Betrayal (2 page)

4

After being dropped off at home, Kali went upstairs and lay in bed. A nice buzz was going, not too drunk. After three mimosas, though, she had a sugar headache. She rose and went into the bathroom. She took ibuprofen with bottled water and then lay down and closed her eyes.

She tossed from one side to the other, but sleep wouldn’t come. She checked the clock: 1:44 p
.m. The kids wouldn’t be home for two and a half hours and Adam wouldn’t be home for five or six hours, at least. Sometimes he snuck in at around ten or eleven, when the consults and surgeries stacked up during the day and the paperwork had been neglected. At times, Kali felt like she was a single mom.

Even thinking that sent a wave of guilt through her. Adam was a good man and a good provider. She had no right to
think something like that. She pushed it out of her mind and turned to more immediate matters. Namely, what to do for the next two and a half hours.

She rose and walked downstairs, retrieving her keys from the Persian ornate bowl near the garage’s entrance in the kitchen. The red Infiniti she drove gleamed in the
sunlight coming through the garage’s windows and she climbed in and started the car.

For a moment, she wondered whether she should drive
, considering how much she’d had to drink. But she felt fine. In fact, she felt great. Opening the garage door, she checked her makeup in the rearview and then pulled out.

The car sped forward through the streets like a bullet. She maneuvered the curves like a pro.
In reality, it wasn’t her skill but just that she’d driven here so many times. She could probably do it in her sleep.

As she got onto the highway, traffic was light. She zoomed betwee
n a few cars and then got off an exit she hadn’t taken before. The gas light had come on and a Sinclair was just down the road.

As she turned down the exit, her guts were balled up like fists. Something was wrong. She was going too fast.

The car jerked to the left and then to the right. She swung the steering wheel but overcorrected and the car spun. The tires squealed on the pavement as she went over the edge of the exit, and screamed.

The car slid down into a ditch sideways. Her head slammed into t
he driver’s side window so hard it cracked it and left a small spatter of blood.

Dizzy, her head throbbing, she felt her vision swirl, and the world went black.

Kali saw her mother in a chair. She was knitting something, a sweater or shirt. Kali sat at her feet as a kitten played nearby. They were in her childhood home. A house that had since been demolished and replaced with a post office. Her father wasn’t home, he was never home, but her mother was there and so was the kitten.

The kitten let out a yelp as it ran around the corner out of view. Kali looked up to her mother who said, “Go get it, sweetheart.”

Kali rose and followed the kitten around the corner, but there was nothing there…

“You okay?”

Kali opened her eyes. She saw blue sky, a couple of clouds, and the tree line. Her head was pounding as though someone were bashing a rubber hammer into the back of it. She glanced down toward the voice. A rough, male voice.

Before her was a man with stubble and a lean face. He wore a tight beanie and a plain white T-shirt, his muscular arms bulging underneath the sleeves. Tattoos ran down his arms to the tips of his wrists. He smiled warmly at her.

“You okay?” he said again.

“What happened?” she rasped.

“You were in an accident. I saw your car go off the exit.”

She exhaled, the pain making her wince. “My car. Where’s my car?”

“It looks alright,” he said, glancing behind him. “No worries.” He looked back to her, his emerald eyes catching hers. “Do you know what happened?”

“Yeah… yeah I took the exit too fast.”

“I called an ambulance. They should be here soon.”

She sat up, pain jolting
her awake into full consciousness. “No, no I’m fine.”

“Your head’s bleeding. I think we should get it checked out.”

“My husband’s a doctor. He can look at it later.”

She tried to get up and fell back onto her butt. The man put his arms around her and lifted her to her feet. She
was lightheaded, but as she got her bearings the world stopped spinning.

“Shit,” she said. “The cops. The ambulance is going to call the cops.”

“Probably. Why?”

“Shit,” she said, thinking back to the mimosas she had. “I have to go.”

Kali took a step toward her car and nearly tumbled over. The man grabbed her, holding her up in his arms. He straightened her again. She was so close to him she took in the scent of his cologne, felt the smoothness of muscular forearms. She pulled away, looking him in the eyes.

“You’ve had a few, haven’t you?” he said.

“That obvious?”

He glanced around. “Well, come on. I’ll just take you to a hospital. They won’t call the cops.”

The man’s jeep was parked on the shoulder of the road. She debated whether to go with him or not. He was a complete stranger, and probably fifteen years younger than she. Maybe it’d be better if she stayed?

But then, what would Adam say?
The wife of a prominent plastic surgeon with a DUI. And they would suspend her driver’s license. As if she didn’t have enough trouble filling her days, being stuck at home would certainly be the nail in the coffin.

The man helped her over and lifted her into the jeep. Tenderly, he strapped her seatbelt on and then got into the driver’s seat. He flipped on some sunglasses and drove away.

“We’ll come back for the car after you’ve sobered up,” he said.

“Thanks.”

“I’m Sebastian by the way.”

“Kali.”

He glanced to her and then back out onto the road. “So what’s a nice girl like you doing crashing her car?”

She shook her head. “Being stupid.”

“Well, life wouldn’t be any fun if we weren’t stupid sometimes.”

Kali noticed what was hanging from his rearview mirror.
A piece of white cardboard with a painting on it. Black and red smears that formed, loosely, a face.

“What is that?” she said.

“That’s the first piece I ever did. Sixth grade.”

“You’ve kept that since sixth grade?”

“I don’t keep much, so I gotta have something from my childhood. It reminds me that the past was real, you know?”

She hesitated. “I have a degree in art.”

“No way? I’m studying at USC right now.”

“
I was a Bruin.”

“What was your medium?”

“Watercolor.”

He checked the rearview and then changed lanes. “So you’re an artist?”

“No,” she said with a scoff. “No I gave that up a long time ago.”

“Why?”

She paused. “Life, I guess. It just has a way of doing that.”

The drive was pleasant and, other than her pounding headache
, she felt at ease. She knew this route and wasn’t worried anymore that she’d gotten into a car with a stranger. She figured that if he was going to kidnap her, he would have done it when she was unconscious.

The Marina Del Ray Hospital wasn’t busy at this time of day, but the wait in the emergency room was still an hour. The two of them checked in and then waited for
Kali’s name to be called.

“You really don’t have to wait with me,” she said.

“No worries. Besides, I’m your ride back.”

She’d completely forgotten about that. She took out her phone and dialed Adam’s cell.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you,” he said by way of greeting.

“Adam, I don’t want you to worry ’cause I’m fine, but I was in an accident.”

“Where are you? What happened?”

“Calm down, I’m fine. I promise. I was just calling to ask if you
can pick the kids up.”

“Yeah, yeah of course. Where are you?”

“Marina Del Ray.”

“I’ll get them and then swing by.”

She glanced to Sebastian, who was flipping through a magazine. “It’s okay. I’ll be home soon. I have to pick up my car anyway. I’ll explain everything when I get back.”

“Sweetie, this is ridiculous. You’ve been in an accident and you don’t want me to come down?”

“I’ll be right home, I promise. It’s nothing. I’m only here as a precaution. I didn’t even have to take an ambulance or anything.” She hesitated. “I drove myself.”

He exhaled. “Fine. Call me the second you’re ready to come home.”

“I will.”

When she hung up, she noticed Sebastian was looking at her.

“What?” she said.

“Nothing. You just didn’t tell him about the DUI.”

“Baby steps.”

A nurse stepped out of a secure door. “Kali White?”

5

The doctor was a pleasant old man who didn’t ask too many questions. Inevitably though, he did ask how the injury on her head had occurred. Sebastian answered and said, “We were at the dunes and my buggy tipped. She took a solid blow, doc.”

The wound required no stitches but they did have to use medical glue to close it and then bandaged it. She was given a topical anesthetic before the procedure, but afterward, the doctor gave her painkillers. She took an Oxycodone for her head and they walked out of the hospital.

“I appreciate
the ride,” she said when they got to his jeep. “But I can just call a cab. I don’t want to keep you from anything.”

He smiled, revealing perfect white teeth, and it made her heart flutter. “Don’t be like that,” he said. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“What?”

“Don’t be coy. I don’t think we should get your car. Not yet. You’ve got the alcohol and now the pain medication. You need to rest somewhere and sober up.”

“I guess I can just go home and face the music.”

He shrugged. “Up to you.” Sebastian checked his watch. “I have someone coming by my place to look at a painting. If you wanted to come sleep it off there for a few hours, I’d be fine with it. I’ll give you a lift after or you can call your husband to come get you.”

She didn’t respond right away. Instead, her eyes were glued to his muscular arms, to the way he moved. Smooth and graceful. To the way his eyes shimmered in the sunlight. And she knew she absolutely, no matter what, should not go to his house.

“No, I’ll call my husband to come get me now.”

He nodded. Reaching into his wallet, he took out a business card and handed it to her. It said “Sebastian Laurent: Artist.”

“Just artist, huh?”

“Don’t need anything else. Plus I get all sorts of jobs I wouldn’t if I was more narrow. Call me if you need anything. Just in case.”

“Just in case,” she said, holding up the card.

Sebastian climbed into the jeep. He put his sunglasses back on and looked to her. “Well, I hope your head gets better.”

“Me too.”

He pulled away. She stood watching the jeep a moment and then stared at his card. White with red lettering and black trim. Elegantly simple. She slipped it into her pocket, and then called Adam to come pick her up.

On the drive home, Adam kept grilling her about what had happened.
Eventually, she broke down and told him.

“What were you thinking?” he said. “You could have been hurt.”

“I’m fine. Nothing happened. I just can’t get my car right now with alcohol on my breath.”

He shook his head. “You’re
gonna go home and sleep and I’m calling Larry.”

Larry Stocks, their attorney, always gave Kali an uncomfortable feeling. Portly and with stains on his tie, he was, supposedly,
one of the best attorneys in Los Angeles. He had also gone to Stanford with Adam. Whenever he came to the house for barbeques, Kali found she would either drink too much or have to go somewhere else. Mostly, she figured, it was because he swore so much it made everyone around him uncomfortable.

“I don’t like that guy,” she said.

“Larry’s an acquired taste. But there’s no one better at this sort of thing.”

They pulled into the driveway and Adam called him. Kali got out and went inside. She turned and mouthed to Adam, “The kids.”

He nodded and pulled out of the driveway, the phone glued to his ear.

Once inside, she collapsed onto a couch in the front room. The couch was expensive, at least ten thousand, but enormously uncomfortable. Almost like it was made for decoration and not to be sat on. She rose and went to her bed upstairs.

By the time Kali woke, her headache had subsided somewhat but her neck was incredibly sore. She sat up and stretched it in every direction before going downstairs. The kids were watching television and said, “Hi, mom,” nearly in unison. She kissed them both on the head and then went into the kitchen.

After fixing herself some Crystal Light, she went out to the back yard and sat in a patio chair. The yard was huge, with lush green grass, several trees, and
wide open space. Sometimes she thought she wouldn’t be surprised if a giraffe came wandering by.

She reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone and as she pulled it out something fell onto the ground. Kali reached for it. It was Sebastian’s business card. She looked at it again. Her stomach tickled with excitement. The address and phone number to his studio was on the card. She
lay it flat on the table and told herself to remember to throw it away.