Page 40 of Blood Spilled
“I better pick out my best outfit then. I have a party to attend.” I always did enjoy a good party.
Twenty-seven
Santiago
The main floor of the house is full of people. Both with faces I recognize and ones I've never seen before in my life. One woman standing across the way smiles around her champagne glass, tossing her long red hair behind her shoulder. She is without a doubt beautiful and the red, tight fitting dress compliments her curvy form. Except women do nothing for me and up until recently, men didn't either.
After losing Andy, I could never look at anyone the way I looked at him. All the things I had wanted with him were lost when I lost him. And then Angel came along, waking up a part of me I thought had died many years ago and also bringing me something I've never experienced before.
The woman walks my way, eyes and smile full of seduction. “I heard you were back, but I wasn't sure what to believe. Ialso hear you're a free man now. How about we celebrate that freedom somewhere away from here?”
I shake my head, taking a step back when her hand falls on my chest. “Free from what exactly? And no thanks, I think I'm good here. Excuse me, I have business to attend to.”
She steps in front of me. “Business? But your mother said you were taking the night off. I heard what you went through was awful. I'm here if you need to talk. My name is Veronica, by the way.”
I shake my head again. “As I said before. I'm not interested, and you would do yourself some good by not listening to anything my mother tells you.”
I walk past her again and my mother gives me a disapproving glance from across the way. I ignore it and continue toward the back door, needing some air. I feel like I'm suffocating in a sea of vile, fake people. Each and every person who tries to talk to me only makes me more queasy and on the verge of bursting. I pull at my tie, loosening it from my neck and scratch at my uncomfortable clothing. My skin itches underneath it. It all feels so heavy on my bones.
A hand falls on my shoulder, stopping me from walking out the back patio door. “Santiago?”
I turn to face the stranger behind me, staring at me with a look of curiosity. “You are Santiago, are you not?”
I nod, putting distance between us. “Yes, why?”
“I'm a friend, no need to fear me. I have a message for you.”
“A friend of whose exactly?”
“A friend of Mateo and Angel.”
My eyes grow wide. He pulls out a note from his pocket and I stare at it for a long time before taking it. “What is this? Some goodbye note? Are Mateo and Angel here? If he has come to kill me, he doesn't have to worry. I'll be dead once they get whatthey want and then he never has to worry about me again. If he's smart, he will stay away or they will kill him too.”
“Just read it and follow what it says.”
The stranger watches closely as I open the note.
Meet me in the secret garden.
I scrunch up the paper in my fist. “What is this about?”
“I was only told to make sure that letter reached your hands. I am to wait until you head that way before I can leave.”
“And what if I don't go?”
“Then you must really be okay with everything happening here and we will know where your loyalty lies.”
“Loyalty? My loyalty only lies within myself.”
He pulls out his phone and I eye him curiously as he types quickly across the screen. “What are you doing?”
“Sending him a message that you won't be coming.”
He's about to push the send button and then I grab his arm, stopping him. “Wait. I just need a minute to process all of this.”
“We are running out of time.”
I swallow hard, not sure what I'm doing. I turn around and twist the doorknob to walk out the door without looking back. The night is warmer than it was the last time I came out here. It's quiet the further I step away from the house. Not a single person was out here. They were all inside, celebrating my big return without me. It never was about me and them not noticing me gone is proof of that.
