“Amaryllis invited us to spend Saturday night with her and Lance,” Circe told Joey, as they walked back to the hotel. It had been three weeks since the wedding. They’d been on six dates since then. And JC and Lorelie were arriving back in Florida in three days, on Sunday.
“Anything special?” Joey asked.
Circe shook her head. “Just dinner and a movie. At Lance’s house.”
Joey kissed her. “I’d much rather spend the night with you, not Amaryllis and Lance. Ary’s cool and all, but I see Lance all the time. And I don’t see you that often.”
Circe laughed. “I’d rather spend the night with you, too. But I already promised Amaryllis that we would.”
“Makin’ promises without my knowledge now, woman?”
“Who said I had to inform you of my promises, man?”
“I did. I might not like one of the promises you make to someone and then we’ll have a real fight on our hands.”
“Then I won’t tell you about the promise I made to the bellhop. I’m sure you wouldn’t approve of me promising him sex.”
“You better not have promised to have sex with anyone,” Joey demanded.
Circe laughed. “It was just a joke, Joey. Of course I didn’t promise to do that. I’m not stupid, nor am I a slut.”
“Good.” Joey rested his hands on her hips. “So, what time Saturday?”
“We have to be at Lance’s at seven.” Circe kissed him, then disappeared into the suite.
Joey watched the door close behind her, then walked to the elevators.
Justin nursed his beer in the darkness of his living room, reliving memories that had haunted him for the past three weeks. He hadn’t seen a lot of Calypso in the three weeks, and what little he did see of her, he didn’t like. She was always wearing long-sleeved shirts and sunglasses. And she was losing weight. It was obvious to anyone who knew her. Last year, all three girls had gained some weight. In the months Circe and Calypso were in Europe, they’d lost it again, going back to their orignal sizes. And now Calypso was losing even more weight.
His phone rang, shattering the silence. Glancing at the caler ID on the phone, Justin decided to ignore the call. It was from Amberlyn. He had to admire her persistence. She never gave up. Even after he’d walked out on her while she was trying to seduce him, she still wanted him. And tried her best to get him. He’d gone on a few more dates with her, trying to get his mind off of Calypso. So far it hadn’t worked. She just grated on his nerves and made him think of Calypso even more.
After a few minutes, the ringing stopped. And Justin went back to nursing his beer in the silence and shadows of the room.
Calypso stared at the bruise on her arm. Probbing it, she grimaced in pain. It was fresh and hurt like hell.
Yet another bruise to hide, she thought looking at her reflection in the mirror. At least it’s not on my face. Thos are hard to hide.
So far no one had questioned her on the long sleeves she always wore, and the sunglasses that were constantly on her face, whether she was inside or outside, or if it was night or day. But the bruises were getting harder and harder to hide. And lately, she had no real desire to hide them. She had no desire to do anything. The occassional glimpses she had of Justin were what motivated her to get out of bed in the morning.
Glancing around the bathroom, her gaze fell on a razor. The blades gleamed in the light, beckoning her.
Without thinking, she picked it up and moved closer to the bathtub. It would be so easy to end everything, to stop the pain she was going through.
Taking a deep breath, she raised the blade to her wrist.