her head so her eyes were in line with mine again, she breathed out her venom laced words.

“My screwed up life.”

Chapter 6: Eight Days Earlier

APRIL’S POINT OF VIEW

“I don’t like her!”

“Crys
tal, you don’t even know her,” I replied.

“It doesn’t matter
. I’m a woman, and I know how women work. She likes Aiden, and you need to wake up out of wonderland and get with it.”

“You’re being ridiculous. It was her first day and she forgot her keys.
What was she supposed to do?” I asked as I took a sip of my white wine spritzer.

“She
should have just crashed at her friends or something, not call her boss in the middle of the evening to come rescue her.” she huffed.

“O
K, it’s not often that I agree with her, but she has a point,” Jess added as she rocked Ella-May.

“Oh come on Jess, not you as
well.”

“I’m just saying it is highly possible that she
likes him. It’s not a big issue now; just keep an eye on her,” Jess replied.

“What am I supposed to do?
Do you want me to follow him around at work?” I asked, sarcastically. “I trust Aiden, OK?”

“Look,
I know my brother, and I trust him too. It’s Lena I have an issue with,” Crystal muttered.

“Leah,” I corrected as Jess giggled.

“Whatever.”

“Anyway, onto happier topics
. How did the dress shopping go?”Jess asked.

“It didn’t
. I couldn’t find anything I liked, and besides, I still think it’s way too early to go shopping for dresses. Aiden proposed two days ago. We haven’t even set a date yet.”

“And?” They both sang in unison.

“I don’t know. I have run out of ‘ands!’”

“Look, I remember when my cousin, Jane
, got married, and she had to settle for some ugly looking dress because she didn’t leave enough time to find the perfect dress. I’m just saving you from the same fate,” Jess said, amused.

“She has a point,” Crystal added.

“Well, I’m back at work tomorrow, so unfortunately I won’t have time,” I stated.

“Don’t remind me,” Crystal mumbled.

“I would like to rub in the fact that I don’t, but changing nappies, breast feeding, giving baths, and changing clothes have become my new nine to five.”

“Yeah
, but it’s worth it because she is beautiful,” Crystal whispered as she leaned over Jess to stare at Ella-May.

“True,” I agreed.

“Me and Ant were trying to find a nickname for her, other than ‘the destroyer of sleep,’” she chuckled.

“I don’t even need to ask you who came up with that
.” I said
giving her a look of disbelief at Anthony’s nickname. “We could just call her Ella, but that’s too obvious.”

“That’s what I said to Ant. She needs something more
original,” Jess replied.

“Why does she even need a nickname
? Why can’t you people just use the one on her birth certificate?” Crystal said.

“See, Crystal this is w
hy I rarely ask you for advice,” Jess replied.

“Oh
, blah, blah. Why don’t you just call her Em, E for Ella and M for May...Em?” she asked impatiently.

“I like it
, but won’t people think her name is Emma?” Jess asked.

“So
what. You know what it is, so who cares?”

“True,” I agreed.

“OK, then Em it is. I quite like it.”

“Great, now that’s over can someone call Jinnie and find out what is taking so long?”
Crystal asked.

“Let me just put
Em
down, and then I’ll do it,” Jess said with a smile on her face.

“You’re so weird,” Crystal
laughed. “Right, I’m using this opportunity to take a bathroom break.”

T
he room went silent as they both did their things. I didn’t dare admit it out loud, but they did have me thinking about Leah and her intentions. I wasn’t lying when I said I trusted Aiden, but it didn’t mean I wanted him to be spending most days around someone who potentially had a thing for him. I guess it was silly really, because she had only been there one day. The truth was we didn’t really know her, and so how could we judge her so soon. Maybe I should get to know her. I felt the familiar buzz in my jeans pocket and pulled out my phone to discover a text from Aiden. The smile on my face was impossible to hide. I loved that after all this time, we were still so close and so completely into each other.

Aiden: Thinking about you.

Me: Really....

Aiden: Yep...a lot ;)

Me: Must be very distracting...Hope you don’t get in trouble with the boss....

Aiden: I won’t. We are very close, in fact, he even encourages it.

Me: Sounds like a great boss! Think I’d like him.

Aiden: Oh you would...very much! He already likes you ;)

Me: That’s good to hear. What are you doing?

Aiden: Well, besides texting a very beautiful woman, I am sitting at my desk going through some extremely boring paperwork.

Me: Sounds fun! Beautiful woman? Should I be jealous?

Aiden: Very! I only have eyes for her.

Me: Sounds like an extremely lucky girl....

Aiden: She is :)

Me: How’s Leah doing?

Aiden: She’s doing great. I may have to think about replacing Ant!

Me: Something tells me that he won’t stand for that. lol

Aiden: Probably not, never mind! See you later baby, boss says I have to get back to work. Love you!

Me: Love you too xx

“Oh gosh, look at the sickeningly sweet smile on your face. I hope that you and Aiden weren’t sex texting,” Crystal exclaimed with a disgusted look on her face. Jess burst out laughing as I looked up at them staring at me.

“I seriously am beginning to wonder what is wrong with you. I think Murphy is actually rubbing off on you,” I replied
, shaking my head at her.

“I second that,” Jess chuckled
and sat down next to me.

“I can’t even deny it, that boy has issues
, and I have been spending a lot of time with him lately,” Crystal said, sitting down on the loveseat.

“So?” Jess pushed.

“So what?”

“Is it serious? Is the L word fast approaching?”

“What? With Murphy?” Suddenly she started laughing without actually making any noise. “Oh, Jessica sweetheart, you are so entertaining.”

“She’s covering,” I
teased.

“I know.”

“Oh gosh, is it that obvious?” she asked, dropping her head in her lap.

“Yes,” we sang in unison.

“I have no idea when it happened. He just gets under my skin. I think I love him and hate him at the same time. He is so frustrating and stupid. He is so different when it’s just us. He’s like the reincarnated Jekyll and Hyde.”

“So, when are you going to tell him?” Jess asked curiously.

“Tell him what?” Crystal asked looking perplexed.

“That you L word him,” Jess chuckled.

“I’m not! Are you a crazy woman? He does not do relationships —well exclusive ones anyway. He’ll run a mile if I tell him how I really feel.”

“I think you’re wrong,” I added.

The sound of ringing interrupted our conversation much to Crystal’s satisfaction.

“Saved by the bell,” she mumbled
and got up to answer the door.

Jess looked at me
. It was obvious Murphy had feelings for Crystal. In my opinion, the feelings have been there a long time, I just think neither of them realize it.

“Don’t get excited ladies, it’s
just
Anthony,” Crystal muttered and sat down again.

“Yeah, nice to see you too,” he replied
, placing the bags in his hand down on the floor.

“Why didn’t you just use your key?” Jess asked as though he were stupid.

“Could it be because my hands were full, my sweet and caring lover?” he asked, sarcastically.

“Don’t get smart with me, Einstein
! You haven’t forgotten how uncomfortable the couch is, right?”

“Yeah, sure
. Love you, too,” he said, kissing her on the forehead. “Hey, April, you know you’re the only woman in my life who doesn’t insult me?”

“Thought you might need the balance,” I said
, winking at him.

“Did you get everything?” Jess asked, ey
eing the contents of the bags.

“Yes, I followed the shopping list,
sweetheart.
Where’s my baby?”

“Sleeping.”

“That’s all she ever does. I think she gets bored around you women and your talk of wedding dresses. She needs to spend a day around us guys and...the Xbox!” he said while mimicking playing an Xbox controller with his hands.

“Course, because that’s really going to happen,” she
smarted back at him.