Page 10 of Crash

“Luke, make yourself useful and go get more wine,” Jake orders.

Since I come over here so much, it’s the least I can do.

As soon as I get up, the doorbell rings. Whoever it is must be leaning on the bell because it just rings repeatedly.

“What the fuck?” Jake says, looking at the door. At the same time, I hear a cell phone ringing.

“I’ll get it,” I say since I’m already up.

The dogs start to bark at the persistent doorbell. I grab a meatball from the stovetop and shove it in my mouth before running down the stairs to the front door.

“Hold your horses!” I yell as I open the door. My blood pressure instantly rises when I see Vivienne Chateau standing in front of me. “What the fuck is your pro—” She doesn’t give me time to finish. Her body slides through the door, brushing her perfect tits against my chest. She’s fast for a little thing because she’s up the stairs before I can even close the front door.

By the time I make it upstairs, she’s in the middle of a group hug with Tash and Sandy while the men and Tracy look on. Zeus sees her and runs in her direction. Vivienne lets out a loud shriek, but Jake gets up and grabs Zeus’s collar before he can get to her.

“Come on, sweetie,” Sandy says, as she guides Vivienne into her bedroom. Tash has her arm around Vivienne the entire time.

“What the hell just happened?” I asked to no one in particular. “I think we’re going to need some hard liquor instead of wine to deal with the presence of the anti-Christ.” I grab a bottle of rum and put it on the table.

“She was so upset, the poor thing,” Tracy says. “I hope she’s okay.”

“She’ll be fine. Evil ones always turn out fine,” I say.

Jake gives me a warning look.

“She’s not evil, man. Vivi’s a sweetheart. She’s going through a rough time.” Chris gets up from the table and starts to pace.

Sweetheart my ass, but I know better than to say that. Jake walks Zeus and Lady to the sliding glass door and lets them out into the yard.

Vivienne Chateau is a viper. She’s rude, abrasive, and a bitch. Whatever she’s going through, she probably deserves it. Chris is married to her cousin, so he has to feel sorry for her. I know what she’s really like. She’s nothing but a loudmouth shrew, who goes out of her way to disagree with everything I say.

“Just like a man,” she said to me once. “You think you know every damn thing.”I don’t even remember what the hell I was talking about at that time.

“I know when to mind my own damn business,” I whispered to her. I whispered it because her aunt was nearby, and I soon realized that Sandy’s mom sees no wrong when it comes to her niece.

“I’ll start cleaning up,” Tracy says, standing up.

“I’ll help you, Tray,” Troy says. “Come on, Luke. Stop staring down the hall.”

I snap out of my trance, not having realized I was staring down the hall.

“Why don’t you go see what’s going on, Jake,” I suggest. Not that I care, but Jake does if it affects his wife, and a hysterical lunatic showing up at his door definitely affects his wife.

“I’m going to give them some privacy,” he says. He rinses the dishes and loads them into the dishwasher.

“It’s her father,” Chris says to no one in particular. “He’s a real asshole. He’s very hard on her. I knew it was only a matter of time before the shit hit the fan. Vivienne is like her aunt, and her father can’t handle it.”

Like her aunt? She’s nothing like Sandy’s mom. Sandy’s mom is no-nonsense, but she’s a sweet woman, who so happens to love me. Vivienne Chateau is a surly imp with a bad attitude. She’s nothing like her aunt, but I won’t tell Chris that.

“Maybe he wouldn’t be so hard on her if she wasn’t such a witch,” I say to myself.

Jake turns his sharp glare on me. “Stop with that shit, Luke. You both act like toddlers when you’re around each other. She’s already upset so don’t make it worse.”

I ignore Jake and resume cleaning up. I add more dishes to the dishwasher as Tracy and Troy finish clearing the table.

“You know, Luke, you and Vivi sound like the beginning of a love story. Enemies turned lovers,” Tracy says wistfully.

I laugh so hard, I snort.

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