Page 119 of Pretty Poisoned
"That's none of your business."
I turn and push through the doors of the small cafe.
"Teagan, that's disgusting!" she exclaims. "You're…you're a whore!"
The bustling cafe becomes unreasonably quiet. I swallow a lump in my throat and blink back tears.
Iwill notlet her see me cry—not over that.
"Well, that's a really fucking nice thing to say to me."
"Well, what would you call it, Teagan?" Blakely asks. "Huh? God, it literally makes me sick."
I ignore her, stepping forward to place my order. "Hi, can I get a club sandwich and a large Americano with an extra shot, please?"
"Sure, that'll be…$20.78," the woman says.
"I've got it," Blakely says. "She doesn't have a job. Make it two clubs and add a water, please."
I roll my eyes. "My boyfriend gave her five thousand dollars yesterday," I tell the woman.
"Herboyfriendpasses her around to his friends and abuses women."
I scoff.
"Um…$34.76."
Blakely taps her phone on the screen, and I take the number sign the woman gave us and find an empty table. I slouch in my chair with my arms crossed in front of me and wait for her to join me.
"You don't have a boyfriend. You realize that, right? That's not what you are to him."
"So, is this your big plan to convince me to come home with you? Remind me how shitty you make me feel all the time?"
"I'm sorry," Blakely says. "I'm frustrated, and I'm stressed. I was up all night worrying about you—I went straight to the airport and flew all the way out here because I love you, Teagan. I'm trying to help you. And you were right about the brothers the whole time."
"You laughed at me."
"Well, I'm not fucking laughing now, am I? Did you read the article?"
"Yeah…some of it."
"Teagan, she said he kept her tied to a bed in the basement for—she doesn't even know how long. He sexually assaulted her, he cut her, he didn't even let her go to the bathroom."
"Stop…"
"He left her there to soil herself."
"I said stop! Okay? I don't want to hear it."
"Well, you need to hear it!" Blakely shouts.
"Um…I have two clubs, an Americano, and a water…is everything okay?"
"Yes, it's fine," Blakely tells the server. "That's ours; thank you."
I realize that I'm fucking starving. I pick up the sandwich and take a bite, then notice Rhett and Brady sitting at a table just over Blakely's right shoulder. Rhett gives me a nod, and I quickly look away.
"Teagan, this is serious," Blakely says. "This isn't a movie or book or a fucking episode ofDateline. I would have thought you'd have learned your lesson by now. That girl…she says they're part of a cult. She says they kill people."
