“Each night …” she whimpers soft and erotically under her breath. I touched a nerve. Hopefully a good one. I think I explained that rather well.
Now for the real problem – Chloe. But how to do it? She doesn’t seem to believe me when I say nothing happened. It’s that darn photo.
“Now, what do you need to know about Rome?” She seems surprised.
“You will tell me the truth?” But she’s also skeptical. I nod. She eyeballs me and I hold the gaze – she needs to see the truth in my soul.
“Why did you start acting out?”
“I can answer that one,” Alejandro walks into the kitchen and Mel stares at my brother’s face – as pretty and as colorful as my own. It’s clear as day that we had a tiny disagreement.
“First Chloe showed him a picture of us kissing -” She frowns deeply – understandable since it was a frame-up she knew nothing about. “And then he found out I am his brother.”
I can see the shock on her face. She didn’t know.
“Brother?”
Alejandro laughs softly.
“Yeah, turns out that Deimos is the father I was looking for.” She pales even more and looks as if she might barf again.
“Wait, we never kissed …” D-boy laughs again and shows her the photo.
“Can’t blame the guy for wanting to maim me … it seems rather legit.” She stares with huge eyes at the picture.
“It shows that sometimes a picture is not what it seems to be,” he winks at me, knowing he opened a door for me to redeem myself. I’m about to do just that when the twins walk in with Kiara.
“Guys, food is almost ready,” Enrique enlightens us, “As soon as Ilkay comes back from the airport with Logan, we can eat.”
Jackson grabs his sister by the shoulders, scrutinizing her fragile state.
“You look like a fucking scarecrow that gave birth,” he snorts and those killer eyes fall on me. “We’re all going to sort this shit out already ’cause it’s killing my sister.”
Alejandro throws an arm around my shoulders. “She’s not the only corpse around here. My brother looks like he passed through all four compartments of a cow’s stomach and fell out its anus.” What uplifting bros I have. They certainly keep my feet on the ground.
Jackson is right about her looking like an anorexic scarecrow – eyes deep in their sockets, her face bleak like dead grass. But, to me, she’s still the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
Mel ignores the boys and stares right at me – a look washes over her face that cuts me open to spill out my guts – disappointment. “So you thought I cheated and you immediately went and pushed your dick into the first available vagina?” What?
“For the last time … I! Did! Not! Cheat!”
“Fuck,” Enrique scorns, “You two need to work on your trust issues.” He’s right. She doesn’t trust me for shit.
But didn’t I think the exact same thing when I saw the photo of her and Alejandro? I also didn’t trust her.
“I saw the photos on your phone, the messages she wrote. What am I supposed to think?”
“I get it.” The photos and messages are not flattering. But she missed the most important part – I never responded.
“No, you don’t.” Her eyes shoot full of tears and it pains my heart. Jackson warps his arms around her and hugs her from behind.
“I phoned you and some Italian girl answered the phone.” All three boys glare at me.
“Yeah,” I scratch my head, “That was the dinner lady. I was angry and hurt and I wanted you to hurt too.”
“Stupid shit,” Alejandro says while shaking his head.
“You’re such a fucking child,” Mel jeers. “So Chloe telling me that she has you to herself for the night, the photo of you sleeping next to her … was that to hurt me too?”
It’s a compelling argument. I fucked up by trusting Chloe and not Mel. No question about it.
My throat is tight as I confess, “I was drunk and hurt and Chloe took advantage of that.”
Her eyes pierce into mine. I watch the hurt consume every part of them.
“Idiot,” Kiara sneers and rolls her eyes. My brother shakes his head again while Jackson slaps a hand to his forehead.
“Enough of this bullshit,” he grumps.
“Sis,” he heckles, “Chloe is one crazy bitch. First, she answered his phone while he was taking a shit. Then she stole a key card from Mark and slipped in while your idiot was passed out. The pictures are not real or else he would not be standing here right now.” I would be in an icy grave somewhere on the slopes of Big Sky.
Mel stares at him with huge eyes.
He takes out his phone and shoves it into her hands. “Look, he’s not in bed, he passed out on the deck chair …” he points to the screen. “And here on the right … not visible on the photo … is his dad.”
“Mel,” Enrique joins the conversation, “Chloe really is just a jealous bitch trying to get you away from her crush … and she succeeded!”
“Whatever…” Mel blows her nose, completely dismissing the remark.
“Seriously, Mel … that’s like Bitch 101. Remove all the players and the field is open,” Kiara sighs. “You’re a smart girl, but you’re really naive.” A light blush colors Mel’s bleak face. “This guy’s got it bad for you girl.”
Now is the time to hit the home run.
“If you check the messages, you will see it’s all one-sided. Chloe is worse than a stalker, she’s D in female form.” I throw the curve ball. “If he wrote sexual comments to you and sends you naked photos, does that mean you’re cheating?” I see the realization of my words moving over her face, understanding now blinking in her eyes.
It’s a slam and dunk. Now for the final blow.
“Chloe is just a devious fanatic who is going to get her due sometime soon. All those messages are just the proof my lawyer needs to get a restraining order.”