As I pull into the lot and past piles of trash, old car parts, and broken bottles, I spot her silhouette standing in the shadow of the building. She’s wandering the lot with her head down, meandering around like she’s lost. I park my car as she kneels down and picks something up from the ground.
She hasn’t noticed me, which is odd in itself. She’s transfixed with the building as she walks up to it, her hand clasped around whatever she’s picked up. Then with a loud grunt, she swingsher arm back and throws it toward one of the few windows still intact. The crash it makes as it shatters echoes through the empty building.
“Tatiana.”
She doesn’t answer me. She looks around, finds another rock, and chucks it at another window. This time, she misses. The rock clacks against the concrete wall.
I walk toward her as she picks up another rock. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Leave me alone,” she says. She chucks the rock. This one breaks out the window underneath the first one.
She’s scowling. Her bottom lip is trembling as if she’s trying not to cry. “Come on,” I say to her. “Let’s go.”
I go to grab her arm, but she slips out of my reach. “Were you drunk the night Nicki died?”
“What?”
She stops and stares at me, hands on her hips. “The night my brother died,” she says, raising her voice. “Were you drunk?”
The hairs on the back of my neck bristle. I don’t know who she thinks she’s talking to. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Answer me!”
I grab her by the arm and yank her to me. “Watch. Your. Tone,” I growl at her. “I’m not your fucking friend, Tati. I could break you in two without a thought.”
Her bottom lip stiffens. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me, Princess.” We stare at each other for a long moment, and I realize that I’m starting to get hard. Something about her being this close, her mouth pursed in defiance, is getting to me. I bring her around and push her toward the car. “Walk.”
She stumbles but walks toward the car obediently. “I should have known you were just another one of my father’s lapdogs?—”
I grab her by the shoulders and drag her the rest of the way. “Enough,” I growl as I push her into the passenger’s seat.
