Royal(74)

But no good deed goes unpunished.

“Hi, Misty. I’m Demi.” Demi reaches her hand across the table and smiles, shaking Misty’s dry, cracked-skin hand.

“You Royal’s girlfriend?” Misty asks. She hasn’t dared to look at me since she stepped in.

“We’re old friends,” Demi says. “We go back a lot of years.”

“Ah.” Misty quickly glances my way, then back to Demi. She knows damn well that her lie cost me Demi, but knowing Misty, she’s probably feeling a little less guilty now that she sees us together. That’s how she thinks. She justifies fucking everything all of the time so she doesn’t have to feel an ounce of guilt or pain or suffering.

“It’s good to have you here, Misty.” Mona smiles at my sister. “How’s the methadone treatment going?”

“Good days and bad.” Misty shrugs and starts diving into the food, loading up her plate with more food than could possibly fit in the stomach of a girl her size. She acts like she hasn’t eaten in days. “Eight days clean.”

“Well that’s great,” Mona says. “Keep it up, Misty. Real proud of you.”

Mom doesn’t understand how the drug addicted work. Her greatest vices are food and slot machines. Misty will lie and tell everyone what they want to hear. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Misty had gotten lit before hopping on the bus to come here.

We finish our meal in silence, Demi trying her best to make small talk with Mona and Misty. And me? I don’t even try. I don’t even taste the food I shovel into my mouth. It’s all I can do to keep from watching the clock above the fridge.

The minutes drip by, each one slower than the one before.

As soon as we’re finished eating, Demi slices and serves the pie and starts cleaning the kitchen. Mona doesn’t stop her, doesn’t tell her she doesn’t need to do it, and Misty doesn’t offer to help.

I slide out from behind the table and fill the sink with warm, soapy water. Side by side, we wash dishes in silence. When we’re done, the place looks better than it ever has. The counters sparkle and the sink shines, and all dishes and utensils are placed in their rightful places.

Demi is her mother’s daughter.

“We should probably head out,” I announce when we’re done.

Mona and Misty stop their chatter and stare my way.

“But you’ve only been here a couple of hours,” Mona protests, brows scrunched. If she expects me to spend another minute in the company of that white-haired heathen, she’s got another thing coming.

I came here so Mona didn’t have to be alone.

And she betrayed me by inviting the last person on earth I’d ever want to spend this day with.

“Demi needs to get back to Rixton Falls,” I lie.

She nods.

“Well, all right.” Mona groans, her breath raspy and thick. “Thanks for the pie, Demi. And good seeing you, Royal.”

Misty says nothing, she just sits there shaking like she’s coming down from some high or she’s terrified of me. Maybe both.

As soon as we’re back in my car, Demi cranks the heat and blows into her hands. We sit for a minute, letting the engine warm up, and I stare ahead at the dash.

“You okay?” Demi asks. “That was . . . intense.”

“Wasn’t expecting to see Misty today.” I press the brake and shift into drive. “Mona knows how I feel about her.”

I watch Demi from the corner of my eye. She bites the side of her mouth, studying me, and her body is leaned my way. Sliding her hand into my lap, she tucks her hand inside mine.

“I’ve never seen you look at anyone like that,” she says.

“Like what?”

“With such . . . hatred in your eyes.”

I nod. I’m not sure what she wants me to say, but I’m not about to deny the fact that I hate my sister. I hate what she did. I hate what she’s done. I hate everything about her self-centered, ugly little heart.

“I need to get gas,” I say, changing the subject.

We pull into a little Conoco station on the corner of Glidden’s main drag. It’s one of the few places open today, and it’s packed. Cars pull up, frantic husbands run out with random gallons of milk and cartons of eggs, stressed travelers refuel their mini vans, and tired toddlers throw tantrums as their parents pop a new DVD into their rear entertainment systems.

I park in front of a vacant pump, and Demi grabs her bag.

“I’m going to get us some wine for tonight.” She points inside and gives me a wink that sends a twitch to my cock.

I fill my thirsty car and grit my teeth when the credit card machine is down. It instructs me to go inside and pay, but there’s a line ten people long.