Tainted Black - Williams Shanora (книги полностью бесплатно TXT) 📗

“Theo!” I shouted. “Stop!” I darted around the counter, grabbing his arm, but he pulled away.

“What the fuck is that on your shoulder!? Huh? You still with them? Did they send you to kill me!? Fuck with my life!? MY LOVE!”

In the heat of the moment, Theo turned my way and glared down. “Chloe! Who the fuck is he, huh?”

“That’s what I wanted to tell you!” I wailed. “I was trying to explain!”

“Explain what?!” he barked.

Thick tears lined the rims of my eyes. God, I was so tired of holding it in. I hated all of these secrets—all the lying and holding back on how I truly felt, so I let go of everything. I put myself first, knowing deep down that I was truly selfish for doing such a thing. “You think Mrs. Black was innocent, but she wasn’t who you thought she was!” I exclaimed. “She was cheating on you with Sterling!”

Theo blinked rapidly, eyes still broad as he released Sterling. Sterling clung to his throat, looking at me with wide, confused, grey eyes. “What?” he wheezed. “No—no I didn’t even know she was your wi—”

“What did you just say?” Theo moved towards me, shutting Sterling up and acting as if he never even existed. His eyes were on me. The spotlight was on me, but I didn’t want to shine. His hands went to my upper arms, and he held me. His grip was tight and rough, but he made sure he wasn’t hurting me. “Chloe, don’t fuck around with me! Don’t make shit up about her! You didn’t even know her like I did!”

“I’m not.” My voice broke as I looked at his red-rimmed eyes. “That night, when Mrs. Black was murdered, it was because of The Union. Remember when you said there was more than one guy—well, there was. A whole gang. You never told me they didn’t allow love, but Sterling did. He used to be a part of their gang, and as his punishment, they robbed him of his love, killing the woman he was in love with. He loved Mrs. Black, Theo. And she loved him. She was with him on those nights she’d work late. She stopped at that run-down gas station because she was most likely on her way to see Sterling.”

The room—the entire condo—went absolutely still. If a pin dropped on the hard surface of the floor it would have caused all ears to rattle. Theo released me and staggered back, staring at me as if I had a demon on my shoulder. He shook his head back and forth, muttering the word “no” over and over again.

“No,” he growled. “No. You’re lying!”

“I wouldn’t lie to you! Sterling!” I rushed for Sterling. “Tell him! Tell him what her name was.”

“No, Chloe.” He scowled in my direction. “He’ll fucking kill me, damn it!”

“Just tell him! It’s the only way he’ll know this is true—that I’m not making this up.”

Sterling’s damp eyes turned on Theo. He dropped his hands from his throat and stood up straight. “Her name was Janet Black… but I swear I didn’t know you were her husband when I came here. I knew she had a husband and a daughter, but I didn’t know who you or Izzy were… not until now.” He focused on me. “Chloe must’ve just been too afraid to tell me.” He dropped his head. “Shit.”

Theo looked both of us over with an incredulous expression, and in a matter of seconds, he spun around and barged through his bedroom door. He returned with a photo album in his hands, the same one that I’d gone through the first day they moved to Primrose. He flipped the pages, going to his most recent picture of Mrs. Black. Pointing a thick, angry finger, he gruffly asked, “Her? She was the one you slept with? This woman?”

Sterling looked down, and I could see the admiration quickly fill his eyes. I also witnessed the pain he held, how he’d constantly wanted to blame himself for her death. If he’d never met or fallen for her, she wouldn’t have died.

“Yes,” Sterling whispered. “Yeah, that’s her. That’s—that’s Janet.”

Theo watched Sterling’s reaction, how guilt swarmed him and ate him up. He caught the anguish, the same pain he felt when he lost Mrs. Black. They had both lost a good woman, but both of them felt betrayed. By the way Sterling looked at Theo, I was sure he could see all the love Theo had for his dead wife. He saw that she was most likely happy to be with him, but that she’d also given half of her heart to him. She couldn’t choose, so she kept both.

Seeing the two of them watch each other and not know what in the hell to do was hard to witness. I couldn’t block my tears or prevent the sniffling that came along with it. I wasn’t sure if they wanted to strangle each other or feel deep pity for one another.

“Is all that true?” Izzy’s voice cut through the turmoil, and everyone turned to look at her. She stepped forward with a towel in hand, eyes glistening. “Is. That. True?” she asked Sterling.

He looked down. “Yes.”

Theo started to lunge forward with the urge to attack Sterling, but something stopped him from doing so. Perhaps it was because he knew it wasn’t his fault for loving Mrs. Black. Sterling fell for her because she accepted him entirely for who he was, just as she did Theo. In a way, Theo was only looking at a younger replica of himself. I could hear everyone’s heartbeats, their minds racing with drama, chaos, and pain.

“Mom… cheated?” Izzy whispered. “That—she would never do that.”

“Oh, sweetie, it’s not like Theo really cares.” Trixie appeared out of nowhere, wobbling as she met at Izzy’s side. She was wasted, some of her makeup smeared, the edges of her hair frizzy as if she’d constantly put cold water on her face.

Izzy jerked away. “Get off of me!”

Trixie narrowed her eyes. “You know what?! Fuck this!” she yelled. “Fuck everyone in this fucking place! I am so sick and tired of the side eyes and the shit talking behind my back. You think I don’t hear it, but I do, and you know what, screw all of you because none of you are perfect!” She stumbled forward, pointing one finger at me and one at Theo. And as she did, my heart jumped out of my chest and hit the floor because I knew what was coming. I knew she was truly, honestly done being around, holding in her juicy information. “Especially the two of you!” she seethed. “You sneaky little sons of bitches! You thought you were so good that no one would ever find out, but I did. And you both are fucking idiots!”

“Trixie!” Theo’s voice was loud as he marched for her, grabbing her arm and pulling her away, but she jerked and twisted out of his grasp. She was quick, rushing in Izzy’s direction.

“Hey, I bet you don’t know that your dad and your best friend are fucking, do you?” Her voice, though slurred, was comprehensible, and it felt like the heart that was on the floor—my heart—was now being stomped on by a stampede of wild bulls.

My body seemed to do nothing, but I wanted to rush forward, tackle Trixie to the ground, and tell Izzy it was all lies. But… but… I couldn’t. I was stuck, not in a trance or a daze. Just stuck.

“W-what?” Izzy’s forehead creased as she turned to face Trixie who was being hauled away by Theo. Theo’s anger lit his face. He was red from head to toe, stalking towards the door and tossing her out.

“Yeah! She’s fucking your dad! Some friend, huh!” she shouted before the door slammed in her face.

Theo didn’t move once he’d slammed it. He just stood there, staring at the back of the glossy brown door.

I was just as motionless. Powerless.

In that moment, as Izzy’s watery, depressed eyes met mine, I snapped out of my stupor and rushed for her. She backed away from me, holding her hands up and warding me off as if I had a contagious disease. “Izzy, I am so sorry,” I whispered, head shaking. “It was never supposed to happen. It was really late, and he needed someone to help him so—”

Izzy held her hand up but said nothing, which was disturbingly rare. I wanted her to speak. Shout! Do anything. Curse me out if it made her feel better. But for nearly one whole minute, she was mute. Theo finally turned around, but he avoided his daughter’s watery eyes, focusing on the floor. Sterling walked past him and out of the condo, leaving the three of us standing there with heavy minds and empty mouths.