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“The Grand Prix, yeah that’s pretty fucking important,” she says with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “Have you ever thought of fighting for anything, Trey?” she asks in a much more subdued tone.
“Fighting? I don’t know? Why?” I ask, not understanding where she is going.
“Sometimes instead of walking away, you need to fight for what you want or for what is right. I thought you cared about me, but when Tommy asked me out you simply turned and walked away. Then when Tyler expressed an interest in me, you moved as far away as you could without actually leaving the country.” She pauses again leaving a deafening silence between us.
“You’re right. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving you space and I didn’t want to hurt Tyler when he was already hurting,” I rationalize.
“I have always loved you, Trey. I just wanted to see if you were willing to fight for me, but each time you just walked away.” She sobs softly as silence fills the air once again.
“I’m sorry Vanessa, you know how much I care about you. I guess I didn’t understand what you were doing. I didn’t want to fight with Tommy and I certainly didn’t want to add to Tyler’s problems.” I try to make sense of what she is saying, but this conversation is throwing me for a loop.
“Walking away without a word was the wrong thing to do. Tyler knows he won by default and that’s half of his addiction problem. That and the fucking doctor telling him those pills weren’t addictive. I’ve never heard of anything so stupid!” she adds sounding as if she’s about to have a breakdown.
“Do you know where he is?” I ask, turning the conversation back to the original reason for my call.
“No, I don’t! I haven’t seen him since he heard that Tommy was going to be the new CEO. He hates Tommy with a passion, ” she replies in tired frustration.
“You need to log into his iCloud account and see if he has Find My iPhone turned on,” I suggest, hoping she can find him without calling the police or even Mom for that matter.
“He has a sheet with all his usernames and passwords. I’ll have to go look it up,” she says perking up just a bit.
“Please let me know as soon as you find him,” I tell her, anxious to know if he is okay. “Tell him to call me back if he can.”
“Okay, and you promise to be back tomorrow night?” she counters with a hint of doubt creeping into her voice.
“I promise. I swear to you, I will be back in the city tomorrow night and I’ll get all of this shit figured out. I guess it’s up to me to figure out who killed Dad, too.”
There is silence on the other end following my final statement. Maybe she actually believes that it was Tyler. That would explain why Tyler seems to be going off the deep end. Part of me knows damn well that he wouldn’t be capable of doing such a thing, but it would also explain why he keeps pointing the finger at me. Guilty people always try to pass the blame off on others. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Vanessa. Let me know if you find Tyler.” I click the hang-up button and toss the phone on the bed. “Fuck everything.”
Judging by the look on Mandy’s face, something in my conversation with Vanessa seems to have hurt her feelings. I quickly think back to what it might have been. “Are you okay?” I ask after not immediately pinpointing anything.
“Yeah, I’m just tired.” She turns and walks into the adjacent bedroom. I know I should follow her, but I’ve had about all the drama I can handle for one day. I kick off my shoes and crawl to the center of the bed, after ditching my empty glass on the side table.
Mandy
After hearing Trey’s side of the conversation with Vanessa, I can honestly say that the roller coaster finished the day at the absolute bottom. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive due to the lack of sleep, but suddenly tomorrow’s test results don’t seem all that important. I schlep over to the sink and begin washing my face with a clean washcloth. How could I have ever believed that it would be possible for me to have such a magical life? I have always been the type who had to work hard for everything that came my way. If it’s going to be, it’s up to me. That’s always been my mantra.
I stop in mid-stroke and stare into the mirror as a single tear runs down my cheek. Where do I even go from here? Despite what Trey has promised me, I know I can’t rely on him to hire me or make things right. Not to mention the fact that it was my dad’s fault, not his, so he doesn’t owe me jack shit! Dad, you deceptive son of a bitch! I lay my arms on the sink and drop my head to them, letting all my emotions go and crying like I haven’t done in years.
