“We’re not done here,” Viv says, a concerning layer of calm flattening her affect. “You can’t leave.”
Elena tries to rise to her feet again, but Piper and Fiona hold her down. “What is this, Viv? Is Trey worth it?”
“Of course not. But my job is,” Viv says. Then she shakes herhead. “Honestly, Elena, you’re right. It’s not about him. It’s about you.” She chucks her chin at Rachel and Ashley and the twins move the other stools out of the way. “You’re my best friend, Elena. Please. Don’t leaveEmpress. We love you.” There’s a softness in her voice now as she appeals to the other girl.
But Elena is working herself up. “Get the fuck off me, Fee! What the hell?”
Viv is still trying to reach her. “Elena, please. You’re my sister. Remember New York?”
“You’renotmy sister! You’renotmy best friend,” Elena snarls. “If you were, you wouldn’t do this. If it’s a mistake to go off with Trey, fine, but let me make it myself. It’s my life to live!”
“You’ve been with me from the beginning!” Viv is shouting now. “You can’t leave me!”
“I’m sick of this!” Elena yells back, straining against Fiona and Piper. “I hate how we live; don’t you get that? The obsession with likes, the followers, the constant need to create new and better content, the fakeness of it all! I can’t… I need to get out! You don’t understand.”
“Of course I understand!”Viv thunders. “So why doyouget to be the one to leave? Again?”
Elena falls silent for a second as she and I come to the same conclusion. It’s not about Trey or Elena quitting, not really. It’s about someone else getting to escape the life Viv has built up around herself without realizing it was locking her away. A glitzy,fancy prison.
“Come with me,” Elena whispers. She’s leaning forward, straining to get to Viv now. “To hell with Trey and his job offer. Leave with me, and we’ll start over!”
But Viv shakes her head. “You know I can’t. This is all… It’s all I know how to do. It’s the only thing I’m good at. I don’t remember how to be anything else. This is my life. And it’s your life too.”
“No.” Elena turns her face away from her. “I’m leaving, Vivienne. And you can accept that or you cannot, but you can’t stop me.”
“Like hell,” Viv spits. She moves toward Elena and before the other girl can react, slaps her across the face.
Fiona, shock written on her expression, lets go of Elena’s shoulder. Overbalanced by the force of Piper’s strong hands on only one shoulder now and reeling from Viv’s slap, Elena topples to the side and falls out of frame, to the floor behind the island counter.
“Get up!” Viv shrieks. She looks at Piper. “Get her up and hold her!”
Piper reaches down and manhandles Elena back into view, but Piper’s face is slashed with confusion. She pulls Elena to her feet, but Elena wrenches her arm away and charges at Viv, crashing into her and sending the pair of them stumbling backward, into the fridge.
It’s a sloppy fight—Viv has one hand twisted in Elena’s hair, the other is smacking the back of her head; Elena is pushing against Viv, thumping her fists against her opponent’s chest. It might have only been that—a stupid catfight—except Elena’s hands creep upuntil suddenly they’re fastened around Viv’s neck.
The two of them thrash until they slam into the counter closest to the windows, near the sink. Elena’s face is wild; her fingers are pressing into Viv’s throat, and Viv is making gasping, clicking noises.
“Get off her!” Fiona yells.
Piper runs over, fastening one arm around Elena’s waist, attempting to yank her off Viv. Rachel and Ashley hurry over too, trying to figure out how to break the women up.
Together, the twins and Piper manage to pull Elena off Viv, holding her steady as Viv gulps air back into her lungs.
“You bitch,” she coughs.
It happens so quickly. Elena whips her head back and smashes it into Piper’s nose and lip, which immediately start gushing blood everywhere. Piper releases Elena, as does Rachel, who reaches to check on a bleeding Piper.
At the same time, Ashley staggers backward, into the counter, accidentally swiping down the knife block near the sink, scattering a deadly rainfall of blades all over the floor. Elena moves quickly; she swoops down, grabs one, and rises back up in one movement.
Maybe she wasn’t going to do anything with the knife. Maybe she wanted protection—and no wonder; she had five girls attacking her. Whatever the reason, it creates a chain reaction from the others. It’s like none of them are thinking, they’re simply responding to a promised threat. Viv dives for a butcher knife, pointing itat Elena; Fiona bends to pick up a smaller knife, looking confused, panicked. Rachel is screaming. Ashley is on the ground, only her head visible in the frame, perhaps looking for her own weapon.
In the same instant, Piper, still bleeding, blinded by pain and anger, runs up behind Elena and pushes her forward, directly into Viv’s knife.
There’s a sucking sound as Viv automatically wrenches her hand back, eyes wide. Viv stumbles backward, looking down at the red drops that sprinkle to the floor from the blade.
Elena screams the room into silence.
She drops her own knife and claps both hands against her abdomen, her scream petering off into something that sounds more like a high-pitched whine.
