She and Richard spent every moment together that they could. It was about as close to living together as they could get without actually living together. Their romance and their love had grown by leaps and bounds. Angela knew that they were destined to be together forever and she was beginning to think that Richard saw that too.
Since that evening in the billiards room, he never once insinuated or tried to initiate her into bed. He was still the constant and perfect gentleman in all ways and Angela knew that she could trust him not only with her business but also with her life. He was everything she had ever wanted in a partner.
It had been a whirlwind three months and now Angela was walking down the catwalk of her first real fashion show. She was one of ten models chosen for the show, which was showcasing Cale’s newest line of fall fashions for the career woman. The clothes were exquisitely beautiful and Angela felt like she was becoming the biggest star in the world. She realized that she was of course far from that, but she was definitely someone that a lot of people in the industry were starting to notice and the money and the offers were starting to roll in. She had a feeling that this show would really put her on the map.
She mentally ran through the laundry list of steps she had to remember from all of her coaching and training. Head up, smile wide, chin down, back straight, step one foot in front of the other but don’t overlap, maintain a nice slow breath and a steady pace. Make sure to make eye contact with as many people as possible on the left and the right as well—that was a huge rule. Apparently, this automatically made everyone feel that they were deeply engaged in what was going on. It was a lot to remember. Angela quickly ran through the checklist and then threw it away and just let natural instinct take over, hoping that it would all go smoothly. She knew she would never be able to act completely natural any other way.
She was about halfway down the catwalk, modeling her first outfit, when she felt her foot jerk backward. It felt like she was doing an unplanned split and her body was not having it as it scrambled to correct her balance. Something was caught around her ankle and it was pulling her harder and harder backward as her body’s momentum carried her forward. Before she realized it, she was stumbling down to the catwalk floor, her face now kissing the platform hard. Her lips smashed sharply against her teeth and she tasted a fragment of blood. Her mind quickly drifted to images of chipped teeth and mashed, cut, or bleeding lips that would have to be fixed or worked around for her current lineup of jobs.
And then it was over.
She was no longer falling anywhere. Her body had stabilized and she was now able to stop fighting momentum and gravity and concentrate on whether or not she was actually hurt. Before she had a chance to properly assess her situation she heard the gallop of footsteps running up behind her. It was a cacophony of models, makeup people, and show producers who wanted to make sure that their main star was going to be okay and continue to look her best as she modeled the clothes they had worked so hard to sell.
Angela was now becoming aware of the gasps in the audience and the full-on embarrassment she felt coursing through her body. It had to be the most humiliating thing she’d ever had happen to her. What in the hell was going on?
Her question was quickly answered as the crowd of people gathering around her and helping her to her feet bombarded her with questions to make sure she was okay and let her know that it was not her fault. This sort of thing happened and she could not let it get her flustered. This was her first show and no one was laughing at her. She had to pull it all together.
But it was not her fault; Angela clearly saw that now. There was a small piece of rope lying at her feet draped across the catwalk and tied on one side to the bottom of the stage. The other end was loose and pointing to the crowd on the other side.
Angela tried to squint through the glare of the lights to see who might have been sitting over there who would do such a thing. It was probably some stupid kid who thought this would be the best way to impress his friends at school, or it might have been some college fraternity prank. It didn’t matter to her because she was going to—
A woman running through the crowd, running away. Her long dark hair flowed in the breeze as she weaved her way through the large group of people and chairs. She looked familiar—
Naomi.
She turned her head slightly back towards the stage for one brief instant and Angela could clearly see her face. She had done this. She was trying to sabotage her career and teach her a lesson because Angela was continuing to see her father. She was hell-bent on destroying it all.
Well, this was one thing she was not going to be able to destroy. Angela was damned sure going to make sure of this.
She had to catch her.
Angela stood up fully.
“I’ll be right back!” she called as she jumped down off the side of the stage. She landed gently on the ground and was instantly hustling through the crowd, Naomi’s head firmly in her sights. She was going to put an end to this crap right now. She had to confront Naomi and make her realize that nothing was going to keep her away from Richard. He made her happy and she made him happy. Naomi had to know that she had to grow up and deal with her own issues and her emotions.
Angela was out of the crowd and rushing down the corridor now. Naomi had made a turn and was temporarily out of her sights. She had to find the bitch. She never thought she would be thinking of her best friend this way, but there was only so much that she could put up with. If Naomi wanted to trash the friendship for good then that was her problem. Angela was not going to let her misbehave this way and attack her and everything she had worked so hard for.
As she rounded the corner what she saw stopped her dead in her tracks.
Naomi was stopped. Richard was there, his arm holding onto her arm as if she were a ten-year-old girl who had done something very bad. In a sense, that was what had happened. Naomi was acting like a kid and she was going to be treated like a kid.
“Let me go!” Naomi said.
Angela tried to hang back scooting back around the corner. She just wanted to hear what was being said without interfering or possibly making this worse with her presence.
“No. You have to understand something. This is not Angela’s fault. Nothing you do will drive a wedge between us. You can’t continue to act this way. It’s not right.”
“Oh, a lecture from you about what’s right? Give me a break. You lied to me my whole life!” Naomi yelled, struggling in Richard’s grasp.
“I withheld the truth for your own protection and when your evil stepmother told you, you couldn’t handle it.”
“Don’t you dare say anything bad about my mother!”
“She isn’t your mother. I told you that. She didn’t give birth to you and she sure as hell didn’t care about you. Sweetie, I hate to be this blunt with you, but nothing else has worked. You have to understand!”
“I do understand! You lied to me and the only mother I ever knew betrayed me. I have no one who really cares about me and I never have.”
“That is not true! I care. I love you. Why can’t you see that? I lied to you to protect you. As a small child, it would have been very confusing if you’d known the truth about your mother.”
“Whatever. Just let me go. I don’t want to be around you anymore. I’m done with you.”
“Honey, why won’t you listen to reason? You’re old enough to know better. You can’t take this rage out on me and you certainly can’t take it out on Angela. She has always been your best friend.”
“Don’t you tell me who is my friend. She knows how I feel about women you date. It’s a slap in the face that you never cared about my mother. That’s why you cheated.”
“She is your friend and she cares about you. She deserves to be happy. I deserve to be happy. And you deserve to be happy. But I can’t bring happiness into your life for you. You’re a grown woman and you have to figure it out for yourself,” Richard said as he let go.
Angela peered around the corner a
nd even from there she could see the daggers in Naomi’s eyes.
“Then I am dead to you. I hope you two are happy. She lost her best friend and you lost your only daughter.”
With that, Naomi ran off down the hallway.
“Naomi!” Richard called after her, his voice echoing down the hall.
Angela debated for a few seconds whether to walk away and pretend that she had never heard this heated exchange, or comfort the man she loved who was now clearly a broken shell of himself.
As Richard stooped down to the floor and leaned against the wall with his head in his hands he began to cry. It broke Angela to see that big, strapping man whom she loved so much in so much pain.
She took a deep breath and tried to wipe away her own tears as she rounded the corner and walked to him.
She kneeled down beside him and he laid his head on her shoulder, trying to hold back her own tears. She wanted to tell him it was okay and he needed to just let it all out but she didn’t dare. He would do what he needed to do right then. She just wanted to be there for him.
“I’ve really lost her,” Richard said.
“She’ll be back. I know it,” Angela replied.
She didn’t know how, but she was going to help Naomi.
Chapter Forty-One
Angela pulled up in front of Naomi’s apartment building about an hour after she finished the catwalk show. After the craziness that Naomi had caused Angela had pulled herself together just enough to go back out there and knock them dead. Luckily she didn’t break any teeth or smash her lips as badly as it felt. Her makeup artist was able to apply a slightly darker shade of lipstick that covered the slight bit of swelling she had just fine and it was all good.
Richard had pulled himself back together after only five minutes of time with her. She was glad that she had been able to be there for him and allow him to be vulnerable enough to lean on her for a few minutes. She was shocked that he didn’t take more time than he did, but he said she had a show to do and she could tell that he quickly sucked it up and turned the tables around to be the support guy for her.
And she needed it.
The rest of the show went by smoothly and everyone was amazed at how well she did for her first time. She heard that there was talk in the works of her being added to the Gala, which was one of the biggest fashion shows in New York City that would be televised on The Style Channel around Christmas—that was the big time. Beyond that, she might even be up for some Victoria Secret things.
That terrified Angela to her very core because that wasn’t wearing sweet outfits; that was mostly lingerie and other skimpy items. She wasn’t sure she was nearly hot enough for that, but every time she heard that voice of doubt entering her brain she was learning to quickly tell it to shut the hell up. And she was getting good at this.
Angela walked into the building and Tony the doorman recognized her. Luckily, Naomi had not had the presence of mind to tell him not to let Angela up. But as she approached the elevator Tony stopped her; maybe he was told not to let her up after all.
“What’s going on?” Angela asked.
“I just saw Miss Kane leave about twenty minutes ago.”
“Did she say where she was going?” Angela asked.
“No, but she had a small bag with her,” Tony replied.
“What kind of bag?”
“It was a pink duffle bag,” Tony said.
Angela thanked him and walked back out to her car. She was starting to wonder if she should have brought Richard in on this, but he probably didn’t belong on this particular mission. This was a big showdown between her and Naomi. She had to speak to her woman to woman without any referees or outside interference. That was the way it had to be; she was not sure Richard would have understood that.
Angela sat down in her Corvette and pulled out her phone. The Corvette had been a bit of an impulse buy, but she didn’t know how she had survived without one. She had picked it up on advice from Richard. He told her that now she was starting to get a bit of a taste of the success that was due to come her way and she needed to just spoil herself a bit by buying something ridiculous. Angela had always been kind of cautious, especially with money, but Richard was persuasive as hell and she started to feel he was right. Ever since she was a little girl she had dreamed of owning a shiny, red Corvette. It was not the most luxurious sports car, or the most expensive and prestigious, but it was damn sexy, she thought; and she felt like a million bucks when she was behind the wheel.
She found Naomi’s number in her contacts and took a deep breath before pressing call. She knew that Naomi would either answer and tell her to go straight to hell or ignore her and Angela would not know where she was still. There was something off about Naomi tonight. From her perch looking around the corner in the corridor at the show, Angela had seen a woman desperate for someone to help her, but scared to death to ask for it. She was a woman on the brink of doing something crazy. And that terrified Angela. What was Naomi capable of in her current state and what the hell was she doing with that bag that Tony mentioned? It sounded so familiar. Where had she seen Naomi with a bag like that? It was eating at her brain because she knew the answer somewhere; she just didn’t know how she knew.
After five rings Angela hung up the phone. She pressed *69 and tried again, hoping that this would work if Naomi was screening her calls and not just not talking to anyone. After five rings it went to voicemail. Naomi wasn’t taking any calls tonight apparently.
Angela dialed Natalie who picked up on the third ring.
“Nat, can you do me a favor and call Naomi? I’m worried about her and she isn’t answering my calls.”
“Sure. No sweat,” Natalie said.
Angela waited three minutes until she heard her phone ringing back. It was Natalie.
“Yeah, did you get through?”
“No, just voice mail. You think she’s okay? Or is she just having one of those weird moods?” Natalie asked.
“I’m not sure, but thanks for trying. We’ve got to hang out soon,” Angela said. She suddenly realized it had been almost a month since she had seen her friend.
“Yeah, for sure. Call me later. Let me know if you find out anything about Naomi,” Natalie said.
“Will do,” Angela replied before disconnecting the call.
Angela thought a moment. The only thing that might have a clue about what Naomi was thinking or feeling or doing would be social media. Angela pulled up her apps for Facebook and Twitter and went to Naomi’s profile. Her latest post was actually only twelve minutes ago.
Falling Abyss, can’t make it to the shore. Why would I want to? See you all in the underbelly of Moby Dick. Peace.
Angela read the post several times. It was an excerpt of a poem by someone she didn’t recognize. What the hell did it mean? What was she trying to say? After thinking it over for a few minutes she finally realized; that pink bag kept popping into her head and the words ‘abyss’ and ‘shore’. She knew where Naomi was.
When they were kids they would often go down by the coastline of Coney Island Creek. It was a private little getaway that their parents would often take them too. It was a little further down than the normal public beaches and they would feel special, as if they had their own private beaches there. But the tides at night could get rough, especially if you were not a good swimmer. Every year several people lost their lives there trying to go swimming at night. It was getting a bit late in the year to really do that, but it was possible that that was where Naomi was headed.
Was she really going to do herself in? Was she at the end of her rope for real? Angela could not allow herself to believe that her best friend would do such a thing. But she would not have been a friend if she ignored her gut reaction to the situation. She only hoped that she was not too late.
Angela felt she had to tell Richard. He had to know what his daughter was planning, but what good would it do? He would be too late; it would take him at least twice as long as her to get there. If she could
n’t save Naomi, then no one could.
She thought about calling the police, but she was not sure that they would even be in on coast patrol this late at night and if they did they didn’t really patrol that section of water; it was not considered a real beach. Actually, Angela believed it might have even been private property; it certainly was not a public beach. As she began dialing for the police, she started to fear that the sounds of sirens or the sight of bright flashing lights might send Naomi over the edge—there would have been no talking sense into her. Angela had to do this herself. She just hoped that her old friend would listen to her.
How had this happened? How had Naomi, who had the strongest personality she had ever come across, become so disillusioned that she was seriously considering killing herself? Angela just could not make sense of how everything had taken such a serious turn.
She had to get there fast.
Ignoring every safety and every traffic law that she knew, she floored the pedal. It was a Tuesday night so the traffic was rather light as she got closer and closer to the island. She would be there in ten minutes. She just hoped that the part of the island close to Kingsman College where they had always gone was where Naomi was going. If she pulled a fast one and decided to go to an undisclosed spot then Angela would never find her in time. She just had to keep her hopes up.
It was possible that the Facebook message was some sort of a sign to her friends to come and find her. It was so vague that most people wouldn’t understand it. That meant that Naomi wanted to be found. She didn’t want to suffer through this anymore and she didn’t really want to end it all. She wanted someone to show her that they cared enough to save her.
Angela knew that. But that didn’t mean that Naomi wouldn’t go through with it. If no one showed up in time she would take that to mean that no one really cared enough to figure this out and that they didn’t care enough to talk her out of any of this.
Room Service Page 58