Murders Of The Past

TEN

CARLOS SHUTS THE door behind Jordan and waits, staring at it. After taking a deep breath he turns to me, his crystal blue eyes a hurricane of rage.

  "Sadie, we need to talk about..." His words enter through my left and fall out of my right ear as I immediately zone out. My mind wonders to Thana, picturing her flapping her little arms around in the bathtub, trying to lift her face from the water. How long was she in there until Bailey found her? What if Bailey never found her?

"Sadie!" I jump, shaking my head and looking at Carlos.

"Yeah?" I lift my chin from my palm and sit up in the chair, tapping my long red nails on the counter.

"Were you even listening?" I hesitate.

"Honestly, no." Carlos glowers at me. He holds his glare for as long as he can, then he spins around and slams his fist into the wall. I jump, staring at his back. In the four years that I've known Carlos, I've never witnessed such an angry side of him before. He turns his head to look at me.

"What is wrong with you!" He bellows. I continue staring at him, unsure of what to say. "I don't know what's up with you, but I'm tired of this, Sadie!" He starts towards me, stopping at the other end of the island. I shy away from his eyes, focusing on my nails as I continue tapping them, more quickly now.

  "Sadie." My head snaps up, giving him my attention. "You're different." I look from side to side. Carlos leans against the table, studying me suspiciously. "I mean you've always been different, but lately something is just off." I shake my head, clearing my throat.

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "I don't know what I'm talking about either," he says. "I just know something is off." I look down at my fingers again, tapping away. "Is it your Dad?" My fingers freeze as I look up.

  "What about my Dad?" I frown.

  "Is he why you're acting different? Because of his heart attack?" I shake my head.

  "I'm not acting different." He ignores me and walks around the counter, eyeing me cautiously. He stops when he's beside me.

  "Your Dad is okay." My Dad wasn't the problem- at least I don't think he was- but I'm still going to argue about this topic.

  "You don't know that."

  "He's a strong man. He'll be alr- "

  "He can survive a bullet to the gut but he can't survive a damn heart attack!" I shout, jumping out of the chair.

  "What?" I walk towards the fridge, opening and reaching for the wine bottle. "Seriously?"

  "Yeah." I nod, turning to pour the wine into a glass. "When I was fourteen he was shot in a gang war." Good days.

  "No, not that. You're seriously drinking that?" I give him an odd look.

  "I am," I confirm, bringing the glass to my lips and taking a sip. After staring at me Carlos shakes his head.

  "Do you know what your daughter did today?" I shrug.

  "Went to school?" Remembering what happened earlier I tense. I feel a wave of regret wash over me and a sudden urge to apologize, as if it was my fault.

  "No. She got her hands on your wine." I look at Carlos, raising a brow. What does that mean?

  "What?"

  "You left wine on the floor and Thana found it. She dropped it and broke the glass. She could've cut herself with that glass, Sadie."

  "But she didn't?"

  "No, but that's not the point."

  "I thought you were talking about the bathtub incident."

  "Right now I'm talking about you and your problem." I roll my eyes.

  "I'm confused now." I look to Carlos for him to start from the top, but he continues with our current topic, whatever that might be.

  "You drink way too much wine." My brow shoots up as I scoff.

  "No I don't." I shake my head.

  "You're drinking wine right now!"

  "People drink wine Carlos." I shrug.

  "Not the way you do." He points at me. "Before I leave for work you have a glass of wine in your hands. When I get back from work you have a glass of wine in your hands. Before we go to bed you have a glass of wine in your hands. You have wine all the time!"

  "And you have that stupid face all the time," I bite. "But you don't see me complaining."

  "I'm serious. You have a problem."

  "I don't see how this is a problem."

  "You drink so much wine you don't even get affected by it anymore. You're addicted."

  "What? Are you... calling me an alcoholic?" He presses his lips together, spreading his arms out and nodding. I narrow my eyes.

  "I am not an alcoholic." I set the glass down. "This is just who I am." I turn and start towards the living room.

  "Yeah, it's normal for you. That's another sign of alcoholism." I scoff, spinning around to face him.

  "Did you look up alcoholism? Have you been researching symptoms of it? Did you take a Buzzfeed quiz 'Is My Wife An Alcoholic'?" Carlos blinks at me.

  "I don't think Buzzfeed has that."

  "Well why don't you find out, then take a quizz if this is such a big deal to you." I cross my arms.

  "I don't need to take a quiz to see if my wife is an alcoholic."

  "Right, because your wife isn't an alcoholic."

  "No, because I know she is an alcoholic." I glare at him, imagining all the possible ways I could hurt him.

  "I'm not a freaking alcoholic!" I scream at the top of my lungs. I reach up and hold my throat, wincing from a sore feeling. Carlos slowly uncovers his ears, eyeing me.

  "Sadie, I don't want to argue with you about this."

  "Then don't."

  "And I don't like having this conversation anymore than you do- "

  "Great, then drop it. Just. Drop it." I hold my hands out.

  "What are you guys doing?" We both look towards the stairs where Aiden is standing, watching us.

  "About to put you to bed." Carlos turns and walks over to him, grabbing him and tossing him over his shoulder.

  "Were you fighting?" Carlos and I both tense, locking eyes.

  "No, no. We were just discussing adult things. Now lets get you to bed." Before Carlos disappears behind the wall he sends me a look.