Mama and my Lita tell him that he is overreacting. I gave Tristian a kiss on the mouth and Papi heard Lita telling Mama how sweet we are and Papi was furious. He is arguing with Lita now. “She isn’t coming today!” he roars.
“The boy is going away Hector. Let her say her goodbye. What if the boy dies?” Then how will you feel knowing you kept her from having her goodbye?”
I fly out of my room with tears streaming down my face. “Tristian can’t die. He won’t you promised me Lita. Don’t say that!” I punch and thrash at my father. “I am going with my Lita. I need to see Tristian. I gotta give him my princess Sally to keep him safe.”
Papi is holding me trying to restrain me. Lita is giving him the look. The one a mama gives when you know you did wrong.
“It isn’t good for her, look at her...” I am squirming in his arms with snot running down my chin. “I don’t like it and this is the last time. Isa won’t be going back after today.”
Lita takes my hand leading me from Papi as I wipe my tears on the sleeve of my white dress.
I am standing in the driveway at Vandacamp Mansion as Tristian gets in the van that is to take him and his Mom to the airport. I reach him my Sally princess doll and tell him, “Sally is good at stitching herself together, she can stitch your legs back too.”
“Thank you Isa,” he says softly with a tear in his eye.
It rolls down his cheek as I let go of his hand. “I’ll miss you. Don’t cry Tristian.” I kiss his tear away, wishing I could go with him.
I watch with Lita as he drives away, waving them goodbye. His father is nowhere to be seen he is a hateful man. He scares me. I don’t like the way he looks at me when I play with Tristian in the library. Lita pulls me into the big house and I stick to her side while she cleans. This place is even more co
ld and empty now that Tris is gone. I can feel his father’s eyes on me as my Lita, Iris, cleans the library. I stay seated in the corner with my book until she has finished for the day.
Angelo Vandacamp comes over to me and tells me I am prettier than all the girls he has ever seen and he has traveled, a lot. He tells me to spin his globe and stop it at any point.
I get up from my chair and do as he says. The globe swirls in a circle and I bring it to a stop on New York. “That’s where Tristian is!” I squeal with wide eyes. And I wonder if he is thinking of me too.
His father frowns and walks away when I shout my excitement.
In the car I ask Lita about Tristian’s surgery. “Is he being cut open right now? Do they give him that pink liquid stuff I had last year to make him feel better?”
“I don’t know Isa. You are chatty this evening.” She shivers looking away from the road to adjust the heat.
I look away and see a deer up ahead. “Lita look at the deer, is that a buck?”
She looks up just as he leaps into the hood of the car. Lita slams on the brakes but it’s too late. A hoof comes through the glass. The car spins losing control. We spin going off the road and smash into a tree. The crunching of metal and wood smashing into each other grates my ears. And my head slams into the dashboard. I look to my Lita her head is resting on the steering wheel as the horn blares, echoing in the forest. Blood trickles down her forehead and runs over her lifeless eyes.
I scream out her name, “Lita!” And then there is nothing but darkness and silence.
The memories playback through my head faster and faster. Tristian, blue roses, Jack The Pumpkin King, my Lita, Papi screaming, the blood, and snow. The music fades softly as my heart hammers in my chest.
Chapter 22
TRISTIAN
I had no other choice with Isa. Nothing I do to make her remember is enough. Hearing her cry kills me. I turned the music up as loud as I can stand it to drown her out. I want to hate her, I want her to suffer, but then I remember the way she felt underneath me last night, and I remember she is the one I have always loved. She has always belonged to me. I have her body and her present but she needs to give me her past and her heart to make us complete.
I have been watching her for an hour now in my surveillance room to make sure she is okay. I know how much she hates being down there. She is curled into herself against the wall. Makes me think of the way she curled into me last night. Isa’s body fits perfectly with mine. It always has.
I can still taste her on my lips and feel the burn from her touch. It’s so hard not to rush down the stairs and comfort her. It’s hard not to take her over and over again until we both fall apart from exhaustion.
I look to the camera once more and see she hasn’t moved. I left food for her and there is already a chamber pot in case she needs to relieve herself. I shouldn’t be gone long. I hate leaving with things so fucked up between us but Rain called, said there is some shit I need to handle at the club. I’m about to say fuck it and hand it over to Cyrus. I’ll never sell it to Goldoni so he can use it to slave women in his human traffic ventures.
The whole drive I keep hearing Isa saying she will never forgive me, but I know it’s worth the risk. She will forgive me, she has to. When I get to the club Rain is swiveling in my chair.
“I’m here, where’s the fire?”
“Found out who is supplying your girls with that nose candy.” She taps the tip of her nose.
“And? This could have waited. I was busy.”