Chapter 8
I awoke feeling all relaxed. Even though Jay slipped me something in my drink, I kind of appreciated it because it knocked me out real good. Jay never forgot about my insomnia which had me grinning sheepishly.
I suddenly sat upright, as the fear of being violated filled me up. How did I miss him spiking my drink when he opened the bottle right in front of me. I berated myself for not taking note of what was happening. What if he had taken advantage of me in my vulnerable state.
"Oh!" It suddenly hit me that he didn't touch his own drink the whole time, knew I could handle much alcohol but also knew I wouldn’t get much of any sleep because of my insomnia. Anger rushed through me! Who did he think he was, pulling that stunt on me? He knew too much about me!
"Urgh!" I let out a frustrated groan, running my fingers through my hair to calm my rising anger. It was too early to be angry and I didn’t want to kick start my day with a migraine either.
Then I heard Vanessa's voice and the cough of a car engine which piqued my curiosity, causing me to peek out of my window. It looked like she was heading out because Dimitri kissed her goodbye and headed back inside. I watched her drive off, leaving a cloud of smoke in her wake when suddenly, an idea struck me like lightning.
"Got a plan," I muttered aloud, tapping my chin in contemplation. I began to fake my tears, exiting the room in search of Vanessa. Even though I knew she was not at home.
"Hey Jem? What's the issue?" Dimitri asked, his face etched with concern as he ushered me inside, guiding me to the bed. With a quick glance around, I noticed their room had a cool hue to it, a mix of pink and black colors decorating up the ceiling.
"Everything alright?" Dimitri inquired again, wrapping a comforting arm around me as I nodded, trying to dab away the fake tears.
"It's all good," I whispered, playing it cool with the fake tears.
"Oh, I get it, tears for me to bath in, right?" He responded sarcastically, and I fought the urge to chuckle.
"Just came to talk with Vanessa, is she around?" I deflected, dodging his question.
"She's out, but you got me," Dimitri encouraged, and I let out a sniff. Faking tears was too much work.
"Not sure you're the right ear for this," I mumbled softly, giving him a teary look.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He probed, looking puzzled.
"There might be a bit of a conflict of interest,” I admitted, giving him a sad gaze.
"I can handle it," he insisted, making me dramatically rise and head to the window. The view of the sea from this side was breathtaking.
"Jemima?" Dimitri called out, sitting on the bed, making me slyly smirk.
"What exactly do you want to hear? That your cousin tried to molest me? Or he spiked my drink without asking?" I muttered vehemently, turning to face him. Fresh tears brewed from my eyes this time and I couldn’t tell if it was real or fake. Technically what I had just conveyed was not really a lie because Jay did in fact spike my drink and made advances towards me that I didn’t willingly consent to.
"What!” Dimitri exclaimed, abruptly rising to his feet. I should be signed up for acting, I silently praised myself.
“I should go, I shouldn’t have come here!” I stated and tried to leave.
"What? No!" Dimitri uttered, stopping me in my tracks
"It's not necessary, just forget about it, okay?" I said trying to change the topic but I knew it had already gotten his interest piqued.
"No I won't!" He insisted, running his fingers through his hair multiple times in agitation.
“Are you sure about what you’re saying?” Dimitri inquired, probing a little nod of confirmation from my end.
"I don't believe you!” Dimitri stated, making my heart thud a little faster. I hoped he didn’t see the apprehension that I had suddenly developed.
“That’s fine. I knew you weren’t going to understand anyway, hence why I sought Vanessa- another woman’s solace,” I added in an attempt to guilt trip him.
“Don’t say that Jem. Its just that these are some serious allegations,” Dimitri pointed out, causing me to huff indignantly.
“Do you not think I know that? You’re a man and Jay is your cousin and I understand the conflict of interest you might be experiencing. Heck I know it was stupid of me to even voice it out because you might kill me to just shut me up and save your cousin because its imbedded in you Latinos to always put family first!” I uttered angrily with a raised voice, tears falling from my eyes and this time it was real. For some reason I felt hurt that the mafia ring was forever going to be controlled and ran by men who still had their heads buried in the medieval times.
Atypical
“No, don’t say that Jem! Its just that it's so typical of Jay behave in this manner,” He muttered, his tone rising, anger lacing each word. I smirked mischievously, unnoticeably.
“Look Dimitri, you weren’t even supposed to find out about this. I wanted to confide in Vanessa but I ended up confiding in you,” I remarked, playing the nice victim now.
"But what he did was- is not right!” Jay exclaimed, correcting his use of tenses and cast me solemn gaze. I sighed softly and took his hands in mine.
“A lot of good people do bad things unknowingly, I will talk to Jay myself about it but please promise me you won’t bring it up with him,” I needed to be sure Dimitri didn’t say anything to Jay before I could finalize my plan.
“I promise but please do not hesitate to tell me if it happens again,” he pleaded, eliciting a small nod from me.
I exited the room, a triumphant smile on my face. On the other side of the house was Jay, our eyes locked and he gave me raised eyebrow, silently questioning why I was in Dimitri’s room. I just shrugged and gave him a wink.
This was a game of chess and I was already a step ahead of him.