Dinner on Friday

28. Carla

DRINK THIS

From somewhere far away, the sound of Eva's scream ripped through my consciousness. "Carla, wake up! That bitch Madeleine fucked us."

The impact of her statement hit me like a tidal wave, jolting me awake. I shifted my body as I came to. My hands and legs felt as if they were modeled in concrete.

"Carla! Can you hear me?"

I grunted, frowning at the bitter taste in my mouth.

"What? Hello. Wake the fuck up, girl. Now! I don't know where I am or how long we've been knocked out." Chains rattled suddenly, almost as if Eva was tied up and struggling to get out of her shackles. "All I know is, Madeleine poisoned you and then these mob-looking guys walked into my apartment and took you. When I fought back, they took me too and drugged me."

Another grunt. This time lower, so low it made me question my sexuality. Damn, my body hurt.

"There was a guy there. Big and intimidating. For some reason, he looked familiar but for the life of me, I couldn't place him. Any idea who he is?" Eva continued, unbothered by my discomfort.

I forced my eyes to open. I blinked several times as my eyes adjusted to the overly-lit room. Dark brick walls, curved ceiling, concrete floor, and two bright ass construction lights beaming from two corners of the room, reminiscent of what I assumed the second coming of Jesus Christ would look like.

Since Eva was a white girl, she looked damn near translucent in the harsh light. Her brown hair was a mess and there was a bruise on her chin.

"Big and intimidating, huh? I know a lot of men who fit the description. Starting with my husband. He's tall and intimidating. And then there are my bodyguards: Schipper, Vlad, Bruce... and if he tries to look intimidating, there's Sergio. You're going to have to narrow that down for me."

Eva and I were shackled on opposite sides of the room. Our chains ran through a thick iron hook behind us. Eva was upright tugging her way to freedom while I sat against the wall with my legs stretched out in front of me.

She stopped to glare at me. "You're no help at all, but I'm glad you're awake."

"That's too bad. I could have gone a little longer without seeing the beautiful sight of your trustworthy face."

"I can't believe that bitch betrayed us." Her disdain was audible above the continuous rattling of the chains she was desperately trying to escape.

"I guess Dante was right. I feel stupid now." I wiggled my toes, trying to ward off the numb sensation I felt creeping up my legs.

"You couldn't have known. Hell, she and I grew super close these last months and I didn't know."

"The hardest part is not understanding why she did it." I rested my head on the wall and sighed. "Dante thought it was Jenna at first."

Eva gave up on the tugging and slid down the wall in a miserable heap. "And who do you think it was?"

I winced when I realized I had a headache so severe, I feared my skull would split in two.

"None of you," I managed to say after a long pause. "I couldn't even fathom the thought."

Eva met my stare with somber eyes "Thank you for trusting me."

"I trusted Madeleine too," I said in a sad voice. "My judgment sucks. I wouldn't read too much into it if I were you."

"Well, I'm not her. Bitch, look around you, you're locked up in a psychopath's dungeon, and look who's here with you. Your day one. Your bestie. Put some respect on that."