Accidentally in Love, page 11
The journey seemed endless: she was tormented with images of the terrible state she feared she was going to find her apartment in. Because when it came to sick ideas, Ethan was second to none.
Sara lived in a small two storey building above a laundry on the ground floor, and she’d always thought it was very convenient not to have noisy neighbors or worry about making a noise herself. Until that moment.
She opened the main door, which was fortunately the same, and quickly climbed up the stairs. As Eva had already told her, her front door had been changed. The new one looked as though it had been borrowed from Fort Knox. ‘A thing for security’ didn’t quite do it justice.
Ringing her own doorbell felt like an absurdity, but she didn’t really have any other choice. She either had to beg to be let in or sleep in the hall. Sara hoped Ethan was going to enjoy his brief moment of victory, because it would be the last he was going to have. As soon as she came within throttling distance of his neck, she was going to squeeze it with all the strength she had. And even though the playing field might be tilted in his favour physically, the rage she felt inside her could only work to her advantage.
There was a noise on the other side of the door and then, as if by magic, the door opened with a click and she found herself staring into Ethan’s smug face. He stood there calmly in front of her, as relaxed as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Nice, right?” he asked as he moved aside to allow her to cross the threshold.
Sara entered what had once been her secret place, undecided whether to kill him immediately or wait to find out exactly how far he had gone to provoke her. In either case, it was certain he was going to suffer.
“I assure you that my old front door was perfectly fine,” she said coldly.
“Oh, come on… Any thief worth his salt would have been able to get in here a few seconds. But this… this is a real door!” he said, giving her an ugly smile. “You should thank me.”
“I should… but I don’t think I will,” she replied, invisible smoke pouring from her nostrils.
“And fortunately you have a guest room too. I would have been sorry to have had to force you to sleep on the couch…”
Sara stopped in the hall and glared at him with a murderous look in her eyes. “Just what the hell are you playing at?”
He smiled, looking as innocent as a lamb. “Simple, I’m going to be your house guest while my place is being renovated. I was fed up of the apartment, so I decided to throw away the furniture and change the floor plan a bit. But it’s going to be a long job… I needed a place to stay.”
Sara looked at him in amazement. “And you decided to come to my house?”
He shrugged. “In view of my spending limits, I can’t afford to rent another apartment worthy of my name while they’re renovating the other one, so I thought you would be more than happy to accommodate me. I mean, come on – it’s for a good cause.”
“Oh, you can afford to rent a room somewhere, that I guarantee you…”
“No, I can’t. The type of apartment suitable for me would cost a lot of money,” he said convincingly. “ And anyway, haven’t you been telling me for the past month that I have to learn to save and make do? Well, now I’m trying to make do! Can’t you see the immense sacrifice I’m making by coming to live in a run down neighborhood at the back end of Brooklyn?”
One thing was for certain – he had studied this crazy plan of his right down to the last detail and was playing the part to perfection. If Di Caprio had any intention of ever winning that Oscar, he ought to start taking lessons from Ethan.
Suddenly it dawned on her exactly where he wanted to go with all this. “I guess you expect me to start ranting and screaming and call the police or maybe Judge Richter right away…” she said vaguely, observing him carefully and watching for some kind of reaction.
His turquoise eyes stared at her in amazement. “Well, yes, actually,” he admitted after a moment of hesitation.
“And that maybe this invasion of my personal space will make me feel so bad that I’ll give up on this guardian business…” she continued, nonchalantly.
“I… will admit to having given it some thought,” he said, as he stepped into the living room.
“And what if I didn’t do anything at all?” Sara challenged him. “How would you react then? ”
Ethan’s face grew pensive. He didn’t look happy. “Don’t you want to call Richter?” he asked her, in a much less jovial tone than a few moments earlier. “Are you sure you really don’t want to call her?”
Sara pretended to consider it for a moment. “Hmmmm… No, I guess I won’t. See how nice I am?”
Ethan took a deep breath. “The epitome of kindness, really. Not only are you willing to put me up, but you’re not even going to call Richter.”
“And why should I? How could I do that after that kind gift of yours,” she said sarcastically, looking at the new door.
“And you haven’t even seen see the rest of it yet,” he added nonchalantly.
And at that point Sara’s self-control began seriously to wobble. “What do you mean ‘the rest of it’?” she asked him, without attempting to hide the horror in her voice.
“You’ll find out soon enough. But right now I really need to take a shower…” And so saying he disappeared into the bathroom. Her bathroom!
She tried to calm down, but it was proving to be quite difficult. Her heart was beating ten to the dozen and she was ready to bet that her blood pressure had gone well over the safety level a long time ago. She had made a superhuman effort not to let herself be overcome by the temptation to do exactly what Ethan was expecting of her – which was to say, to go completely crazy – but it took a hell of a lot of effort to sustain that grotesque act.
As soon as Ethan had disappeared, closing the bathroom door behind him, Sara picked up her phone and called Judge Richter on her personal number.
Richter herself had given it to her as soon as she had accepted the assignment, advising her to use it only in situations she considered ‘an emergency’. And if Sara had been smart, she should have been immediately suspicious: the judge had apparently predicted that there would be emergencies. And numerous ones at that.
“Judge Richter, I’m really sorry to bother you at dinner time, but I have a big problem with Mr Phelps,” she began nervously.
“Counsellor Di Giovanni, what a pleasure to hear your voice. Is everything all right?” the judge asked, trying to sound calm. Sara’s tone of voice must have been revealing. It was highly unlikely that the judge was expecting a courtesy call.
“Well, no, actually, things aren’t going very well. I need you to intervene to make Mr Phelps see reason – what little he may have left…”
Judge Richter did not seem very surprised to have been contacted. It was evident that where Ethan was concerned, this happened all the time. “First of all, take a deep breath. Yes, that’s right…”
“I am breathing deeply and I don’t feel any better!” said Sara.
“You have to keep on breathing. Come on, another two deep breaths.”
“Judge, please! Get me out of this horrendous situation!” she practically begged. “I normally have pretty decent self-control, but I’m afraid it’s running out quickly!”
“Ms Di Giovanni, if I chose you it was because I have complete faith in your abilities. Surely you’re not going to let yourself be discouraged by one small obstacle that happens to come along…”
“Small? Did you say small? The idiot has moved into my house! He’s got rid of my front door and had a new one put in, and now he’s in my shower!” she exclaimed, listing all the absurdities that had just happened to her.
“Ms Di Giovanni, in the past Mr Phelps managed to blackmail his support guardians by more or less legal methods. So please realize that the fact that he has decided to generously give you a new front door does not really constitute a problem for me. Actually, I think it’s a big step forward.”
It was obvious that Richter had been through a lot with Ethan and that she had no intention of doing anything to help. Or, at least, as she had said, not for a front door.
“Judge Richter…” said Sara, trying to make her see reason, but she didn’t have a chance to finish because she was suddenly interrupted.
“Do you have any booze in your house?” she asked her out of the blue.
“Booze? No, I don’t think so. Maybe a can of beer left lying around somewhere, but I hardly ever drink.”
“Excellent! Good girl!” Was Richter’s cheerful comment. “Remember, nothing alcoholic in the house! This might all look like a catastrophe to you right now, but believe me, it’s not such a bad idea that there’s someone keeping an eye on Mr Phelps.”
Sara rolled her eyes in disbelief, unable to share even a tiny amount of the judge’s joy. “Judge, you’re not actually telling me that I have to put up with this, are you?” she sighed.
“Of course I’m not! I’m just suggesting, as a friend, that you try not to make any hasty decisions. I mean, you were doing fine until a moment ago. His accounts are all in order, which to be honest is practically a miracle, and that’s why I want you to focus on what a good job you are doing here and not just on some silly little pitfalls along the way. And if you really must get your revenge for the jokes he’s played on you, see that you do it by taking away his alcohol.”
Sara opened her mouth to protest, but Richter cut her off before she’d even started. “Listen, Ms Di Giovanni, I really must go now. But remember, I’m counting on you!”
Sara stared at her phone and felt an awful sensation of having being conned. Big time.
*
She found the only beer in the house in the fridge and decided to sacrifice herself for the cause. She opened it and slowly began to let it trickle down her throat. For the record, it was a pretty disgusting brand, but she was so depressed she hoped a little bit of alcohol might raise her morale. So far, though, it didn’t seem to be taking effect.
The doorbell ringing shook her out of her dark mood. She got up from the chair in the kitchen with the intention of going to open the door, but was preceded by someone pushing past her as if it actually was his place. Wearing only a black towel wrapped around his waist and another one draped around his neck, Ethan turned the door handle, watched by a dismayed Sara. She didn’t know if she was more upset about him helping himself to her shower or that he dared to walk around her apartment half naked, acting as if all this were perfectly normal. He opened the door to her sister. Sara watched in horror as the tall, half naked blonde who had just emerged from the shower invited Eva to enter. She saw her sister smile as if she was standing in front of an unexpected Christmas present – that was to be expected: after all, her sister was young and still impressed by a statuesque physique. Eva was hardly likely to put ‘good conversationalist’ at the top of her list of priorities in a man.
“Wow! I mean wow ! I’ve never seen a naked man in my sister’s house before,” she exclaimed, surprised and giggling.
Sara rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t you start as well.”
“Actually, I was just about to add that I’ve never even seen a fully dressed man in my sister’s house, but fortunately I stopped myself in time,” Eva said casually.
Sara glared at her in a way that made her feelings quite obvious.
“Who are you, you beautiful naked man?” Eva asked, studying the naked chest that was in front of her with great interest. And if she hadn’t been so subjective, Sara too might have admitted there was a reason her eyes had stopped there and risen no further .
“I’m Ethan,” he said, offering his hand. Eva shook it and smiled like an idiot. Traitor. “I’m your sister’s flatmate,” he added.
At that point Sara decided that it would be wise to intervene. “Don’t take any notice of him. He’ll be leaving,” she snarled, “very soon.”
“That Ethan?” Eva asked, finally putting two and two together. Or at least managing to drag her eyes away from his naked chest for a moment.
“Exactly. And that Ethan is the one that I’m going to be kicking right out of here,” Sara answered threateningly. “Me or the police.”
He didn’t move a muscle. “Just let me remind you that you are my guardian – you can’t just throw me out into the street. The court has told you to take care of me, so see that you do it properly.”
“I was told to take care of your economic interests ,” she hissed irritably. “Nothing more!”
“Well, that’s a question of interpretation. In theory, I can’t decide anything without calling you.”
“Exactly – in theory. In practice it seems that you are perfectly capable of creating huge screw-ups even without my assistance.”
“Well, I like to give you these little surprises. What would life be like without a bit of spice?”
“Yeah, how would I live without getting your phone calls in the middle of the night or finding my house invaded by unwanted guests— ”
“Admit it,” he whispered in a sensuous voice, “you were getting bored without me.”
She felt her blood start to boil dangerously, and suddenly could hold herself back no longer. “I cannot believe this!” she exploded, feeling like she had hit rock bottom. “For God’s sake, put something on instead of wandering around here half naked!”
Her sister, who – unusually – had been watching the shouting match in complete silence, chose that moment to intervene. “She’s a bit of a prude,” she revealed to Ethan in a low voice.
He winked at her. “I’ve noticed.”
“Of course you’ve noticed! That’s why you swan around here with just a towel on! To try and make me uncomfortable!”
“I’d have no problem with it,” Eva said seriously. “As far as I’m concerned, you can carry on as you are.”
Sara was really tempted to push both Ethan and her sister out of the window.
“I don’t believe this, it must be some kind of plot! You two are in it together to drive me insane!”
Eva seemed to have finally picked up on Sara’s foul mood, because she mimed zipping up her mouth.
“And now, Ethan, a few ground rules: while you are in this house, you are kindly asked not to answer the door wearing just a towel. I have relatives of a certain age who mi—”
Eva shot her a skeptical look, but before she could say anything, Sara silenced her with a glare.
“I’m not wearing a towel,” he said, smiling at her. “I’m wearing two towels, to be precise.”
Sara counted to ten before answering. “Even five towels wouldn’t be enough! Please, just… just go away and put some clothes on…” As she spoke, a light bulb seemed to come on inside her head. “Wait a minute – where the hell have you put all your stuff? ”
Ethan made it quite clear just what a great time he was having watching her writhe in discomfort. “I’ve moved some furniture into your guest room – it’s a bit small, but I’m sure that I’ll manage.”
Sara walked down the hall, flung open the door to the guest room and stood there open-mouthed. “‘Some furniture’? ” she asked incredulously. “How the hell did you manage to get a bed of this size in here? Through the door?”
“More or less…” he said vaguely. “I’m not sure you really want to know…”
“You’re right, don’t tell me, I don’t want to know!”
In addition to bringing the huge black bed with him, Ethan had brought a shiny black bedside table and a very large wardrobe, also black, that he’d placed at the side of the room.
“Is your house all black inside?” she asked him. She’d never thought black was a suitable color for a bedroom – it didn’t seem particularly conducive to sleeping.
“Well? Now do you see why I wanted to change?” he said.
“And just so as I know what’s going on, where are the two bits of furniture that were in here before all this black stuff invaded my house?”
Ethan looked at her, trying to keep a straight face. “Sara, they were really ugly…”
Maybe because she was exhausted, maybe because he was right, she decided not to say anything.
“Clothes, please,” she repeated, seeing Ethan studying her tired face.
“As you wish,” he said, smiling. He took two steps into the room and with his back to her, whipped off the towel. Sara managed to close the door a second later, but by then the image of a naked Ethan was imprinted upon her mind. Damn him, he had a perfect backside too.
Eva was waiting for her in the kitchen, laughing her head off. “I have to give it to you, you’ve surprised me. I thought your life and your job were boring, but I’m glad to see that there actually is an element of the unexpected! ”
Sara flopped down into the chair next to her sister. “I don’t think now is the right moment to talk about this. Can’t you see what he’s done to me?” she moaned, burying her face in her hands.
“He’s not really your type, but he is… how can I put it… nice to look at ,” Eva said, emphasizing the words with an eloquent look.
“Do I have to remind you of his serious personal problems and that he is in my care?”
“He seemed pretty normal to me…”
“That’s because you haven’t seen him at his best.”
“What do you mean? I’d say that by seeing him naked I’ve seen him at his best!” Eva chuckled.
“Oh Eva, cut it out!” Sara snapped, feeling embarrassed by the whole thing.
“Sorry. I was just trying to make you laugh…”
“Well, do I look amused?”
“No, you don’t, actually… Okay, anyway, now that I’ve made sure that you’ve got a roof over your head, even though you’ve got to share it, I’ll get out of your hair. I have a date for dinner. Promise me you’ll not stab your ward the moment I walk out of that door?”
“All I can say is that I’ll try not to.”
Eva got up and headed towards the hall, then turned around, a serious expression on her face. “Sara, if anyone can do it, you can. Unhappy people use all kinds of weird techniques to run away from their problems. Maybe he’s no different… he’s provoking you to try and get some sort of reaction.”
