Tangled Beauty (17 page)

“
Didn’t your mother ever teach you to knock before entering?” snapped Sela, standing next to a sofa, slipping on a pair of black heels.

“Oh,
I’m sorry,” I said, taking a step back. “I didn’t realize that anyone was in here.”

“It’s okay,”
she said, straightening up. Her hair was slightly disheveled and her lips, swollen. “We’re finished now, anyway.”

I raised my eyebrows.
“Finished?”

“Don’t ask,” she said, with a wicked grin. She walked over to a doorway on the other side of the room and knocked
. “You’d better put your pants back on,
Reed
,” she said, loudly. “We have company.”

I felt like someone had kicked me
in the stomach. He’d left me only to have sex with Sela.

“Sorry, I’ll just leave,” I said, moving towards the door.

“
À bientôt!” called Sela.

What did you expect?
I thought, to myself.
Sela is his fiancé. She’s beautiful, successful, and rich. He was just using you for a quick piece of ass. Nothing more.

Like father, like son.

Sinclair

I was
angry and disgusted with myself for being so naïve, so much that I didn’t even notice Pastor Richie rounding the corner, and we collided.

“Oh
, I’m sorry, Pastor,” I apologized, as he grabbed my arm to help steady me.

He smiled.
“It’s quite alright. It’s Sinclair, isn’t it?”

“
Yes,” I said, as he released my arm.

“Well,
I’m glad I ran into you. I could really use someone’s help.”

“Oh?”

He pushed his glasses up higher on his nose. “Yes, you see, I brought a special gift for the ceremony and it’s very fragile. It’s so delicate, in fact, that I don’t even trust those young men parking the vehicles outside. They’re so reckless with those cars and I should hate to have anything happen to the Eddington’s gift.”

“
Oh, well I can certainly help you,” I said. “No problem.”

“
Thank you Sinclair,” he beamed. “You’re such an angel.”

“I don’t know about that,” I chuckled, as we started walking towards the front door.

“
Oh, you are. I can just tell with some people.”

“Hey, Sinclair!”
hollered Jesse, who was just coming down the stairs. “Where you going?”

I turned around
. “I’m going outside to help Pastor Richie,” I called back.

“
Oh, well, okay. I’ll fix you a drink and meet you out in the back.”

“Thanks!
” I hollered and turned back around to follow the pastor.

“I hope you don’t mind walking up the block,” said Pastor Richie. “I’m not going to m
ake any of the valets drive my car back here just for a package.”

“No,” I said. “I can handle it.”

We stepped outside and one of the valet drivers handed him his keys after we explained our mission.

“You sure?” asked the handsome young Italian man, who kept smili
ng at me. He was younger, maybe eighteen or nineteen.  “I wouldn’t want this lovely lady to break a heel.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said, returning his smile.

“Yes, we’ll be right back,” said Pastor Richie. “It won’t take long.”

“
Okay. Be careful Miss,” said the valet. “There’s a dip at the end of the driveway.”

“Thanks,” I answered.

“My, he seemed to be taken with you,” said Pastor Richie, as we began walking.

“Oh,” I smiled. “I doubt it.”

“He is, believe me. I know that look.”

I didn’t answer. It didn’t matter if the valet was interested in me or
anyone else at the party. I didn’t want to think about sex or men at the moment.

“Watch out,” said Pastor Richie, pointing towards the uneven road. “There’s that spot he was talking about. Here,” he held out his arm. “Hold on to me.”

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing onto his elbow as I stepped over the divot. Once we’d cleared it, I began pulling my hand back when he stopped me.

“Just keep holding on,” he said. “
With those heels of yours, I’d hate to see you fall.”

“Okay, thanks Pastor,” I said as we continued to walk. I had to admit, it felt good
leaning on someone besides Jesse, for a change. Besides, I needed more of a fatherly figure at the moment- someone strong and reliable. It was almost comforting.

“There it is,” he said, pointing towards his car, which was parked towards the end of the block. “Looks like I didn’t earn the VIP spot.”

“I wouldn’t have either if I’d have driven up in my two-thousand-and-four Malibu,” I said. “They probably would have told me to keep driving.”

He patted my hand. “I doubt that. You underestimate yourself. These people should be grateful that you attended their little party.”

Grateful?

H
e was such a sweet man.

I smiled. “
Well, I don’t know about grateful, but…”

“Nonsense,” h
e said, as we stopped behind the trunk of his car. “Those people, the Eddingtons, are snobby ingrates who don’t understand the value of people or the true meaning of life.”

I stared at him in surprise
as he turned and opened up his trunk, an angry scowl on his face. I bit my lower lip. “I-,”

“It’s okay,”
he interrupted, his face softening, again, “You don’t have to pretend anymore, my love.”

My
what?

I cleared my throat and forced a smile. “Um, Pastor
?”

He
reached out a hand and touched my cheek as I stared at him in confusion. “You are so beautiful.”

I took a step backwards
. “What are you doing?”

He licked his lips.
“Don’t play coy, my dear. Now, call me, Michael.”

I noticed the look in his eyes, it looked anything but fatherly. “Michael?”

His eyes narrowed. “No, that’s not right. Say it
softly
…
Michael
.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. Something was very wrong with this man.
I quickly glanced towards his trunk, which didn’t contain much more than a couple of pillows and a blanket. “What’s going on here?”

His lips tightened
. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve come for
you
. We can finally be together. Just like we were meant to be.”

Horrified, I
turned to leave, but he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back.

“No!” I choked as his hand clamped over my mouth.

“Shh,” he whispered into my ear, holding me against his body as I tried to struggle and break free. He was
so
much stronger than he looked. “I’m sorry,” he said as his hand closed over my face, the smell of some strange chemical filling my nostrils. “Sleep, my love.”

Reed

“Where’s Sinclair?” I asked Jesse.

“She’s with Pastor Richie,” he said. “But if she doesn’t get back here soon, I’m drinking her rum and Coke.
The ice is almost melted. Where’ve you been, by the way?”

I sighed. “The pipes are leaking in the kitchen
. George and I have been in there for the last hour trying to fix the problem. It’s a nightmare for the catering staff.”

Jesse
looked past me and scowled. “Oh, great, here comes the shrew.”

I turned to find
Sela heading right for us, followed by Jack who looked inebriated.

Shit.

“Hi, lover,” said Sela, putting her arms around my neck. “Where’ve you been all night?”

I grabbed her hands. “I’ve been around. The real question is
, where’ve you been?”

“She was with me,” slurred Jack, putting his arm around her
shoulders. “Gettin’ to know my new daughter-in-law.”

I sighed
. “Weren’t you the one who was supposed to be getting married, again?”

“
Pfft…,” he said, waving his arm. “Your mother is all bent out of shape about something, I don’t even know what it is. Says to just forget about the whole vow thing.”

“Really?”
I asked, trying to control my temper. He obviously did something to hurt her again and from the way he was pawing Sela, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out.

“Jack,” said
Sela, trying to unwind herself from his embrace. “You should really look for Mimi.”

“Oh, she’l
l be fine,” he said, swaying. “Hey, want to go for a swim?” he asked, tugging at his clothes.

“What the fuck are you doing?”
I asked, stepping closer to him.

“Listen up!” hollered Jack, who was
now removing his shoes. “The pool is now open for skinny dipping! Don’t be shy! Let’s see some tits and ass!”

“Oh my
Gawd…” giggled Jesse. “Jack’s completely wasted.”

There were about sixty or so people, gathered around the pool watching Jack
’s little performance. Many of the younger guys were cheering him on while some of Mimi’s friends looked completely horrified.

“Jack,” I hissed, grabbing his arm. “Knock this shit off. You’re making a fool out of yourself.”

He shook my arm away. “Sela was right about you,” he said, his eyes bloodshot. “You’re a party pooper, a real fucking drag.”

“
Hey, I never said that!” cried Sela. She turned to me. “He is obviously drunk and doesn’t know what he’s saying!”

“Oh, yeah,” whispered Jack, loudly. “It’s between us.”

“Enough,” I said. “Jack, go back into the house before this episode gets more fucked up.”

He brushed me off.
“Oh, you’re such a stick in the mud. I can see why Sela needs a little more excitement in her life.”

“
Okay, enough, dad,” interrupted Jesse, looking mortified. “It’s not funny anymore.”

Jack
ignored both of us as he staggered over to Sela and pulled her against him. He smiled drunkenly. “I may be higher than a kite, but I’ll bet you’ve never been fucked that good by him, have you?” he whispered, loudly into her ear.

I stormed over to him, ripped
Sela out of his arms and got right into his face. “You really fucked up,” I growled. “But the person you hurt more than anything, this time around, is yourself.”

Then I lifted him up
into the air, walked over to the pool, and dropped him in.

Sinclair

My skull felt like someone had hit it with a sledgehammer when I finally regained consciousness. As my mind began to clear, I realized that I was in someone’s dingy basement, on a mattress which had been pushed to the corner of a laundry room. The place was dark, except for a small nightlight next to me, and had a weird smell, one that I couldn’t quite figure out.

“Oh my God,” I s
huddered, as the memories of the last few hours resurfaced.

I scrambled away from
the mattress and hurried up the wooden steps.

“No
,” I moaned, jiggling the door, finding it locked.

Frantic, I went back downstairs to look for another way out
and found a window above the dryer. I climbed on top and moved the curtain away, only to find the window boarded up.

Why?
I wondered, trying to remain calm.
This guy was a man of the church, why in the name of God would he do something like this?

As I stared out
side through a small hold in the wood, I couldn’t see anything but darkness and trees. I wondered if I was in some kind of cabin and what he meant to do with me. His talk of the two of us being together and the glazed look in his eyes had given me the chills. He was obviously insane.

The sound of someone whistlin
g startled me. I looked around the room for something to defend myself, but there was nothing but a jug of clothing detergent and a box of dryer sheets.

“Hello,” smiled th
e Pastor as he walked down the steps, carrying a tray of food. As he stepped closer, I was surprised to find that he’d undergone some major changes. He was now dressed in jeans and a black sweatshirt, his glasses were gone, and his moustache- missing.