by Donna Jay
What a self-centred bitch.
“Geez, he could’ve loaned you his car,” Katie said.
“Exactly,” Anita agreed. “But nope, I have to catch the bus or walk.”
“I can give you a lift if you like.” Katie crossed her fingers behind her back.
Suspicion swam in Anita’s eyes. She tilted her head, studying Katie. Weights banged and clanged around them.
“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Anita finally said.
With no intention of letting her out of her sights, Katie dangled the bait. “Not scared, are you?”
Anita scoffed. “Of you? I doubt it.”
“So why don’t you let me give you a lift, as a friend?”
“Sure,” Anita said with a little too much false cheer.
Hooked.
***
Seconds after they climbed into the car, drops of rain pelted the windscreen.
Katie flicked the wipers on. “Lucky you didn’t walk, huh?”
“Looks like a sun shower, shouldn’t last long,” Anita replied without taking her eyes off the road. Her voice was relaxed but her posture was stiff.
She was rattled which pleased Katie immensely.
“Did you hear how Gillian got red hair?” Katie said as if making small talk.
“No,” Anita said, sounding bored.
“Apparently it’s a throwback. You know, like twins skipping a generation. I guess since her cousin missed the gene, his kids could carry it. Oh, cute. You two could have red-haired babies.”
When Anita screwed up her face as if the mere thought of a red-headed child was repulsive, Katie bit back the impulse to fist pump the air. Strike one to her.
Featherston Street loomed up ahead.
Anita pointed out the passenger’s window. “Left up here.”
Katie didn’t bother to slow.
“Left! Are you fuckin’ deaf? I said left.”
Willing the crocodile tears to come, Katie blinked hard. She swiped at her eyes.
“Are you crying?” Anita’s gaze drilled a hole in the side of Katie’s head. “Shit. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
“It’s not that.” Katie sniffed. “When I offered you a ride home, I wasn’t being entirely honest. I need your help with something.”
Although Anita clearly had her guard up, her curiosity was piqued. “What?”
“I’m terrified of going to the river. I thought perhaps if we go together, and nothing bad happens, I’ll finally be able to move past that day.” She gave Anita a watery smile. “I feel like we’ve been brought together for a reason. Maybe this is it. Will you help me, please?”
A long silence followed.
Finally, Anita shrugged. “Sure, just don’t go making any moves on me.”
Oh, I’ll be making a move all right. Just not the way you think.
Once they reached the city limits, Katie hit the gas. Her pulse raced as adrenaline shot through her body. She had one chance to put things right.
Dark thoughts clouded her mind, blocking out all thoughts of living with the consequences of her actions.
Not wanting to make conversation, she popped a cassette tape into the player and Bon Jovi sung ‘You Give Love a Bad Name.’
Anita tapped her thigh, humming along, oblivious the song could’ve been written for her.
Halfway through the next song, the words were like static in Katie’s head as she timed her move.
Three…
Two…
One…
She hit the brakes.
Eyes wide, mouth open, Anita lurched forward in her seat, clutching the seatbelt. “What the fuck?”
“Oh my God.” Katie pulled to the side of the road. “Did you see that kitten? Shit, I almost hit it.”
“Where?”
“It ran off into the grass.”
The minute the car came to a stop, Anita reached for the door handle.
“No! Don’t open the door,” Katie said a little too loudly. “You’ll frighten the poor wee thing.”
“Fine, I’ll just sit here. You go look.”
Nope, that wasn’t happening.
“Can’t you just pop your head out the window and take a quick look?”
“Fine.”
As the window inched down, Katie’s heart rate picked up. She flexed her fingers, biding her time.
“Can you see it?”
The second Anita’s head was out the window, Katie slammed her body into her. Fuelled by adrenaline, she pinned Anita in place and rolled up the window, stopping short of crushing her windpipe.
Anita’s neck elongated as the window pane bit into her neck. “What the hell are you doing?”
Finally, the fear Katie had been waiting to hear. “Not scared, are you?”
“Katie, this isn’t funny. Undo the window.” Her arms flailed about trying to find purchase and missing.
Popping the glovebox, Katie retrieved a rope she’d stashed in the hopes of this moment. After making quick work of securing Anita’s wrists, she grabbed one final item out of the glovebox and exited the car.
The rain had slowed to a drizzle which barely registered as she rounded the car.
Fear flashed in Anita’s eyes when her gaze landed on the scissors in Katie’s hand.
“What the hell are you doing? Is this about the river? Look…” Anita wiggled her nose like a guinea pig. “I’ve got scars too. You bashed me in the face. Remember?”
A scoff huffed out of Katie. She couldn’t see a visible scar, but then again, she was walking proof not all scars were visible.
“Where, there?” She stabbed the bridge of Anita’s nose with her index finger, bringing tears to her eyes.
“Naw, poor baby. Are you crying?” Katie pulled her hair off the nape of her neck. “See there? That’s where you ripped out a handful of my hair.” It’d grown back, but that wasn’t the point.
There was a long, painful silence Katie refused to fill.
A breeze rustled the trees around them. Cows in nearby paddocks chewed their cud, and the scent of wet grass infused the air.
Lowering her gaze, Anita broke the standoff. “Cherie made me do that.”
“Enough,” Katie snapped. “I don’t want to hear it.” She smacked her hand on the roof of the car. The impact stung her palm, but she refused to let it show.
If it was possible, Anita’s eyes got wider. “How can I make it up to you?” Her voice sounded strangled, probably from the windowpane biting into her windpipe.
“An eye for an eye.” Katie moved forward with the scissors, and Anita snapped her eyes shut.
She was harder to crack than Cherie, but this was way more fun. Katie nudged the tip of the scissors against her eyelid and was rewarded with an ear-splitting shriek.
“Jesus Christ, you can’t be serious.” Anita pulled back, chin pressed against the window pane.
“What do you want from me? I’ve said I’m sorry.”
“Actually, you haven’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
The words meant nothing to Katie, they were so devoid of emotion, they could’ve been spoken by a robot.
“Look me in the eye and say it like you mean it.”
“I’m not that stupid.” Anita’s eyes remained slammed shut.
“I’m beginning to think you are.” Katie kicked the door panel making Anita jump. “Do it.”
With her face scrunched up, Anita pried her eyes open. “I really am sorry, Katie. You have to believe me. I even phoned your house, remember?”
How could she forget? It was something that’d plagued Katie ever since. “Why?”
“I was worried about you.”
Like fuck you were.
Gritting her teeth, Katie kicked the door again. “Bullshit. You were covering your own arse, weren’t you?” She held the scissors in the air, sunlight glimmering off the blade. “Think very carefully before you reply.”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Liar.” Katie lunged forward, grab
bed a lock of Anita’s hair and hacked it off. She dropped it to the ground and fisted another handful.
“What the fuck? Oh my God, Katie. No, not my hair.”
The fact she cared more about her hair than her eyes made Katie want to laugh and rejoice at the same time.
When a car approached from behind, Katie pulled open the rear passenger’s door and squatted as if desperate to pee.
Smiling, the driver shook his head and blasted the horn as he sped by.
Once the coast was clear, she stepped back up to Anita. “Try again. Why’d you phone my house?”
Looking resigned, Anita lowered her voice. “To warn you against going to the police.”
“To put the fear of God in me?” Katie shrieked. “Didn’t you think you’d done enough? For months I was too scared to leave the house.” Katie sucked in a breath. “It’s time for you to experience how that feels.”
Working on autopilot, she grabbed a handful of hair and snipped.
“Stop, you’re going to make me look like a freak.”
“Better than feeling like one,” Katie retorted. She grabbed handful after handful and repeated the action; grab, snip, grab, snip, grab, snip.
By the time she was done, Anita’s eyes were red and puffy. Black mascara stained her cheeks.
“Cheer up, sugar. It’s not every day you get a free haircut.” Katie tilted her head. “Damn, I didn’t mean to get so carried away. Um, yeah, I think you’re going to need a professional to look at that.”
“What am I going to tell Paul? He loved my hair.” Finally, all the fight had gone out of Anita.
“Tell him what you want, and don’t forget to tell him about your aversion to red-hair and homosexuality, both of which are traits your children could inherit if you stick with him.”
Boom! Way to twist the scissors in.
“I’ll report you to the cops,” she sneered. “My parents will have a fit when they see my hair, so will my boss. You’re not getting away with this.”
Laughing, Katie shook her head. “Oh, please, get over yourself. Look down.”
“No, there’s no fucking kitten.”
Katie bent down and picked up the one and only lock of hair she’d cut off. The rest had been a ruse. “There’s no hair either.”
“You tricked me.” Anita’s face contorted with anger.
“And you me. I guess that makes us even.”
Still high on adrenaline, Katie jumped back in the driver’s seat. While loosening the rope around Anita’s wrists with one hand, she used the other to unwind the window enough to let her tip her head sideways and pull it back inside.
With no intention of giving Anita time to recover, Katie cracked open the passenger’s door and gave her a hard shove. She toppled out, landing in a heap on the side of the road.
Katie slammed the door and locked it. “Have fun walking home. I sure didn’t.”
She fired the car to life and did a U-turn, kicking up gravel. Katie hit the gas and gunned it for home. Feeling like she’d served an ace, she tossed Anita’s gym bag out the window.
Game, set, and match.
Chapter 21
It wasn’t until later that night, safely cocooned in her bedroom and Boy George started singing ‘Karma Chameleon’ that worry niggled at Katie’s insides. She’d served Anita a slice of karma, but would it come back to bite her?
A tap on the bedroom door made her heart jump into her throat. Katie sat bolt upright, clutching her chest. “Jesus, Mum. Don’t do that.”
Her mother held up a finger. “Firstly, don’t blaspheme. Secondly, the phone’s for you.”
Smiling, Katie leapt off the bed and pecked her mum on the cheek. “Sorry for cussing.”
In the kitchen, she plucked up the phone and inhaled the lingering aroma of roast lamb. “Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me.”
A huge grin broke out on Katie’s face. Gillian was the last person she’d expected to hear from tonight.
Her mum eyed her curiously and Katie mouthed, “Go away.”
Grinning, she held up her hands and slunk out of the room, probably praying it wouldn’t be long before Katie stopped hanging out around home all weekend.
“This is a nice surprise,” Katie said. “I didn’t expect to hear from you until tomorrow.” She took a breath. “How was the funeral?”
“It was nice, freaky.”
“Freaky how?” Katie sat on the stool by the phone.
“That rain shower. Pops used to love them. The second the pallbearers exited the church the heavens opened.”
A shiver danced up Katie’s spine when her mind flicked back to what she’d been doing at that time.
She blinked away the image of Anita’s head stuck in the window, eyes bulging, mascara staining her cheeks.
No, she wouldn’t go there.
“It was probably his loved ones, those who have passed before him, crying happy tears.”
“Wow, that’s a great way to look at it. Goodness, he’s probably partying right now. Let me see who’d be there. His two older brothers, Ken and Terry. My Nan, his wife, she passed over before he got sick. Oh, and there’d be Ratbag, he was such a good dog, and Tart, their spoilt cat.” She chuckled and Katie’s heart expanded in her chest.
“Sorry.” Gillian took a breath. “I didn’t phone to ramble.”
“Don’t be. I like listening to you.”
A heavy sigh came down the line. “I hate to do this to you, and it probably isn’t fair of me to ask, but did you see Anita at the gym this morning?”
Shit!
Caught off guard, Katie’s mind raced. Should she deny seeing her, dance around the question, or stick to the truth? Had Anita already got to Paul, spewed some shit? Or worse, told him the truth, and Gillian was feeling her out.
A pro at deflection, Katie replied with a question of her own. “Why do you ask?”
“Paul hasn’t been able to get hold of her all day. Then when he did, she said she was in bed sick and cancelled their date. I don’t know why, but I get the feeling she’s lying to him. So, yeah, I wondered if you saw her at the gym, and if so, did she look ill?”
“If I confirm I did, I guess I'm potentially dumping her in the shit.” As appealing as the idea was, Katie wasn’t ready to admit to anything.
A breath huffed out of Gillian. “Look, never mind. My emotions are so frazzled, it’s probably nothing.”
“I’m sure Paul can look after himself. He’s a big boy, not to mention good looking.”
“Should I be jealous?” Gillian asked with a smile in her voice.
“Not at all, but perhaps Anita should be. If she doesn’t get out of her sick bed, and soon, someone else will snap him up.”
“True. So, while I’ve got you on the phone, would you like to meet up tomorrow?"
Elated, a grin spread across Katie’s face. “I’d love too.”
***
Parked outside a café, Katie felt like her world had just imploded. She shook her head hoping she’d heard wrong. “Say what?”
Eyeing her with suspicion, Gillian turned sideways in the passenger’s seat. Her expression softened, like she felt conflicted about confronting Katie but also needed to know.
“Paul said he went around to Anita’s to see for himself whether she was sick. When she opened the door and saw him, she burst into tears. She said you were horrible to her, that you threatened her, and she couldn’t keep seeing him if you were in the picture.”
Katie had to give it to Anita, she had guts. She also entertained the idea she should’ve crushed her windpipe so she couldn’t go around blabber mouthing.
“Why would I threaten her?” Katie let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m not stupid. I’d probably get my face punched in.”
“Funny thing is, according to Paul, Anita has a red line across her throat and scratches on her wrists. She’s claiming something went down between you two while we were at Grandpa’s funeral.”
Fuck.
No longer feel
ing so smug about her awesome plan, Katie closed her eyes.
“Did you hurt her?” Gillian asked softly.
“What do you think?” Katie snapped, feeling defensive.
“Doesn’t matter what I think. I want to hear it from you.”
The fact Katie hadn’t outright denied it pretty much said it all. Gillian gave her a look she couldn’t decipher, a mixture between a smile and a grimace.
Ashamed to admit she was capable of being so cruel, Katie pushed the clutch in and fired the car to life. “I’ll take you home.”
The car came to a jarring stop when Gillian yanked the handbrake on.
“You did, didn’t you.” It was a statement, not a question. She knew the answer and Katie wasn’t going to lie.
“Look, Gillian, I told you months ago, I’m not a good person.”
“And like I told you back then, I don’t believe you.” She nailed Katie with a no-nonsense glare. “Now turn your car off, get off your mighty high horse, and stop trying to give the Lone Ranger a run for his money.”
The knot in Katie’s stomach uncurled, letting loose a deep belly laugh. “Hi-ho, Silver.”
Gillian laughed. “It’s Hi-Yo.”
Katie didn’t care, the main thing was Gillian was smiling again. A gorgeous smile that lit up sparkling green eyes.
“Tell me what happened.”
The question pulled Katie out of a dreamy-eyed stare and thrust her into a living nightmare.
“I can’t.” She bit her lip. “You’ll hate me.”
“I doubt that, Katie. But if we’re going to date, you need to be honest with me.”
“Is that what we’re doing? Dating?”
Warmth sparkled in Gillian’s eyes. “Katie, will you be my girlfriend.”
A burst of happiness exploded in Katie’s chest. “Yes.”
Even though Katie felt lighter, she wasn’t ready to spill her guts. Weighing up her options, she glanced out the windscreen.
A couple strolled past, hand in hand. She wondered what secrets they had, if any. Had they shared every single thing about themselves? Was it necessary to know everything about your partner? She doubted it.
“It’s something that happened in my past, and that’s where it should stay.”
“Funny thing is, Katie, our past has a way of catching up with us.” Gillian put a hand on Katie’s arm, her touch warm and comforting. “I’m guessing that’s what happened with you and Anita. Am I right?”