Page 63 of Maximum
“There’s something I have to tell you.”
That got my full attention. I’d been reading in a magazine but turned in my seat, signaling that I was ready to listen.
“I’m not as good as you think I am.” She had her elbow on the armrest between us and a wrinkle going across her forehead. “Back when I found out Pierre had cheated on me, I did some despicable things to get back at him, and when I brought you with me on this trip, I took advantage of you. Good people don’t make others lie for them and now I feel bad that I was dishonest with my parents.”
“No one has to know.”
“My mom texted me this morning, and I told her I got my period. I know she’s disappointed, but the way she was trying to cheer me up made me feel awful for lying to her.”
“At least the part about you and me being together is no longer a lie. What I want to know is what despicable things you did to Pierre when you found out he’d cheated.”
Fleur looked up and smiled politely when an air hostess offered us drinks. Once the woman moved on, I pressured her again.
“What did you do to him?”
“I smashed his camera.”
“Wow.” I raised my brow in respect. “You went for what he cherished most. That’s dedication.”
Fleur rubbed the bridge of her nose. “He didn’t take it well, and we fought when I told him I wanted a divorce.”
“Not physically, I hope.”
“There was a bit of pushing, but he didn’t hit me or anything. He just kept saying that he wouldn’t allow me to leave and that we were meant to be together always. I was so hurt by his betrayal that I stood my ground, insisting that this time I was serious, and we were getting a divorce. The thing was that this happened the day before we were supposed to go on an expedition to the North Pole. We’d gone together before and that’s when he made the shot of the polar bear cubs that won him a prestigious award. Pierre wanted me to come with him again, and I would have loved to go, but not with him. The thought of spending two weeks alone with Pierre in a remote area sounded nightmarish, so I put sleeping pills in his drink that night and while he slept heavily, I packed my few belongings and changed the destination on my ticket to Berlin, where I had a friend. Pierre overslept, missed his plane, and lost his contract withNational Geographic.”
“I wonder what hurt him the most: the broken camera, the lost contract, or him getting it up the ass from a hooker with a giant strap-on?” I was trying to be funny, but Fleur clearly felt guilty about what she’d done.
“I’m telling you because I see how you look at me like I’m all good, but I’m not. I was petty enough to take revenge and I’m shallow enough to lie when I know better.”
“So, you’re human like the rest of us.” I shrugged to let her know I wasn’t scared off.
“Did you ever do something wicked to an ex?” she asked.
“Oh, jeez.” Shaking my head, I put away the magazine I’d been holding. “You don’t want to know.”
“I was honest with you, now it’s your turn.”
I took a deep breath of air and sighed out loud. “Okay, but you have to remember that I was a teenager and at that age we all do stupid shit.”
Fleur sat sideways in her seat with her face to me. The buzzing of the airplane and the large seats provided us privacy from other passengers.
“My very first serious girlfriend went to a party without me and got a bit drunk. Some of my friends called me to let me know she’d disappeared into a room with another chap, so I lost my mind. Atlas was home from school because it was Christmas, and he drove me to the party, where I ran upstairs and barged in to find my girlfriend naked with another bloke on top of her.”
“Oh, Maximum, I’m sorry.” Deep empathy filled Fleur’s pretty face.
“I saw enough to conclude he was inside her and reacted on instinct. Basically, I tore him off her and beat him up. He tried to pull up his pants and defend himself, but I was large for my age and fueled by blind jealousy. I remember standing with my hands folded into fists and looking down at his bleeding face and seeing him shrink into himself and hold up his hands begging me to stop. I wanted to kill him.” The last words came out as a slow confession.
“Did you forgive her?”
“Nooo.” My eyebrows pinched close together. “I hated her, and I was hell-bent on getting my revenge. Like you, I went for the thing she cherished the most.”
“What was that?”
“Her hair?”
“You cut her hair?” Fleur gaped and lifted her hands to her own hair.
“Not exactly.” I closed my eyes for a second before confessing my sin. “Gabriella tried apologizing and making excuses. When she asked me to come over to her house to talk, I went. She was an only child and had her own bathroom and at one point I asked to use it. I added women’s shaving cream to her conditioner and over the next week chunks of her long beautiful hair fell off.”
