“So you were stalking me!?” I cut in, my voice shrill with disbelief.
“No. But your schedule and habits are predictable,” he said. “My job requires behavioral analysis and pattern recognition. You keep to a pretty strict routine.”
“Did you observe her when she saw the flowers?”
I did, actually. I sit at the end of the cul-de-sac. I watched you trip, use your hand on the hot ass hood of the car, yelp, and then scream with delight over those roses.”
He started to break as he said, “You looked so happy receiving them. At first I was amused, because I thought the joke would be on you. But the joy only lasted for a few seconds when I realized he was full of shit. He never told you anything. I was just his secret. The joke then, was really on me.”
“Why are you here then?” I asked.
“I felt we both deserved the truth,” he said, pulling himself together. “And to be honest, I’m in love with Hollis. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. No one’s ever made me feel the way he does.”
He paused, then added. “And I know he loves me too.”
He looked at Kelli, who said, “You still haven’t told us why we should believe you?”
“Your husband has a birthmark on his inner thigh. He screams ‘Oh Fuck!’ when he comes. And he adores foot massages.”
I gasped, and then swallowed. It was too much to hear, but I looked at Kelli, and nodded somberly. “He’s right about everything.”
By the time he’d gotten this all out, it was close to midnight.
“Where is Hollis now?” I asked. “Because he’s clearly not here, and you are.”
“He’s at my place now.” Presley hunched slightly. “I drugged his meal, so he’s going to be out for the rest of the night.”
“You what?!” I roared, standing up. I wasn’t a violent woman, and I had every right to be anything but loving toward my husband. But the fierce protector in me wouldn’t sit still while this man professed to slip my husband some kind of drug.
“Seroquel,” he stated. “Nothing illegal. He’s just going to sleep really hard tonight, wake up, and think he overslept. That’s all.” I stepped toward him, when he held his hand up and pleaded. “I promise. He’s going to be fine.”
Kelli stepped between us, shaking her head. “Natalia, sit down. Please. I’ve taken Seroquel. He’s right. It’s literally a sedative to the uninitiated.”
I glowered at Presley, who looked more and more worn and torn up as moments passed. The strong Greek god now looked like an abandoned child trying to be grown.
“How old are you?” I spat. I sat down when I asked, but only at Kelli’s insistence.
“23.” He said. “I turned 23 in May.”
I did the math in my head. May. That was right around the time Hollis started working later than usual.
“You’re wearing his cologne.” I said, remembering that Hollis’ Blue de Chanel was on his person as he walked past.
“That’s what he bought me for my birthday.” He spoke quietly. “I love the way it smelled. I didn’t realize it would help him mask his activities.”
“This sangria isn’t strong enough.” Kelly took her glass to the head, and then took the rest of mine. She turned to Presley. “You need a refill?”
“No.” Presley stood slowly. “I should get going.”
He looked at me regretfully. “I’m sorry you had to learn like this. I didn’t know he was still happily married. But I love him. I don’t know where you two both stand, but I love him. I just have to figure out how I’m going to deal with him when he wakes up.”
His audacity left me speechless and immobile. Without another word, he escorted himself to the door and walked out.
Kelli locked the door behind him, and then held me until shock wore off and I collapsed into a snotty heap of tears from the bomb that just exploded in my home.
Chapter 9: Rose
Ellis and I kept in contact nearly every day after the bomb attack. I realized I could never get too comfortable during communication with him.
I tried not to watch the news. Everything on there was involved nothing but negative information, especially regarding ISIS and their lethal behavior against various people they’d held hostage. How many times would I be able to stomach knowing an innocent person lost his or her life, simply because he or she had fallen into this group’s hands?
Things like that – Islamic extremists, terrorism – were why I was so proud of Ellis. He truly wanted to help the world, and he figured the best way he could contribute to global peace was by putting his life on the line for everyone.