The Beautiful People (11 page)

Grant and Miranda left
after breakfast, but not after my brother made me swear up and down that I was going
to be okay.

“Grant,
what choice do I have but to be okay with this? I just need some time to
process everything.”

“I’m
sorry,” he said before he shut the door.

Dominic came up to
stand behind me and he rested his head on top of mine. “It really isn’t so bad,
Nat. You’ll get used to it. And there are definite advantages.”

“Why
didn’t you tell me – I mean this is really who you are?”

“I
wanted to tell you right after we spent our first night together, but Grant
begged me not to. It’s been killing me, not being able to say anything. Having
you there to see it firsthand seemed the best way to tell you. That way you
would believe me.”

Remembering the vacant
stares of the dead made me shudder again. Dominic leaned in, brushing my hair
to the side and kissing my neck.

            “Maybe it
wasn’t the best way for you to find out, but I’m glad you know,” he said softly
in my ear.

            “Have you
killed people too?”

            “Yeah. It
goes with the territory.”

            I turned
around to face him. “How many have you killed?”

            “I don’t
know, five or six,” he said with a shrug.

            “Five or
six! How can you be so nonchalant about that?”

            “It’s
easier not to think about it, I guess.”

            “Do you know
many people Grant has killed?”

            “Dunno…a
lot more than me though.”

     I couldn’t look
him in the eyes and focused on the floor. “I’d like to go home now.”

            “What? Why?
Don’t you want to talk some more?”

            “No. I need
to be alone. Please take me home.”

Dominic backed off and
called downstairs to have his car brought around. My head ached with exhaustion
and I half dozed on the drive home. Dominic pulled up in front of the building
and I leaned over to peck his cheek.

            “Hey,” he
held my hand, preventing me from getting out of the car. Dramatically different
from when Marco did it. “Are
we
alright?”

I really hadn’t
considered how our relationship played out in the scheme of things. How many
more secrets did he have? “I just need some time. Give me a few days…I’ll call
you.”

Before releasing my
hand, he stared at me for a few seconds, as if searching my face for an answer
I didn’t know yet. “Okay, but don’t take too long. And remember, don’t tell
anyone – not even Chelsea.”

I nodded and got out of
the car.

Thank God Chelsea was
already at school and the apartment was empty. I really should have been at
class too, but knew that was an impossible feat. Instead I took full advantage
of having some alone time by immediately falling asleep.

A huge, hulking shadow
of a man ran after me with a gun trained on my back. No matter how fast I tried
to sprint, my legs moved in slow motion, like I was running through knee deep
mud. A loud bang erupted from behind. I screamed and fell forward.

            “Nat, Nat
wake up!” Chelsea was shaking me and I woke up, still screaming. “Jesus, you
scared the shit out of me!”

            “I’m
sorry,” I murmured, my heart was pounding and my mouth was dry. “I was having a
bad dream.”

            “I noticed.
What was it about?”

            “I was
being chased. What time is it?” I asked, changing the subject.

            “It’s
sometime after four. You missed classes again today.”

            “I know,
but school just wasn’t happening.”

            “This isn’t
like you Nat. Sleeping all day and missing classes. Do you have to spend every
night with Dominic?

            “I don’t
spend every night…last night was different. What business is it of yours
anyway?” I rolled over so my back was to Chelsea. “I don’t want to talk about
it.”

            “Fine – whatever,
Little Miss Mood Swing, I’m just being a friend.” The mattress shifted and a few
seconds later I heard my door shut. It was nice to be alone again.

I forced myself to go
to classes the next day, even though it was a complete waste. I couldn’t focus
on any of the lectures and my creativity was flat in the studio. At least I would
get credit for showing up.

Grant called as I was
walking back to the apartment, but I let it go to voicemail. I still wasn’t
ready to talk to him or Dominic. Conflicted would best describe the way I felt.
I was pissed that Grant and Dominic hadn’t been honest with me. I was pissed at
Grant for getting involved with the Grabanos. Dominic didn’t really have a
choice, but Grant did. I was also relieved because it explained Dominic’s weird
hours and Grant’s hesitation for me dating Dom. I was also scared. Yes, I
dabbled with drugs and had been promiscuous, but that was about as far as I
planned to take the immoral behavior. Two nights ago my life’s path was
seriously altered and I didn’t know what the future held. Murder and violence
were sure to be part of it and that idea was terrifying.

Dominic wanted to know
how the truth about who he really was affected our relationship. How could I
answer that? I liked Dominic, but that was before I knew he killed people and
was part of the largest crime family in Philadelphia. Now I didn’t know how I
felt about him. Why didn’t I just have a fling with him and leave it at that?
No, I had to go ahead and start a relationship. If I did end things with
Dominic, did that place me and Grant in danger?

These thoughts weighed
heavily on my mind as I entered the apartment. Chelsea waved from the futon.
            “In a better mood?”

            “Not
really.”

            “Look in
your room. I think there’s something in there that will cheer you up.”

I walked down the hall
to my room and instantly spotted what Chelsea was talking about - it would be
hard to miss. The most extravagant bouquet of red roses I had ever seen was on
my desk. The scent filled up the small room and I inhaled deeply. I crossed my
room in seconds and picked up the card. 

I’m
sorry about the other night. I couldn’t go another day without you knowing the
truth.  D

The roses were just a
nice gesture, something I would ordinarily be thrilled to receive, but their very
presence reminded me of the situation at hand.           

            “Somebody
really likes you!” Chelsea chirped from behind and I jumped.

            “Jesus, you
scared me!”

            “I take it
those are from Dominic?”

            “Yes.”

            “Did you
guys have a fight or something? That would explain your mood.”

            “No we
didn’t have a fight, but we did have a something. I can’t talk about it, it’s
complicated.”

Chelsea was the one
person in my life, aside from Grant, who I went to during times of crisis. Now
when I needed her the most, I wasn’t able to talk to her. No matter how
frustrating it was, I refused to put her life in danger by telling her what
happened.

            “I’m going
for a run. I’ll talk to you later.” I turned my back to Chelsea and she got the
hint. The door shut quietly behind her as she retreated.

***

 I ran mindlessly
through the city until my lungs begged for mercy and my leg muscles screamed.
Even then I didn’t stop. Finally, when exhaustion threatened to send me
tumbling to the sidewalk I slowed to a walk. The run had helped to get my head
on straight. Dominic would be pleased with my answer.  It wasn’t going to be
easy, but I would continue dating him and act like nothing had changed. Marco
was capable of being dangerous, this was obvious and I would do everything in
my power to keep that danger away from Grant. I already liked Dominic and
working at Crimson was lucrative. How bad could it be, really?

 The apartment was
quiet except for muffled music coming from behind Chelsea’s bedroom door.
Feeling guilty for being so nasty towards her, I walked down the hall and
knocked.

            “Come in.”

 I entered her room and
took in the extreme organization, which bordered on obsessive compulsive, such
the opposite of my clutter. Chelsea was lying on her bed flipping through a
fashion magazine.

            “Hey Chels,
I want to apologize for earlier.”

            “Feeling
better?”

            “Yeah, the
run helped. I had a lot on my mind. Sorry.”

            “It’s cool,
we all have our moments. I’m glad you’re in a better mood. I’m always around if
you need to talk.”

            “I know.”

 I left Chelsea to her
magazine and hit the shower. The run had thoroughly exhausted every muscle in
my body, but my mind was still going at a hundred miles an hour. After getting
dressed I checked my phone. Grant had called three more times while I was out.
He could wait.

A bottle of vodka in
the freezer had my name on it. I pulled that out along with a bottle of orange
juice from the fridge. “Chelsea Reed, it’s cocktail hour!” I hollered from the
kitchen. Seconds later her stereo shut off and she peeked her head out of her
bedroom door. “Come hither.” I beckoned, holding up a drink. She skipped down
the hallway and grabbed the glass from my hand. I followed her to the futon
with the bottles as back up.

Soon my mind had
mellowed and we sat back with a box of hard pretzels between us. Chelsea
flipped through the channels. The constant changing was perfect for our short
attention span. We hadn’t hung out like this since Dominic and I had started
dating and I had forgotten how much fun it was to just chill.

 A loud banging on the
front door sent me leaping towards the ceiling, knocking a glass over in the
process.

            “Shit!” I
yelled and ran to grab a roll of paper towels.

            “I wonder
who that is,” Chelsea commented as she went to answer the door. “It’s just
Grant,” Chelsea hollered to me. I turned to see Grant pushing past her. He took
up the entrance to the kitchen.

            “Is your
phone broken?” he demanded.

            “No, I -”

            He cut me
off. “Did you get my messages?”

            “I saw that
you called, but -”

He interrupted again. “Would
it fucking kill you to answer the phone when I call? I’ve been trying to reach
you. ”

            “Grant,
relax! I can’t deal with you like this.” He was bringing me down and the mellow
atmosphere was now charged with his intensity. He moved aside to let me pass
and followed me.

Grant surveyed the living
room spotting the glass on its side and the half empty vodka bottle on the
coffee table.

            “Is this
why you couldn’t answer the phone? You’re too busy getting drunk?”

            “Maybe you
need a drink because you, like, totally need to chill,” Chelsea remarked. She
knelt down to blot the area rug where orange juice had started to seep in. 
Grant stepped into the hallway and pulled me with him.

            “Marco
wanted me to check on you. He was worried that you might take off. When I
couldn’t reach you…” he whispered in my ear.

            “Oh!” My
eyes widened with understanding. “He doesn’t trust me, does he?”

            “No. But
don’t worry, he hardly trusts anyone.”

            “Hey, what
are you two whispering about over there?” Chelsea interrupted. We turned to
look at her and she was holding a drink out like a peace offering. “Come here
Grant, it’s been a while since you and I got drunk together,” she teased.

Grant laughed, visibly
more relaxed. “I will, I just need to make a phone call,” He gave me a
significant look and slipped into my bedroom. I followed him. He called Marco
and reassured him that I had not skipped town.

While he spoke I
checked my phone and saw that there were thirteen missed calls. All were from
Grant, except for one, and none were from Dominic.

            “I wonder
why Dominic isn’t trying to get a hold of me.” I asked when Grant hung up.

            “He said
that you told him you needed a couple days and was giving you some space. Sure
pissed Marco off; he kept trying to get Dominic to call you too. Pretty
impressive, Dominic must like you more than I thought.” Grant grew quiet and
stared at me.

            “Is Marco
still worried about me?” I asked.

            “Yeah, but
you stick with me…and Dominic,” he said with reluctance. “That should help.”

            “Ok, I’ll
take your word on that,” I mustered up a smile. We filed out of my room and
joined Chelsea around the coffee table.