It was about an hour later when I stopped in front of the New York Palace. I asked the receptionist if Melissa Devins was home. He called and then after a brief conversation, he nodded me to go up. I stood in the elevator for about five minutes before it dinged and opened up to the penthouse. Melissa sat on the couch, watching TV. She glanced up when she saw me, a wide grin spreading a cross her face.
“Hey, Tanya! I haven’t seen you in a while,” Melissa grinned. I laughed.
“That’s because I we’ve met, oh, about once, and I never got a chance to come round again. Is that shopping offer still open?” I asked hesitantly. Melissa’s answering smile confirmed it.
“Let me just grab my purse. Oh, I’ve just been dying to go shopping. You came at a perfect time,” Melissa exclaimed as she walked deeper into the penthouse. She returned moments later and we headed out to my car.
I spent the rest of the day shopping with Melissa. When our arms were laden with numerous shopping bags, we decided to take a break and grab something to eat. I was waiting in line for Subway while Melissa staked out a table to find. I pulled out my phone, turning it on. It began buzzing with all the text messages and phone calls I had received. I tried stuffing it into one of the bags to stop the noise but I could still hear it. I threw it on the floor and with a sigh of relief, the buzzing stopped. The girl behind the counter gave me a weird look before proceeding to ask for my order. After ordering a roast beef sub, I waited to pay for it. This time, I calmly pulled out my phone to check the calls and messages. The majority of them were from Adrian. I ignored those. There were a couple from my friends and one from Ian. I opened the latter one first.
Tanya, Adrian’s been freaking out all day. It’s driving me nuts. Talk to him. – Ian
I groaned. I knew I was going to have to face him at some point, but as soon as I thought of what he’d been hiding from me, my anger erupted again. I slammed the money on the counter, and the girl jumped, startled. She gave me a scared look as she handed me the sub.
“H-have a nice day,” she stuttered. I gave her a half-hearted smile.
I sat down at a table with Melissa. She must have noticed my sudden mood change because she gave me a curious look.
“Spill,” she said, nibbling at her sub. I sighed.
“There’s not much to tell. I got into a fight with Adrian because he lied to me; that’s all it is,” I answered.
“Well whatever he lied to you about, it must be something pretty big.”
“Yeah, it is. He’s been hiding this from me for two years, and he could have told me himself, but I found out after I put all the pieces together. It’s not just the fact that he lied to me, but also that he could have told me all of this much sooner and I wouldn’t have been mad at him. It would have been better if he told me earlier,” I added thinking about it. Had Adrian tried to get me to switch sides earlier, I may not have killed as many people as I did. I could have been free of the guilt that had been eating at me since I killed Elizabeth.
“Honestly, the only way you will ever know why he did whatever he did is by talking to him. I know that’s not something you want to hear let alone do at this point, but you have to sometime,” Melissa advised.
“I know,” I breathed. “Thanks.”
I lost interest in shopping then, and Melissa’s credit card had reached its spending limit for the day, so I dropped her off at the hotel and drove back home. It was getting dark out now, the sun lowering beneath the horizon. I figured I would be able to quickly grab some basic necessities from the house before heading to Estelle’s home. And if I was lucky, I wouldn’t see Adrian. I wasn’t ready just yet.
