“What?”
He ran a hand through his hair again. “What’d, you…you drug me or something? Both of us?”
“What?” She started to take a step toward him but Brad’s fingers tightened on her shoulders, holding her back.
“That’s it!” Ellis’ face lit with crazed triumph. He jabbed a finger at her again. “You drugged us!”
“No! What the hell?”
“He’s losing it,” Brad murmured in her ear. “Just hang on. It’s going to get bumpy.”
“Yep!” Ellis crowed. “I am not losing my mind. I don’t know what you did, but you can forget it! Is that what this is about? You’re trying to snag us so you can get money from us? I bet that’s it, isn’t it? Takes money to run a place like this and you’re probably hurting for cash!”
She violently twisted free from Brad’s grasp as behind her she heard him mutter, “Oh, fuck.”
She advanced on Ellis, who cowered away from her. She kept her hands balled tightly at her sides to prevent her from slapping the hell out of him. “Let me tell you something, buddy,” she said through clenched teeth. “I didn’t do anything to you or Brad. I invited you over tonight because I thought you were a couple of nice guys and I wanted to get to know you better and not have to spend an evening alone.” She rounded the table, with Ellis retreating ahead of her.
“And for another thing, my best friend just died. I thought spending some time in nice dinner conversation might help lift my spirits. For your fucking information, asshole, money is the one thing I do not have to worry about anymore in my life.” They made another circuit around the table. “When Julie died, she left me everything. Including this business, yes. But she was already rich before that. When Grover and I went to the CPA last week, he told me my personal assets, not counting the building or the business and its profits, are now around the five-million-dollar mark.”
Ellis backed into the corner between the counter and living room wall. She got into his face, not touching him, and dropped her voice. “So if you think I’m after your money,” she whispered, “think again, asshole. I don’t need your fucking money. I damn sure don’t want your fucking money. How do I know you’re not after my money to spend renovating that money pit of yours? And no, I did not drug you. If you’re so small-minded you can’t see what’s in front of your face, then you can just go fuck yourself. I feel really sorry for you because you’ll never know the magick and wonder you’re missing in this life.”
She stepped back and stared up at him. “And the subject you’ve been so desperately avoiding tonight was that this morning you and I shared a vision of us kissing. I, for one, enjoyed the hell out of it. Apparently you find me so repellant and disgusting that you can’t even imagine what could really happen between us if you’d just open your mind and your heart.”
She felt the tears, hot and heavy, rolling down her cheeks. “Sorry I’ve disrupted your neat and tidy existence, Ellis.”
She turned her back on him and headed toward the bedroom.
Behind her, she heard him say, “Mandaline, no, I didn’t mean—”
“I refuse to sacrifice who I am just because you have a problem with it,” she called over her shoulder without turning. “Go fuck yourself, Ellis.”
Brad grabbed her before she reached the bedroom door. He turned her to face him. “Mandaline, please,” he softly said. “He didn’t mean it.”
“Yes, he did mean it. I’m not stupid. You don’t need to cover for him. I’m sorry, but maybe you’d both better go. Good night.”
She gently pulled her hand from his and walked into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. For extra measure, she pushed the button on the knob to lock it.
Then she threw herself facedown on the bed and cried.
She was vaguely aware of muffled, angry male voices in the living room. A few moments later, she heard them walk down the stairs.
She didn’t unlock the bedroom door until she heard their car start and drive away. When she looked out the living room window, down into the parking area, their car was gone.
She hurried downstairs and locked the back door. Pers had followed her down, but she scooped him up in her arms and carried him back upstairs. “Not now, puppy,” she muttered. “Let’s wait a little bit.”
Never before in his life had Brad wanted to slug Ellis the way he did right then. When he heard the bedroom door lock behind Mandaline, he stormed back to the living room, grabbed Ellis by the shirt, and slammed him against the wall. “What the fuck is wrong with you, dude?” He tried to keep his voice low. “What the everlovin’ fuck is your issue?”
Ellis looked shell-shocked. If it wasn’t for how badly Brad knew Mandaline was hurting right now, he’d burst out laughing at his friend’s state.
“I didn’t mean…I didn’t know…I didn’t—”
“She’s right. You are being an asshole. Something wonderful happens that you can’t understand and you’re automatically trying to find the worst-case scenario and make that your reality. I feel sorry for you, man. I really feel sorry for you.”
“But no way could this be happening!”
“Yes, way, it can and did. There’s no denying it happened. Who the fuck cares why it’s happening? I don’t. All I care about is this woman was brought into our lives and we might actually have had a chance to be happy with her until you just went and fucked it up.”
Brad turned, near tears himself, and headed downstairs.
Chapter Ten
Torn and confused in addition to being frightened out of his wits, Ellis looked at the closed bedroom door before looking at the stairwell. No, he didn’t know what was going on. And yes, his brain had latched on to it being some sort of scam on Mandaline’s part.
He’d never dreamed how wrong he was about possible motives on her part. And now, even though he did think she was attractive, now she was convinced he hated her.
He closed his eyes. Fuck. I don’t think I could have screwed this up any worse if I’d tried.
He followed Brad downstairs. Brad wouldn’t even look at him, much less talk to him, so Ellis gave up trying. They rode home in silence.
At the house, Brad stopped by the kitchen to take his meds before heading up to the attic and closing the door behind him. Ellis heard the TV come on and knew Brad wouldn’t be making an appearance downstairs again anytime soon.
He locked himself in his room and undressed before crawling into bed. He felt like a real shit.
I need to apologize to her.
But the sensation of the hallucination repeating there in her kitchen, the same one he’d experienced earlier with Brad, had freaked him right the hell out.
He heard the attic door open and the sound of Brad coming downstairs. But instead of stopping and going into his room, Brad continued down to the first floor. Then he heard the sound of the side door opening and closing.
“Brad?”
He got up and went downstairs. He stuck his head out the side door, but saw no sign of him. “Brad!” he yelled into the darkness.
After a few minutes of indecision and mosquitoes trying to come into the house and bite him, Ellis closed the door. He left it unlocked, unsure if Brad had his keys or not.
He went back up to his room, feeling even worse. Not only did I hurt Mandaline, who’s done nothing but try to be nice and helpful, not to mention been through hell the past week, but I’ve also hurt my best friend.