Nothing Less

Chapter Sixteen.

With her shady trips to Scarsdale, she could be either, really. From what Google knows about Scarsdale, it's a pretty wealthy area with an older population. Her family lives in Washington, so it has to be someone else. My phone buzzes across the table and I grab it, reading the name on the screen.

Dakota.

Why is she calling me?

And more importantly, why don't I want to answer it?

Guilt washes over me. I shouldn't be avoiding her. She doesn't deserve that. But I can't keep balancing this rope between them, eventually I'll slip.

Nora's voice saying, I'll come back to you, plays and plays in my head. I think about the way her eyes flash with mischief when she challenges me and the way my name sounds when it comes from her mouth. I lay my phone on my chest and I let the call go to my voicemail and continue to make up plotlines for Nora's lifetime movie.

The night that I followed her, she changed her clothes before she got off. We can refer to that night as The Scarsdale Night. She changed her shirt and and took her hair down from it's ponytail. She even ran her fingers through the messy strands and they bounced on her shoulders. She shook her head and I remember thinking she should star in a shampoo commercial.

But enough about her bouncy things... I need to focus back on my conspiracy theory surrounding Nora. I raise my hand and hold it up over my face and make a fist. I lift one finger for random subway rides an hour away. What else? Hmmm...

She's had shady phone calls come in while with me and then proceeded to leave my apartment. I raise another finger. As for disappearing, she's done that on more than one occasion, and I would have to be an idiot to ignore the warning signs as I raise another finger. If I get to five, I need to enter witness protection.

Speaking of witness protection, is she in it? She does have two names...

Was her ex-boyfriend in the mob or something?

Does she have a boyfriend now, and if so, is he in the mob?

I'm not sure why my brain goes straight to everyone being in the mob, I think I've watched too many movies. I did watch The Godfather when I was a teenager. More than once. I'm going to be like those people who blame their inability to function in society on a movie they watched when they were at that pivotal age of youth.

Tessa made me watch this movie the other night that had a scene where a woman was sitting with her mom, telling her that she failed her by letting her watch Cinderella as a child. That's what happened to me, I watched The Godfather and soapy Lifetime movies with my mom and now I'm convincing myself that my girlfriend is an assassin or an ex-mob member.

Maybe Nora has a secret child? She is older than me and she does have that soothing voice, I could totally see her as a mom.

Maybe she's hiding something bigger, like that she actually does like Gatorade after all?

I would rather find out that she's an assassin than find out she's been lying about her hate for my favorite drink.

I'm getting way, way too creative here. I need something to do.

Pronto.

I lay the remote down on the coffee table and sit up. Should I call her?

She promised she would come back to me, will she?

She was looking straight at me. Am I a fool to think that I could tell if she was lying?
Can I trust her to actually keep a promise?

I promise to not say things I'll want to erase, she told me. We made a deal. It was set in stone from that second on and I fully expect her to keep her side of the deal.