Slut - Woodruff Jettie - Страница 24

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I continued to flip pages, engaging in a Q and A as I learned information from Paxton’s investigation first. The nice gentleman that he was placed them in the order he wanted me to learn first.

“Don’t say nothing, Gabriella. I need to know what the fuck is going on here. You need to talk to me,” Paxton said while ensuring my intentions.

“It doesn’t even matter, it’s stupid. My mom, I’m sure she told Izzy and I that we were born in Brazil. I can almost describe it, but I don’t remember why. That’s it. I didn’t know I was born in California.”

Paxton’s eyebrows turned toward the bridge of his nose. “You knew that. We got married, we had to send for your birth certificate, remember?”

I tilted my head and smirked at him with twisted lips, replying with sarcasm. “Funny.”

I didn’t remember that, and truth be known, I didn’t want to. I liked the image of my twin and I coming into the world surrounded by Mother Nature and beauty. I had no problem at all, envisioning being snuggled with my carbon copy, nestled in our mother’s arms. Her beautiful smile held the same beauty as the turquoise water, and I could hear every crashing wave. I preferred to hang on to that story, the one where peace existed; the day that two tiny newborns were brought into this fucked up realm. Hell.

The next page revealed a degree in agriculture and landscaping.

“Explain that one. If you’re not really Izzy, why would you know about trees that attract birds or how to make a fake waterfall?”

I shrugged my shoulders at that one, too. “I married you. You don’t think any of that rubbed off? That I don’t hear you on the phone, ordering concrete or tile, trees and plants? You don’t think I hear you while you tell your guys where to go, what you want done, and why? You go into great detail about how and why you want things. Maybe I’m just not as dumb as you think I am. Maybe I am capable of remembering what you say. You think?”

“Yeah, I mean. I guess that’s possible, but I’m still not convinced. You never gave me your opinion on my business before.”

“I was probably afraid to because you would bite my head off.”

“But now you’re not. Why? See that’s the part that I’m confused about. Gabriella would never tell me where to plant a tree, or laugh at my choices, but Izzy? Now that seems more logical to me.”

“Coincidence? That’s all I got.”

“Sure it is.”

I sipped my drink and continued on my journey through the stack, learning new facts about my life, about Izzy’s life. “She lost her basketball scholarship,” I sadly read aloud.

“That one baffles me a little, too. You’re pretty good at basketball. Did you both play?”

“This really pisses me off. You can’t help me with any of these answers, because you don’t know. You never cared enough about me to find out.”

Paxton stood and ran his fingers through his hair, his newly cut hair. That pissed me off, too. I was in jail, and he was out worrying about his looks.

His frustration with me was as strong as mine was with him. “That’s not supposed to piss you off, Gabriella. We didn’t walk hand in hand and have long talks along the beach.”

“Why not?”

More vexation ran across his face and he growled. “Because that wasn’t us. We didn’t do that, and don’t ask why. What was in the car?”

“What car?”

Another growl. “The Honda. You said you wanted what was inside.”

“Can we stay on one thing for a minute? I told you I would show you the video.”

“What video? Where is it?”

“I have to get Mi to send it to my email. Just wait.”

Paxton picked up my phone and went to my messages. I watched, shaking my head in annoyance. There were no messages, but her number was in there. “This it? This nine, three, one, number?”

“Yes, Paxton. Oh my, God. You’re insane.”

“Keep going. I’ll just send her a nice little message, asking her to email it to you. Do you want me to use the one you’ve always used, or do you have a secret one?”

“Fuck you.”

That stopped him dead in his tracks, causing that rush of adrenaline I hated to surge through my veins. My heart settled when he turned back to my phone with only a look of warning, nothing physical like I expected after seeing that expression. “Don’t, Gabriella. This is bad enough without you adding fuel to the fire.”

Choosing to keep my thoughts to myself, I internally turned the table. Seriously? I was the one tossing gasoline to the flame? Fuck you.

I flipped through two more pages of Paxton’s investigation before getting to Candace’s. Nothing more really, not anything helpful anyway. Izzy checked into rehab three times, and she had a drunk driving charge. Not one word about Vander.

“Those were taken a week before your accident. Why are you going into Lane’s office, and where are my girls while this was all going on? Oh yeah, you don’t remember.”

I didn’t even respond. There was no point. Paxton wore blinders wider than the wings of a seabird. He didn’t hear me, not one word unless it was taken out of context. Paxton gave a whole new meaning to the narcissist’s diagnosis. He held the title, proudly.

The first photo was just what he said, me walking up the steps to Lane’s work. The look on my face showed an uneasiness and my eyes looked focused, scanning the area for anyone who might see me. The next one was in Summit Park where I took the girls sometimes. They loved feeding the ducks their lunch. My hands were in my face like I was crying. Lane’s arms held me to his chest and his lips puckered to my hair.

“My fucking kids are right back there. You see that, Gabriella? You fucking met him where our kids played.”

I hadn’t even noticed that until he pointed it out. Their backs were toward the camera, but sure enough, it was them, both trying to fly cheap kites. Again, I didn’t comment. I flipped to the next photo, shaking my head. It was official, I had an affair with Lane. We were parked outside the grocery store where I shopped; where Candace shopped. Once more, Lane had his arms around me, and my face was buried in his chest. The next one was in public; we were seated at a bistro table outside a little deli that I didn’t recognize. My eyes were concentrated on his finger, pointing to something on a white piece of paper, a golden envelope laying beneath it.

“I know where this is,” I admitted while my eyes stayed on the photo.

“What?” Paxton questioned as he slid into the chair beside me.

“This envelope. I know where it is.”

“Where?”

Tired of all the lies, I really did plan on telling him until my phone rang. The number displayed the only friend I had in the world. Paxton and I both stared at it.

“Answer it,” he ordered as he slid it my way.

“Hey, Mi.”

“Oh my, God. You’re not going to believe this, Gabby.”

“I don’t know if I want to hear it.”

“You do. It’s the answer to all your questions.”

“What do you mean?”

I looked up to Paxton when he took the phone right out of my hand. He hit speaker and placed it between both of us.

“Nick knows. He knows everything because he’s been working with you for over a year.”

“Mi, you’re on speaker phone and Paxton is sitting right here,” I suddenly said for whatever reason. I didn’t even know where it came from. It was like a defense mechanism, instantly taking over my mind and mouth.

“Oh, hey, Paxton.”

“Say it. What do you mean Nick has been working with her?”

Mi sounded nervous when Paxton spoke. “Gotta go, I’ll catch you later, Gabby,” her voice cracked a little and she hung up.

Both our eyes moved from the blinking number to each other’s. Paxton straightened his spine and leaned toward me on his elbows, face showing his anger. “What the fuck, Gabriella? I thought you wanted this. I thought you wanted all the answers. Changing your mind now that you realize you’re nothing more than a lying slut? Is that it?”

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