The Club

CHAPTER 25

A couple turn the corner and I suck in a breath. Graham stiffens next to me and grabs my hand. "Are you going to be okay?"

I reach for my glass of water and take a large gulp. I let the cold liquid flow down my throat and I chew up a piece of ice the slipped in. I gnaw on it focusing all of my anxiety and anger into that small cube. Letting the rest of the water flow down my throat, I let my emotions go down with it. I plaster on a fake smile and look over to Graham. "I'm fine."

Graham doesn't know about my past and the real reason I wanted out of this town so bad. The only person who knows what happened that night is Parker, Kyle, and myself. She wanted to cut his dick off after the fact but I quickly talked her out of it. I just wanted to forget that night ever happened.

I turn my attention back toward the couple coming toward us and I have to hold back a laugh when I get a good look at them. Parker's eyes go wide and Bianca's hold on his hand tightens. His hair is thinning and he has a ridiculous comb over going on. Underneath his blazer I can see a protruding beer belly over his too small button up. Bianca on the other hand looks exactly the same. Perfectly polished from head to toe.

A high pitched whine comes out of her mouth. "Paris. Come on, stop bothering these—oh my gosh—Erika is that you? How are you? It's been such a long time."

"Mom, you know who Erika Takai is?" Paris drops her purse on the table and looks like she just won an entire candy store.

"Oh, have I never told you that before? Your daddy and I went to high school with her."

Paris tilts her head to the side and says, "No, anytime her music comes on you always turn it off—"

Bianca cuts her off before she can finish whatever else she was going to say about me. "What are you talking about? Of course I would never do that. We're big fans of your music, Erika." She turns to Parker who has lost a few shades of color and seems to be sweating like crazy. "Aren't we, honey?"

Parker chokes on saliva or maybe he just doesn't know how to breathe properly. He sputters and coughs a few times and brings his gaze up to my own. "Uh...yeah, of course we are." Then he quickly glances down at his very interesting shoes. They'd have to be given how intense he is staring.

She nods like she believes everything she's saying. If she believes her own lies, they must be the truth. "Yeah we listen to your music all the time, Erika. It's so weird seeing you here. How long are you back for? We should get together for lunch or something. Catch up on all the good times."

Either this woman has had a lobotomy or she's that oblivious. She was a major bitch to me in high school, and we were far from friends. I'm sure her dear husband forgot to leave out the part that he raped me before climbing back into her bed. And judging by the looks of their daughter she was at home with a child. I feel the sudden urge to punch him in the face and tell her his dirty little secret. I'm sure I wasn't the only one either.

"You and I both know we won't be having lunch. You can stop with the pleasantries now."

Her eyes go wide and in a meek voice she asks, "Why would you say something like that?"

Parker clears his throat and tries to pull off a bored tone but judging by the redness of his neck and the squeak to his voice, his acting skills could use a little work. "Bianca, I'm going outside. Come on, Paris."

As they leave the room, Bianca takes a step closer to the table and the fear on his face is evident. She's dripping with desperation and it makes my stomach curdle. "You're not here to turn him in are you? He's in a much better place now in his life. He's been in counseling and he doesn't drink anymore. He's actually gotten into politics and is the youngest mayor this town has ever had. Please tell me what I can do to make this better. He can't go to jail."