I shouldn’t have answered the call. That was dumb. I had no fucking idea what to do in that moment. I a panicked. There’s something about a ringing phone. Some part of me said that the call was a rope was being thrown to me to pull me out of the water, to save me. I should have known that it was really a noose to hang myself with.
“Are you okay Grace? I thought we were having lunch” came Addie’s voice. He wasn’t worried-worried but there was enough worry that it felt like a cold needle to the heart.
“Oh shit, sorry, I forgot . . .” I managed to get out before Brenda Santiaga shouted for help.
Henry Fong covered her mouth, she bit into his hand hard enough to spray blood and he raised his other hand like he was going to smash her on the back of the head. I grabbed his arm to stop him while trying to hang onto my phone with the other hand and coming up with the worst possible lie in the world.
“We’re just working on a promo” I said, dropping and catching the phone as I jostled with Henry Fong and almost tripped and fell into the shower with Brenda Santiaga.
“At the studio? There’s nothing on the scheduled today” was his confused question “Grace where are you? Who’s with you?”
“I’m just at the house with Rita” I said, immediately forgetting the previous lie, as Henry Fong shoved a towel in Brenda Santiaga’s mouth and I kicked at his arm because it looked like he was smothering her.
“Grace what is going on, I can hear someone banging around.” I froze and said nothing because what was there to say? For the first time Addie got really angry with me. “Christ! What is it with you Grace? Say something. Say, ‘Go to hell’ or ‘Get Iost’ or whatever. Just please say something to me, okay?” I said nothing “What is with you? What the hell’s going on? What is this? You’ve got nothing to say to me?”
Henry Fong was glaring at me like he hated me “I’m just . . . I’m fine. I just forgot . . . I’ll explain everything later.”
He was talking as I hung up. He immediately called back. I didn’t answer time, like it mattered, like I could figure out something to say to fix things, like I hadn’t already fucked everything up.
“Smooth” Henry Fong spit at me.
