Dont Blame Me

Chapter 27

"What did she say?" Ashley asks softly, but I know what she's really asking. What did my mother say to make me look so damn wounded.

I scoff. "She thought I might've prostituted myself to Mark."

Her mouth drops, but she quickly picks it back up. "That's terrible, Rosie. I'm so sorry," she apologizes, her face twisting with empathy. Ashley's always had a wonderful family, but she's been around long enough to understand what growing up with my mother is like.

I wave a hand. "She's said worse."

"What did she say about Frank?"

I reiterate everything Mom told me, and when I'm done, she just stares at me with wide eyes. I got the same reaction after I told her what I found out from Mark about Ronaldo and John.

"All I know is Gigi started a lot of shit by falling in love with Ronaldo," I finish on a sigh.

Ashley rolls her lips. "Speaking of stalkers... are you not going to tell your mom about Lisa?"

I shoot her a look. "That's like asking if I'm going to tell her about how one time, I let a guy fingerbang me in the middle of a concert."

She snorts. "Yeah, okay, you win that one." Hesitation flashes across her green eyes, and I know the question that's coming. I straighten my spine, preparing for it.
"She hasn't said anything else about what she does for a living? Or why she's involved with Mark?"

That last question right there is exactly why I can't tell her who Lisa is. She had said no one else knows about Mark and what she's really involved in except the few people who assist her.
I shake my head, refusing to give voice to my lie.
Ashley nods, accepting my answer without thought, and the guilt that resides within me is almost unbearable. I lied to her face, and she didn't even question it.

She pours a shot of rum and hands it to me. "Here, this will cheer you up. Pregaming before a haunted carnival is like, law."

I accept the shot and gulp it down. When I lower the glass, the smile is back on my face. Alcohol won't cure the guilt, but at least I'm not mad about my mom calling me a prostitute anymore. She snorts when she sees my face.

"What do you think the haunted houses will be like this year?" she asks, patting some shimmery brown eyeshadow on her eyelid.

She's going to look dangerous when she's finished. The eyeshadow will bring out her sage green eyes to hazardous levels and attract all the monsters.

"I don't know, it's always hard to guess. It's like trying to guess the next theme for American Horror Story."

The houses in Satan's Affair usually all follow the same theme. One year, most of the haunted houses were set up like prisons, and in each house, you had to figure out how to escape.
That's still one of my favorite themes thus far. That was also the same year Ashley peed herself.
She brings an extra change of clothes now, and I tease her every time.

"You ready?" she asks, swiping at her eyelashes one last time with her mascara wand.

"Girl, I was born ready. Let's go pee-body."

"Bitch," she mutters, but I barely hear it over my evil cackling.

*****

Satan's Affair is one of my favorite places in the world. At night, the fair comes alive with laughter, peals of screams from terror and excitement, and moans of joy from the fried food.
Walking into the field full of haunted houses, carnival rides, and food trucks is like walking into pure static energy.
Ashley and I immediately get sucked into the crowd. It's five o'clock, pitch black already, and some of the monsters are already starting to trickle into the crowd.
My eye snags on a girl dressed up as a broken doll, sitting on the bench and happily eating a philly cheesesteak sandwich. I nearly groan, the scent of grilled meat making my mouth water.
I nudge Ashley and point her out. "She's dressed as a doll."