Behind the Curtain - Page 51

“Glenlivet,” Eric corrected her. His stupid grin made Laila suspect he was nearly as far gone as Zara.

“I’ll drive,” Laila said, giving Tahi a grim once-over. “We’re going to have to stop and get her some coffee and try to sober her up. Hopefully she can get through dinner tonight without giving away that she’s wasted. We’ll get her into bed after that, and there’s a remote chance no one will notice.”

Tahi sighed bitterly. “Nice job, both of you. Zara is the one with the car. Now we’re not going to be able to go out tonight.”

“You’re a dick, Eric,” Rudy stated bluntly. “Why’d you have to go and get her drunk?”

“Did I pour it down her throat?” Eric asked, scowling. “She drinks like a fish.”

“Never mind,” Laila said loudly when Zara irritably tried to contradict him. She wrapped her arm around Zara’s waist and pulled her away from Eric. “Come on, Tahi. We’ve got to go. Now.”

• • •

They took Zara to a drive-thru on the edge of town and pushed coffee, water and some food into her. Both Laila and Tahi got brushes out of their bags and took a side, each of them smoothing Zara’s out-of-control hair. By the time they got back to the cottages, Zara looked like death warmed over, but at least she wasn’t slurring her words, tripping over her feet and giggling manically anymore. The aunties accepted Laila and Tahi’s cover story that Zara had eaten a bad fish taco at the beach concession stand. When Zara just stared down at the Moroccan tortilla on her plate at dinner that night and turned green, Nadine hustled her off to their cottage.

After dinner, the younger kids asked if they could go over to a carnival that had come to Crescent Bay North beach. Tahi and Laila volunteered to clean up and stay back with Zara, so the aunties could take the kids into town. Tahi and Laila found Zara passed out cold on her sleeping bag when they quietly entered the sleeping porch that evening at dusk.

“Eric is a bad influence,” Tahi said, frowning as they lay down on their sleeping bags.

“It’s not all Eric’s fault,” Laila murmured, studying her cousin’s wan, pretty face while she slept.

“Yeah, Zara is being so irresponsible and selfish. She’s kidding herself if she thinks Eric is going to so much as text her once he goes back to New York. Guess what Rudy told me today?”

“What?” asked Laila, propping herself up on her elbow.

“He heard Eric talking to another girl on the phone.”

“How did Rudy know it was another girl?”

“He could tell,” Tahi said wisely. “Besides, does it really surprise you? Eric’s probably got a girl stashed away for every location and mood.”

“No, I guess not,” Laila said uneasily, thinking of some of the things Asher had said about his cousin. It suddenly struck her that Asher had never talked about a girlfriend. How likely was it that someone as good-looking, smart and sexy as Asher wasn’t in a relationship?

“If Zara doesn’t watch out, she’s going to get herself pregnant from a summer fling. Nadine would die on the spot if she found out. Amu Reda would kick her out of the house. Then what’s Zara going to do?”

“You really think Ami Reda would kick her out?” Laila asked, referring to her uncle, Zara’s father. What Tahi had said about her aunt Nadine dying on the spot had been an exaggeration, although Laila could easily picture her aunt getting hysterical and at least imagining Zara had sent her to her deathbed. But what she’d said about Reda left Laila feeling a little ill. If her uncle Reda kicked out Zara, whom he adored, then surely her father would do something similar to Laila, if she ever found herself in similar circumstances. Her father and Reda were brothers, and very similar in their values and outlook on life. She’d never really had to think about it before. It left a gaping hole in her stomach, even considering the idea of her father or mother rejecting her.

“Of course. Are you crazy? Look what happened to that girl Amal, in high school, the one that got pregnant her sophomore year from that loser senior quarterback? They shipped her off somewhere, and we never saw her again.”

Laila made a face. “Her family was a lot different than ours. I can’t believe Reda would ever do that to Zara.”

Tahi scoffed. “I can’t picture her living with them and having a white guy’s baby while she’s single, can you?”

Laila placed her hand on her belly in an attempt to calm a swarm of butterflies. “Do you think I’m being irresponsible too? And selfish? With Asher?”

Tahi froze in the action of smoothing her long ponytail over her shoulder. Her gaze darted down to Laila’s hands on her stomach. Her eyes sprang wide.

“Do you mean you could get pregnant?”

Laila blinked. “What? No. We’ve never . . . I just wanted to know if that’s what you think? That I’m being selfish in getting involved with Asher?”

“No. Not as long as you’re careful. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun, is there? That’s what I’m doing with Rudy. Nothing serious,” Tahi said matter-of-factly.

“But it is serious,” Laila said quietly.

The sun had set minutes ago. The light was very dim on the sleeping porch. Tahi leaned forward, examining Laila’s face closely.

“You mean like you’re in love with him?”

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