The Life: Sacrifice (The Life 3)

I made sure they returned everything I came in here with before stepping out into the waiting area, expecting to see my husband waiting for me and feeling that pit in my gut when he wasn’t. I had to endure the embarrassment of having the desk sergeant call me a cab, which he did with a smirk on his face.

There I stood in designer wear, thousand-dollar shades, and a five-thousand-dollar purse and no way of getting home, no loving husband or daughter waiting for me. The fact that I’d spent most of my time here yelling about what my husband was going to do to them for keeping me here is probably what put the smirk on his face.

I’d cussed Felix out in my head a thousand times by the time the cab pulled into the driveway and was fighting mad by the time I put my key in the door. The house was deathly silent; not even the sound of the television could be heard as I walked in. “Hello, anybody home?”

“In here.” I followed Felix’s voice into the living room where it came from, ready to blast him, and came up short in the doorway.

“What the hell is that doing here?” I thought I shouted the words, but they came out as little more than a whisper.

Anything I was about to say died in my lungs as I took in the sight of Felix sitting in a chair that he’d drawn up close to the fireplace where the life-size portrait of Adrienne hung over the mantle. “Hello, Becky, you’re finally home. Have a seat.” I looked from him to the portrait and back with my mouth hanging open, and my feet stuck to the floor.

There was a strange tingling in my fingers and toes, and I felt as if my head was about to explode. The air grew thick, and I found it hard to breathe as question after question tumbled through my head, but none made it past my lips. A phone rang somewhere in the room, and I vaguely heard the din of his voice as he answered.

“Perfect timing, your stepmother just got home; come on over.”

FELIX

“Who was that? Is that Gia and that boy? I just got home; I’m in no mood to deal with those two right now….”

“I told you to have a seat. I’m having a drink; why don’t you join me?”

“Felix, I’m serious. Because of them, I spent a week in jail for an honest mistake.”

“Mistake? What kind of mistake was that? Who gave you the right to sell Gia’s car?”

“I admit I was a bit hasty there; I was just upset at what they did to Victoria. Besides, it was that Russo kid who burned her car; it’s only fair.”

“I see. What about the rest of it?”

“The rest of what? It’s all nonsense. You yourself know how hard I’ve tried to be a good mother to Gia. I was her mother’s best friend… Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason, go on.”

“What do you want to hear? I still don’t know what’s going on. Something happened between Victoria and Gia, a silly prank with her hair, and everyone’s blowing it out of proportion.”

“Was that all?”

“Of course, it was. What else could it be?” My skin crawled when she came further into the room to stand beside me, placing her hand on my shoulder.

“Well, they’re on their way here; I guess we’ll get to the bottom of it once and for all. She sounded pretty serious on the phone just now. Oh, by the way, I seem to recall you spent a lot of time with Adrienne before she passed. Was there anything strange about that day?”

“What? Why are you bringing that up now? How can I remember what happened that day? It was so long ago.”

I almost flinched when she threw herself in my lap but caught myself in time. I have no idea why Gia is coming here now, it could be as simple as letting me know she’s back in the country, but I have some questions of my own. Funnily enough, it’s the dance that snapped me out of whatever fog I’ve been in these past few years.

When I wasn’t sitting here looking at her mother, I’ve been watching the recording of my daughter dancing that the Russo kid had given me and my eyes opened further each time. I’m not sure that was his intention, but who knows. When I think back on all my interactions with him, I’m apt to believe he’s smarter than the average teen.

The more I watched Gia; the more questions arose in my mind. Why would she give up dance, something she once loved and aspired to excel at, because it was one of the things she shared with her mom? Only to use the dusty old room at school to practice away from prying eyes.