“I wouldn’t have done that,” I scoffed. “Besides, at that point, it would be her word against mine.”
“I was a witness you know.”
I stopped for a minute and looked at her.
“Are you saying you’d speak out against me?” I watched her carefully, wondering if she would really do that. I was used to running in the kind of circles where that offense would be punishable by death, and I was a little taken aback that she’d consider it. My skin went a little cold at the idea.
“Are you saying you would ask me to lie for you?”
“Yes.” I kept looking at her, waiting for her to respond, but she just seemed dumbfounded. I was a little pissed but
figured the conversation was over and she understood where I was coming from, so I made my way back to the apartment with Odin trailing behind and Lia remaining silent.
At least, she did until we got inside.
“I have no idea whether you’re serious or not,” she said.
I walked into the kitchen and started to rummage around in the fridge. I didn’t reply to her because I didn’t see any point in answering. The whole conversation was making me mad, and I honestly didn’t know how to deal with it.
My idea of conflict resolution just didn’t fit the situation.
Avoidance was my next best option, but Lia seemed hell-bent on keeping me from doing that.
“You said you wouldn’t really hurt that dog, but then you would expect me to lie for you. How am I supposed to know when you mean it and when you don’t?”
I opened up one of the drawers in the refrigerator, but I only looked in the direction of the food that was in there. None of the actual contents were registering inside my agitated brain. I closed the drawer and then pushed some of the containers around to see what was behind them.
“Are you even listening to me?” Lia asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Then why aren’t you saying anything?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Do you think this might be a little more important?”
I backed away and slammed the fridge door hard enough that the contents rattled.
“No,” I said, “I don’t. I think this is total bullshit.”
Lia started to open her mouth, but that’s when my phone rang. I was thrilled for the interruption and grabbed it out of my pocket immediately. I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered just to get myself out of the argument with Lia.
“Yeah?” I said into the phone.
“Open the fucking door,” the unfortunately familiar voice on the other end said.
As if I wasn’t pissed off enough.
Trent stood in the hallway looking like the rat-bastard he was when I opened the door, but I blocked him from coming inside.
“Who’s this?” Lia asked quietly from behind me.
“Get in the fucking bedroom,” I snapped. “Now. Stay there until I tell you otherwise.”
Lia grumbled something under her breath before she walked away from me and into the bedroom.
“You do like to play ‘Mister Elusive,’ don’t you?” Agent Trent had somehow managed to get my phone number and the location of my apartment. The annoyance I had been feeling toward the situation with Lia coupled with Odin’s impending fatherhood began to boil into something far more heated.