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| IMPOSTER BY MARIQUA |
CHAPTER 48 |
An explosion seemed to be going on inside him as he watched the two people across from him delicately withdraw their eyes from each other, and attempt to recover from the moment between them. Every nerve in his body tingled with energy, and all he could do was sit there with the knowledge he had just acquired. His benign, good nature had been destroyed with one look, and now another emotion was snaking its way into his soul. Fury.
Not minutes before he had been saying that he had "learned a lot." The irony of his statement felt like a hammer hitting him between the eyes. I've learned nothing!! You and your arrogant pride and your academic B.S!
In a single point in time, he had seen to the other side of his life - a life he had been so comfortable with and had taken for granted would go on with no hitches. His world was made up of lectures, group sessions, writing and seminars with one exception - her. She had been drawn into his life like oxygen that he breathed every day and accepted as a reality that would never go away. Not once had he ever questioned the longevity of their relationship. All he had ever seen was what he had wanted to see - that they were very good friends who both had demanding careers that made it impossible to have normal, social lives. She was someone he had the utmost respect for, and a woman whose mind kept up with his. Until tonight he had assumed that their friendship was incapable of being disturbed - that nothing would ever interfere with the bond between them. Until Nick.
Right now I want to kill you. Slider let the rage wander around inside him without attempting to quell it. He had justification. You did this before...she was the only other friend besides Todd that I cared about...and you took her. You didn't even really want her...but I did. You knew that.
"Slider?" Sherry's voice shook him out of his thoughts, and his eyes shifted back to a normal state.
"Sorry...just thinking," Slider leaned back in his chair, raising his wineglass in the air. "How about a toast?"
Nick and Sherry raised their glasses and waited for him to speak. I can be just as good as you are, Nick, at masking my feelings...you're not going to know anything until I'm ready.
"Here's to Nick's continued recovery, and to Sherry for helping to get him there!" he said and as their glasses clinked together, he knew he would have to master the spurts of anger coursing through him. I'm going to get you out of our lives, you s.o.b. and bring him back once and for all.
"Tea?" the male voice asked as she shut the door of the apartment. "Si...it's me, Miguel," she answered and walked back into her hideaway.
"Where have you been?"
"Out...taking care of some things," she said and thought about what she would have to say to Miguel.
"That brother of yours was nosing around Angel Square today. I think he could be getting close..."
"Well, never mind him. That's what I need to talk to you about. I'm going to be leaving town for awhile. I don't know when I'll be back either."
Miguel put down the coffee cup he had been holding and looked sharply at her. "Do you have money?"
"Yes...more than enough. I've got to get some answers to what's been happening in my life. You can understand, can't you?"
Miguel's eyes softened as he saw that she was very concerned about what he thought of her. "You are mi amiga, Tea. Whatever you decide...you know I want you to be... happy."
Tea blinked back tears as she thought of what it had meant to have a friend like him. Antonio had been right about her needing friends who spoke the same language as she did. As much as she had strayed away from her roots, she had come to realize the very strong connection that she would always have with her heritage. Sometimes Todd had teased her about it, but she had always known that he respected who she was and that she had never been less in his eyes.
"What would I do without you?" Tea said and her warm voice made Miguel suddenly feel awkward. "The next time you see me, Miguel, I'm going to know exactly what I'm doing."
Sunlight poured through the side window as Slider puttered around in the kitchen. After a really restless night, he had awoken to the new day. He was wearing a tee shirt with a faded pair of jeans and looked like he hadn't slept very well. This was his image on the outside. On the inside his mind was getting ready - ready to go into Hell itself to get to the source of Nick.
Last night. Last night had been one of the most painful moments of his life. That Nick should be pursuing Sherry had pierced down into a compartment of his emotions buried beneath layers of analysis. All his life he had tried to figure out the problems of others, leaving little time to solve his own. Nick's reentry into his established existence was difficult enough, but now something else had been added to the mix. Tossing and turning in the bed, he had disturbing dreams of Nick and Sherry together and him trying to warn her before it was too late. This man is not who he appears to be.
Already this morning he had brought Nick his breakfast and watched him even more carefully than he had previously. His senses picked up something from Nick that he knew was different. Nick was not relaxed anymore. There was a struggle going on behind those hazel eyes.
"Finished?" Slider said walking into the living room as Nick set down his plate on the coffee table.
"Yeah...wouldn't mind some more coffee," Nick said looking up at Slider.
Scrutinizing Slider's tired face, he added, "Rough night?"
"It was a long week...just winding down on the weekend."
"Oh...yeah...the work of a psychologist...must be taxing," Nick smiled with guarded sarcasm.
"I'll get the coffee," Slider said and walked out of the room.
Nick stretched his long arms out and moved his legs around. He was feeling much better today physically, but his own night after Sherry had left had been anything but peaceful. All night his memory had replayed the moment when his lips had been on hers and the complete surrender of his will to that moment. She's the doctor...I'm the patient...Slider would know all about this. Yet something told him that this was not it. There was more...more that had never been dealt with.
Slider returned and set the piping hot coffee down on the table. Nick nodded his thanks to him and took a sip from the cup.
"Good coffee."
"Thanks. How are you feeling today...after nearly falling last night?"
Nick's eyes peered suspiciously at Slider over his cup. "Okay, I guess...I'll take it slower next time."
Holding his own cup, Slider sat down in the big easy chair. "That's good...so what do you say, Nick...ready to go exploring?"
A small fire began to burn behind Nick's eyes as he heard the words, and suddenly every fiber of his being was on red alert status. So this is it...just you and me...
Viki's hands shook as she twisted the pearl earring and secured it to her ear. Her life had become such a paradox...total happiness and total grief thrown together simultaneously. Frowning at the black, dowdy-looking dress she had chosen to wear to the memorial service, she went over to her closet and selected another black outfit that was less somber. I just have to wear black. I don't have to look like I died.
Sam will be here soon. Everything will be better when he walks through that door. Thinking back over what she had had to take care of in the last few days, she wondered how she had done it. As much as she loved her own children, Todd had been another extension of herself and she had identified with him in a way that defied explanation at times.
Stepping back to look at herself in the full-length mirror, she marveled that she could look good with the way she was feeling. Her ears heard the doorbell, and her daughter's voice greeting someone in the foyer. You're here!
"Exploring? Got to hand it to you...that's an original line...got any more?"
"A few," Slider spoke quietly and continued to stare at him. "You and I both know what I'm after, Nick."
"Is it my soul, Slider?" Nick asked with a touch of devilment.
"Maybe."
Your mind up against my mind...like before, but you've been educated to the ways of the world now. Still...you brought me back...only you, Slider, and you deserve something for that. Hmmm....what shall I give you?
You've become the case study of a lifetime, Nick. One man is waiting in the wings while you live his life for him, and he can't even fight back. I can though...I will...
The friction between them that existed currently and from another point in time swelled within both men, and Slider had no trouble speaking the one thought that hadn't left him since Nick had reappeared.
"I want to go back...back to that night."
