The Devil of DiRisio (17 page)

“You knew he was
gonna
do that, didn’t you?” I asked as I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge.

“He told me what he was planning yesterday afternoon.”

“You could’ve warned me.”

“And ruin the surprise? 
Will would
’ve killed me.”

“I almost killed you when I saw you brought Damian Karl.  Why would you do that?  What were you thinking?”  Sasha looked away and smiled mischievously.  She wasn’t telling me something.  She finished the eggs and split them between three plates.  

“Oh, I don’t want any.  I don’t eat egg yolks and you used way too much butter on them anyway.”  Sasha slammed the skillet onto the stove causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

“What is the matter with you?” she practically yelled.

“What do you mean?”

“Since when do you not eat egg yolks?  When do you eat anything anymore?  Is this the same girl who grew up with me in
Venton
Heights?”  I didn’t respond. “We had to eat things that were a lot less appetizing than egg yolks in order to survive.  Remember that time when we were nine and mom had to feed us mayonnaise and mustard sandwiches for breakfast lunch and dinner for a week?  We would’ve killed for egg yolks then. Back then we were starving because we were poor.  What’s your excuse now?” 

I thought back to that time.   My father once again had run off with the grocery money leaving us with nothing.  My mother brought home mayonnaise, mustard and ketchup packets from the cafeteria of the hospital where she worked. Thankfully, we had a loaf of bread in the house. It was interesting how Sasha didn’t mention how a week after that we had to eat ketchup on crackers. She probably chose to forget that part.

 It was an all time low for our family.  Shortly after that, however, my mother wised up and kicked my father out.  It pained me to have to think about those days, but they had nothing to do with what was going on now.  I wasn’t starving myself.  I told Sasha this but don’t think she believed me.

“Whatever, Sonya,” she said dismissively as she took the third plate and emptied it onto the other two.

“Will
went
jogging.  He’ll probably grab breakfast while he’s out.”

“It’s not for Will.”  Just then I saw an eerily familiar naked chest out of the corner of my eye.  I turned and saw that it was Damian!

A shirtless Damian Karl strolled into the kitchen, swept my sister into his arms and started kissing her neck.  Sasha squealed with delight.  I was so
stunned,
I dropped my bottle of water.  When I reached down to pick it up, I slammed my head on the counter top. I shot straight up clutching my head in pain.  When I went to take a step, I slipped on the water I’d just spilt, fell on my butt, and slammed the back of my head on the refrigerator.

“Sonya, are you okay?” Sasha asked in response to my grunts of pain.  She came over and checked the damage.  “You’re bleeding. 
Where does Will keep his first aid stuff?”

“Bathroom … cabinet.”
  Sasha dashed off to the bathroom leaving me with Damian. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked once we were alone.  He leaned over me and tried to help me up.  I ignored his offer for assistance and stood with my own power.

“What does it matter?  You are marrying the basketball player.  Why do you care where I spend my nights?”

“She’s my sister!” I said in a forced whisper.

“And she was great practice for you.” He caressed my face.  I slapped his hand away.

“You’re a sick, evil bastard.  You disgust me.  I want you out of my house and I never want to see you again!”  I stormed off to confront Sasha.

“Before you go off on me, let me just say, I did it for you,” she said as she continued to rummage through the bathroom cabinets.  Then she paused, looked off into space with a reminiscent smile and said, “Okay, so it was partly for me.  I haven’t gotten laid in two months and he is really very good.” 

I stared at her with a look of utter disbelief. She hadn’t changed at all. She was still a cold, calculating, manipulative … bitch, for lack of a better word. 

“But mostly, I did it for you,” she continued.  “Whether you want to admit it or not, you were attracted to him.  And he definitely has a thing for you.  Damian is very persuasive.  Eventually, he would’ve talked your panties off and you would’ve ruined the good thing you have with Will.
Him
sleeping with me shows you what an unequivocal asshole he is. I doubt if he’ll ever be able to get into your good graces again. He’s too old for you anyway. He’s like 26.” 

Sasha found some gauze and antiseptic. “Sit,” she commanded and I obeyed numbly.  I was still in shock so the pain didn’t even register as she dried up the blood and cleaned the cut above my eyebrow.  “I might have just single handedly saved your engagement and your marriage,” she added smugly.  I wanted to smack her.  But as much as I didn’t want to, I understood her point of view.

That night I couldn’t sleep.  I kept seeing Damian and Sasha together every time I closed my eyes.  What frustrated me was that I couldn’t quite figure out why I was so upset about it.  Damian was nothing to me.  He was free to sleep with anyone he wanted to.  It wasn’t like he had forced my sister into something she didn’t want. No, I imagine Sasha was a very willing participant.  She might’ve even been the pursuer.  I still had a hard time accepting Sasha for what she really was sometimes. 

She wasn’t hiding her true self anymore, she was letting it all hang out and I just had to get used to it. So, why was it so upsetting?  Maybe I was jealous.  No, I couldn’t be jealous.  I hated Damian.  I could’ve hated him a lot more if he wasn’t so damn sexy.

Finally, I gave up on sleep, put my dance clothes on and headed toward the studio Will had built for me.  I saw a light on in the guest bedroom so I thought Sasha was having trouble sleeping as well.  As I approached her door, I heard her speaking in a forced whisper.

“I swear to God, David, if I go down you’re going down with me,” she was saying.  “I don’t care what your lawyer says.  There’s no way I’m going to jail for you.” 

I didn’t want to eavesdrop but I couldn’t help it.  This was too intriguing.  What was this about lawyers and jail? Was she talking to David Winthrop? He was the boy I had a huge crush on back at Bridgeton Academy before I met Will. It turns out that he schemed with my sister to get me expelled.  

“Don’t worry about where I am.  I’m someplace you’ll never find me … Oh, you expect me to believe that? ...You’re such a bastard.
Burn in hell!”
  Then she hung up.  I wanted to go in and ask what was going on, but I didn’t want to invade her privacy.  I had to find a way to figure out what she was really doing in Italy.

***

“So, have you spoken to David Winthrop lately?”  I asked Sasha casually the next time we were alone together.  It had been three days since I’d overheard that phone call.  I’d replayed different ways to broach the subject over and over in my head but nothing seemed to fit.  I thought about asking her why she was really in Italy but I thought she would just feed me some line about missing me and wanting to see me.  I thought about asking if she was in any trouble, but I figured she would just lie and say it was nothing I needed to worry about. 

She never told me her troubles when we were growing up.  All my life I thought she was perfect and never did anything wrong.  It wasn’t until the Bitch Brigade fiasco that I found out all of her dirty little secrets.  Now that we were beyond that, she would probably still try to hide her problems from me. 

But I thought that asking about David would evoke just the right reaction from her.  I remembered that the last time we spoke in New Jersey she revealed to me that he was basically her partner in crime and that she was in love with him even though he was a horribly bad influence on her.  I never doubted her love for him, but I did doubt just who influenced whom.

It was a Wednesday night and Will was due back any minute from a road trip.  I was sore from another long day of dancing and being improperly gripped and manhandled by that idiot Pierre so, Sasha and I were sitting in Will’s hot tub relaxing.  The question was enough to make her almost choke on the piece of ice she was chewing.  I wondered if she was now going to try to lie after such a revealing reaction.

“Why would you ask that?” she said after coughing several times.

“I was just wondering.  I mean, I remember you saying you were in love with him.”  Sasha grew quiet and stared down at the water for a long time.

“You and Will have everything.  You both have these fabulous careers, a great house, a terrific loving relationship.  I’m so jealous.  You have everything and once again I managed to screw up my life.” 
Except she didn’t say ‘screw.’

“What are you talking about?”  Sasha didn’t respond. She got out of the hot tub and started toweling off. “Sasha, what is it?  Tell me,” I said as I followed suit.  She was moving quickly.  By the time I caught up with her, she had already reached the patio and was about to enter the house.  I grabbed her arm and turned her around.  She had tears in her eyes.  I hugged her and she started bawling.

I didn’t really know how to react to this.  I loved my sister so, of course, it pained me to see her upset.  I instinctively comforted her.  But my sister was not the crying type.  The only time I ever remember her crying this uncontrollably was at my honor trial at Bridgeton.  But that was all an act.  She knew I had been set up; she had helped set me up.  She was just putting on a show.  And when the truth finally did come out, there were no tears of regret or sorrow. 
Just a cold confession.

“I’m going to jail,” she said after she’d gained a little composure.

“What?”

“I’m going to jail for a long time.”

“What? Why? What did you do?”

“I can’t tell you.  You might be considered an accomplice.”

“What?”

“David and I did some stupid things and we got caught and people got hurt and charges were filed and now he’s saying it was my fault.”  Sasha started sobbing again.  I held her and let her cry on my shoulder.  I didn’t know what to think, though.  I wanted to help her, but I wasn’t sure how much of what she said I could trust.  She had already put me and Will in danger by living here with us and not telling us the truth.

“Sasha, I will do anything I can for you, but you’ve got to tell me everything.  Maybe we can get you a lawyer and fight this.”  Sasha started shaking her head.

“No, there’s nothing you can do.  I’m guilty.” She paused and started wiping the tears from her eyes.  “Well, there is one thing,” she said as she started pacing and wringing her hands.

“What?”

“If I were a minor, then the punishment wouldn’t be as severe.  I would just get a sentence of a couple of
years
maybe.”

“But you’re not a minor.  You’re over 18.”

“I know, but you are.”

“I am what?”
        
“A minor.
  You don’t turn 18 until May.”

“So?”

“So, maybe, I could just pretend I’m you, just to get a shorter sentence.”  I stared at her in disbelief.  She had to be insane.

“Sasha, I’m not switching places with you.”

“We don’t have to switch places, just identification.  I would take your birth certificate and passport and you would take mine.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.  I mean
… ”

“Just think about it,” she interrupted me. “Really, it’s the only chance I have at a somewhat decent life.”

I tried to stay up until Will got home, but I was so tired I ended up falling asleep.  I woke up at five the next morning and found Will sleeping by my side.  He looked so sweet and perfect.  He was almost childlike.  I knew not to tell him that to his face though.  He hated looking so young.  He had worked so hard to look older and more intimidating for his basketball career.  He went a month without shaving trying to grow a beard, but his hair was so blond and fine it really didn’t come in too well. 

I had ended up making him shave it because it irritated me when we kissed.  Recently, he had been talking about shaving his head, but I talked him out of it, threatening to call off the engagement if he did.  I always feared that he would do it anyway after some sort of macho bet or something with his teammates.  But then again, maybe he would look sexy with a bald head.

“She wants you to do what?” he exclaimed after I told the situation to him three times.  It took him that long for it to register in his
groggy
brain.

“I know it sounds crazy, but if it will really help her that much maybe I should do it.”

“Hell no!
  You absolutely will not do it.  I’ve already started the paperwork for our wedding. There’s no way I’m marrying Sasha even if it’s only on paper.” Will sat up in the bed.  “Sonya, angel, it’s a trick.  I knew she was up to something.”