Chapter ２６

Medea looks at her wrist watch and says, "Well, little kitten, I must be going. It was a pleasure seeing you again. We should meet up again soon." She smiles at me like we're old friends and disappears into the wine festival crowd. I sit alone for a while, doing my best to comprehend what I now know.

I walk back to the hotel and open the room door. It's dark inside. I walk to the bed without turning on any lights and plop onto the covers.

The room lights up, and my eyes roll over to Sterling sitting on a chair by a lightswitch. He's only been gone a day, but he looks different. His tie is crooked and his hair is messy.

I notice several empty wine bottles on the table.

"Where have you been?" he says, angry.

"I'm tired," I say, staring up at the ceiling. I don't care if he's mad. He was gone all day, why couldn't I be?

He stands up and walks toward me, looks down at me as condescending as possible. "Answer me." His breath smells like alcohol.