Drink Me

14. THE POOL OF TEARS

THE POOL OF TEARS

A few minutes later Alice appeared from the bedroom in a pair of Riley's joggers rolled up at the ankles and an oversize t-shirt stained with wet patches from her towel-dried hair. Her face was now clean from any traces of makeup but her eyes were still swollen and red.

She looked so young and fragile.

"Are you feeling better?" Riley asked in his gentle voice.

Alice walked timidly to the sofa.

"Yes, at least I'm not freezing now..." she said as she collapsed on the sofa, tucking her feet under her legs.

Riley smiled sweetly.

"Listen," she started after a deep breath. "I really need to thank you for your help. I hope I'm not putting you in an awkward position with Aidan..."

"Alice," Riley cut her short. "I love my cousin but this is unacceptable, he put himself in an awkward position. You can stay here as long as you want."

"Does Aidan know you're here?" Riley asked.

"No, not yet."

Riley nodded in response then shifted on the sofa a little closer to her. "Do you want to talk about it?" hee asked, leaning on his parted knees.

Alice chewed the inside of her mouth as she thought. "I think it's my fault, Riley. I really pushed him." She gazed at him with her sorrowful, big eyes.

A rush of fury hit him. "No, Alice. Don't say that, he has no right to treat you like this!"

Alice nodded quickly. "I know but I'm being honest, I really took him to the extreme..."

Riley's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I know you said I shouldn't worry about a side chick," Alice started. "But he's been acting so strangely recently, I just couldn't shift that idea from my mind so I followed him one day."

"Oh, Alice..." Riley let out a soft sigh of scorn.

The woman took a deep breath. "I know. I'm terrible but I'm glad I did," she concentrated on her chipped cherry nail varnish. "I saw him with a woman."

Riley frowned in disappointment but Alice shook her head. "They weren't intimate like that, it was strange. She looked quite a bit older than Aidan. They went for a walk in the park, had a coffee and chatted for hours. They never kissed or held hands, nothing like that. But I could tell they shared a sort of... passion. Anyway," she continued shaking herself back to reality. "After that, I searched his office at home..." she looked up at Riley, expecting another look of scorn.

"Did you find anything?" Riley asked, instead.

Alice nodded. "I found another cell phone."

Riley's eyebrows knitted in surprise. "Maybe it's for work?" he tried. "For some sensitive cases?"

Alice shrugged. "I don't know, Riley, that's where it all started. I confronted him and when I showed him what I found he just flipped. He was so mad I had snooped around his office, which I can understand but he wouldn't say what he needed two phones for. He didn't even try to make up excuses."

She took a deep breath. "In a wave of rage, I threw the phone in the fire." She admitted with some embarrassment.

Riley tried to conceal his amusement. The situation was tragic but that little petty gesture made him laugh.

"I know, it was stupid," agreed Alice with a smirk. But then her face became dark again.

"That's when he lost it." Her fingers went mindlessly to her neck, caressing the bruises. "He screamed and called me names. I swear Riley I've never seen him like that... His face was a mask of hate."