Wicked Games - Parra For Cuva
Sissy brought Harlan to the house to rest and we all went inside to relax a little as well. The house was a disaster due to all the bullet holes and the Luther sized gap in the wall but I don't think anyone cared. Least of all Sissy who was just glad that Harlan was alive and okay.
Allison helped me patch up my forehead again and put a new piece of gauze on. Diego nearly flipped when he saw that it had reopened since he didn't know how bad it was to begin with. He still needed to learn that I was just as unbreakable as him.
"Guys, two people just beamed into the yard again. I'm really tired of fighting. Can someone else handle it?" Klaus asked, waving his hand dismissively.
I looked out the window and giggled, "You're safe Klaus, they aren't here to fight. It's just Herb and Dot."
Five, Diego, and I left the house to meet Herb and Dot half way. That is how anyone should be greeted in a situation like this, I think. We didn't take any precautions as we made our way over to them but they weren't a threat. I gave Herb and Dot each a hug before stepping back between Diego and Five who gave their own greetings.
"Good to see you guys." Five said, hands in his pockets like usual.
"I can't believe it. Is she..." Herb made a cutting motion against his neck.
"Really dead this time?" Five asked.
"Oh yeah." Diego confirmed.
"Pretty gory if you ask me." I said, "And I killed people for a living."
I put my hands in my coat pocket when the silence that ensued after my admission became slightly awkward. I coughed into my shoulder and nudged Five to start speaking.
"Right. Now that The Handler is gone, what happens at The Commission?" Five asked.
Herb became bashful and Dot spoke words of encouragement, "Go on, tell them."
"We need to elect a new Board of Directors but! Until then... I... I've been voted in as acting chairperson." He was sheepish but proud.
"No shit. Congrats Herbie." Diego said.
"I can think of no one better for the role." I smiled, giving him another hug.
"I'm so goddamn nervous!"
"You'll do fine." Five assured him and then turned serious, "Herb, we need a favour."
"Oh sure! Anything!" He said readily.
"A briefcase, to get back home where we belong."
"If it's not too much trouble, of course." I said with a small smile.
Herb sucked on his lips and nodded before looking around at all the bodies on the ground, "Take your pick."
"Thank you, Herb and is it alright if we keep it? For at least a little while?" I asked.
"It's against protocol but if you had a REALLY good reason... I might be persuaded." Herb said, giving me a wink.
I clutched onto Diego's arm, hoping he didn't mind what I was about to say, "I'll need it to send you and Dot an invitation to our wedding. It's going to be really small but it seems only right that you be there."
"Well! That seems a good a reason as any so why not!" Herb said happily, throwing his hands in the air.
"Thank you." I said as Five grabbed the closest briefcase that didn't have any damage.
"We'll see you soon Herb." Diego said with a salute.
"Five, we'll meet you back in the house." I called to him, dragging Diego toward the barn.
"Why are we going to the barn?" Diego asked.
"You'll see." I said, sending a sly smirk his way.
I pulled him into the barn, over to the cellar, and down the stairs. When I was sure there was no one around I pushed him into the wall and closed the distance between us. Our bodies were pressed against each other everywhere but our lips. Our lips were close though, enough so that our breaths mingled.
"It's been a while since we've been alone and I wanted to take a moment to just be with you." I said quietly.
"Does this have something to do with what Lila made you see?"
I dropped my head to lightly rest against his shoulder, "My worst fear... Everyone abandoned me, even you. I was alone in this dark void. Alone... unloved... alone."
"Hey, you're not alone and you never will be. Most importantly, you are loved by all of us, especially by me and that will never change."
I nodded and lifted my head again to kiss him. It was slow and sensual and lead to exactly where I wanted it to lead. It wasn't the most romantic of places but it would do. We found an old ratty blanket and laid it over a pile of straw and made that our bed for the next little bit. We started of slow but then as we got more heated, we were uncontrolled and passionate. I wouldn't have changed a thing for our last time in 1963.
When we were done, we got dressed and leisurely made our way back to the house with our arms around each other. I don't know how long we were gone for but it was getting dark and Vanya was sitting on the porch by herself. She looked sad and I was going to go comfort her but Diego stopped me.
"I'll go." He said.
"Alright. See you inside." I kissed his cheek and went inside.
I saw Klaus sitting in the mess of the broken living room, looking down at his dog tags with a smile and sat on the floor beside him. I leaned my head on his shoulder and looked at the tags with him.
"Did you see him while you were here?" I asked.
"I did. I tried to stop him from joining the army but he joined two days before he was supposed to." Klaus with a sigh, leaning his head on top of mine.
"Then maybe he won't die after all." I said softly, trying to give him hope, "Maybe that slight change in the timeline means he'll be one of the soldiers to make it back home."
"Maybe." Klaus said and put his arm around me, "Thank you for trying to cheer me up."
"Hey, do you know where the others are?" I asked.
"Luther took Allison to say goodbye to her husband. They'll be back soon and Five is doing whatever Five does when there isn't a world that needs saving."
"Ah, I see. Diego and Vanya are having a moment on the front steps." I told him, even though he didn't ask.
"What? Why couldn't I be part of the moment?" Klaus whined.
I giggled, "We're having our own moment stupid."
"But our moment is over. Let's go crash theirs." Klaus said.
"Too late." Vanya said, stepping into the living room with Diego, "We can have one next time."
Klaus clapped his hands happily, "Excellent!"
Vanya eyed me then, "Malia, you do know you have straw in your hair, right?"
"What?" I asked and felt around my head and pulled a piece straw out that was stuck in my pony, "Huh... I wonder how that got there."
"It didn't have anything to do with what you and Diego were doing in the barn did it?" Allison asked as she came back in with Luther.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Five blinked into the room holding a briefcase then, "Good, you're all here. It's time."
Five didn't need to say any more than that. We followed him out of the house and held hands in a circle in the front yard. I held on extra tight to Diego's hand. The last time we all did this together, we all got separated. If it was going to happen again, Diego and I were going to stay together. I'd make sure of it.
"Everyone ready?" Five asked.
"Yeah." Diego said.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I said.
"Wait!" Klaus exclaimed. He looked around at all of us before running to the porch, grabbing a cowboy hat and coming back, "Ready."
We joined hands again and Five pressed a button on the briefcase. Blue light engulfed us completely and when it disappeared, we were standing in the familiar foyer of the Umbrella Academy. That went much smoother than last time but it was still an uncomfortable feeling. Travelling by briefcase was also way preferable than travelling by Five. Diego, Five and I are the only ones that didn't seem as affected by the time travel but that was probably because we've done it before.
"It looks like it's late afternoon." I said, noticing the dim light coming through the windows.
"Yeah, but what day is it?" Luther asked.
"April 2nd, 2019." Five said, reading a newspaper that was on the foyer table.
"The day after the apocalypse and the Academy is still standing." I said happily.
"So we stopped it? It's over?" Allison asked.
"We actually succeeded at something? That's incredible!" Klaus cried, "I don't know about you guys but I need a drink."
"Yes!" Luther said.
"Five, why don't you make your margaritas for everyone? This is cause for celebration!" I exclaimed.
"I should go find Claire." Allison said.
"Come on! Just one drink!" Luther said, directing her toward the living room.
I grabbed Diego's hand, "Let's go buttercup. Tonight, we drink, tomorrow we plan."
"What's there to plan? We said we'd get hitched in two days." Diego said cockily.
"First of all, I won't marry you if you ever say 'hitched' again. Second, I know that was the deal but I'm not having a wedding with a gash across my forehead and abrasions around my neck. We're waiting until I heal completely."
Diego pulled me toward him with a smirk, "As soon as you heal and not a day later."
"You're home! It's so good to see all of you!" We turned to see Grace coming into the living room with a hobbling Pogo behind her, "This is so unexpected!"
"Mom." Diego said, giving her a hug, "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be silly?" She asked, "Now, your father is just finishing up in his office. I'll prepare a light dinner and he'll meet you in the dining room shortly."
"Our father?" Luther asked, "You mean dad is alive?"
"It appears... the day has arrived." Pogo said, looking at all of us in amazement.
"Pogo, what are you talking about?" Allison asked.
"Your father will explain more at dinner."
We all nervously exchanged looks, not knowing what to expect. When we left this time period, Mr. Hargreeves was dead. Now we're back and he's alive and I didn't know what that meant for us. His death had us working within a different dynamic than we did when he was alive.
We made our way to the dining room and sat down. Klaus took Ben's original seat and Luther took a new seat beside Allison. That left the chair next to Diego open and I sat down beside him, clutching his hand under the table. With how he was clutching my hand in return, I knew he was just as tense as I was. We were all tense as we waited; our last dinner with Mr. Hargreeves didn't end well.
Mr. Hargreeves entered the dining room and gracefully strutted to his chair at the end of the table opposite Vanya and sat down. He studied all of us silently with his hands clasped in front of him. He was always a hard person to read, even for me.
"I'll start off by saying that the last time you saw me, you were harassing me in 1963. You were rude and uncouth and I like to believe I raised you better than that." Mr. Hargreeves suddenly started to speak, "However, the last time I saw each of you was for our regular Sunday dinner two days ago."
"Mom raised us." Diego said quietly.
"In this timeline, she helped yes. But after our dinner on November 20th 1963, I realized I needed to have a more vested interest in your up-bringing. Meeting you allowed me to see the mistakes I had made and I worked to correct them." Mr. Hargreeves explained.
Our food was brought in and set in front of us as Five asked, "What do you mean you corrected them?"
"A rather volatile woman happened to make an excellent point that night." Mr. Hargreeves gave me a side glance with... was that amusement? Was he actually showing an emotion that wasn't distain or irritation? "I needed to treat you more like people than objects. Since I am speaking with the versions of you from a different, more corrupt, timeline, you don't have the memories of the versions of you that resided in this timeline until the moment you appeared. However, the fact remains that I tried to factor in your feelings and personalities as you grew up."
Time travel really hurts my brain. I'm glad that was Five's ability and not mine. We all continued to grow up here in a different timeline but our other selves disappeared once we reappeared. Is that really how time travel worked? That's not how it was in Back to the Future, or The Avengers for that matter.
"So what are you saying? You were the doting father we always wanted?" Klaus asked, tucking his hair behind his ear as he took a sip of the martini he made before coming to the dining table.
"Don't be ridiculous. I do not dote. I just showed you more of the respect you deserved." Mr. Hargreeves said gruffly.
"So we still live under this roof? Still go on missions?" Luther asked.
"When Number Six was killed I could tell it all became too much. I knew I couldn't force you all to stay so I gave you a choice." Well that was different. In the old timeline, most of us packed a bag and left without any regard for him. "Most of you decided to leave and try a different path. In the end Number One was the only one who stayed. The rest of you would help with his missions on occasion and you would always come home for Sunday dinners."
"So I never disappeared?" Five asked.
"You did. You arrived back eight days ago blubbering about the apocalypse that you all managed to put an end to yesterday."
"So I was still treated as an outcast in this time line?" Vanya asked, downcast.
"No. In fact, you were the strongest of the team Number Seven. However, a man by the name of Leonard Peabody tried to manipulate your power for his own gain. If it wasn't for your brothers and sisters, you would have blown up the moon."
"So he was an asshole in this timeline too then. Is he dead?" I asked.
"I believe it was Number Three that delivered the final blow." Mr. Hargreeves said.
"That's right. No one messes with my family." Allison smirked taking a celebratory sip of wine.
I giggled and turned to Mr. Hargreeves, "You changed your outlook because of what I said to you?"
"I debated for many years, on what I would do when the time came. You were right, I could not pass up the opportunity to have such extraordinary individuals as my own, but I will not lie to you. I considered finding different children and renaming to the Sparrow Academy to completely change the timeline altogether in order to ensure success."
"Why didn't you?" Five asked.
"Because for some reason you merry band of misfits, although wayward and insubordinate, made an ever-lasting impression."
"I feel proud. Is it okay to feel that right now?" I wondered out loud.
"Acceptable." Mr. Hargreeves nodded.
It was odd seeing him like this. In many ways he was still the same man we all grew up with. He was stern, serious, and severe but now he also seemed amiable, personable, and considerate. This is the man that deserved the respect and gratitude I once misplaced. I looked to Diego and noticed his frown. He wasn't buying it but at least he was staying quiet for the time being.
"We're probably going to have to reacclimate to our lives now. I mean, if some of us don't live here, do we live in the places we once knew? Do we have the same jobs?" I asked.
"And Claire... do I still get to see her?" Allison asked.
"Don't worry about that. I knew such a moment would come once Number Five reappeared and had a file on each of you made."
Grace came into the room and handed us each a folder. Five's file was the smallest. The folders were manila and were labeled with our number names but they also had our actual names in brackets. It was nice to see that even though he still called us by our number, he saw us as people enough to recognize our name.
I flipped mine open the same as everyone else. The information was organized from most recent at the front to oldest last. I flipped to the back first and saw that I was still found on the streets at eleven years old. I can only assume that my life before that was similar, if not that same, as before.
"Oh! It says here I'm a sobriety coach." Klaus said and then sighed, "That just won't do now. I wonder if I can start up another cult..."
"I'm still divorced but have joint custody over Claire. She's even supposed to spend the next couple weeks with me here in the city and I don't have to do those therapy sessions." Allison said happily.
"I still do missions for dad but I sometimes take team assignments from the CIA as well. I get occasional help from you guys too, just as dad said."
"I'm first chair and have been for five years." Vanya said amazed.
I flipped back to the front. I was still a psychologist with my own practice. My office address was different though and my home address was across town. I apparently lived in a three-bedroom townhouse. I laughed at the next thing I read. It was half way down the first page and it said 'Number Two and Number Eight still can't seem to put aside their differences'.
"It looks like you and I still didn't get along in this timeline Diego." I giggled.
He leaned over to look, "That's all yours says? Mine says 'still secretly harboring feelings for Number Eight with no sign of manning up. Due to recent developments, it is probably for the best'."
I furrowed my brow and flipped through my file, "Due to recent developments? What does that mean?"
"Your engaged Number Eight." Mr. Hargreeves stated.
"I know. Diego and I haven't set a date yet though." I said, looking up from what I was doing.
Mr. Hargreeves eyebrows rose in surprise, "You and Number Two?" He said and then rubbed his chin, "Yes, I suppose that is a favorable match but what are you going to do about your current fiancé?"
"My what now?!" I cried.
Everyone stopped perusing and talking about their own files at the news. I scrambled through all the papers and finally found an unfamiliar name – Elijah Wentworth. He's a psychologist as well and we apparently met a symposium two years ago. I flipped forward a little more. We bought that townhouse together last year and he proposed our first night living there. I flipped forward a little more. We are supposed to get married two months from now.
"I think I'm going to be sick." I said quietly, throwing my file onto the table.
"What kind of name is Elijah Wentworth? He sounds like a pompous prick." Diego scowled.
I shot a glare his way, "Shut up, you're not helping this situation." I released a groan, "What am I going to do?"
"Here's an idea, dump his ass." Klaus said with shrug, "I'm pro team Malego... Then again, Malijah has a good ring to it too."
I picked up a roasted potato off my plate and threw it at him. Klaus blocked his face, the potato hitting his hand and falling to the floor. When he pulled his hands down, the moron had the gull to look offended. He muttered something about 'rude people go to hell' and I rolled my eyes.
"I can't just dump the guy." I said exasperated.
"And why not?" Diego asked, not liking my answer at all.
"Because, the file said that we've been HAPPILY together for two years. Dumping him out of the blue like that would raise too many questions."
"She's got a point." Five said with a shrug.
"Shut up Five. No one asked you." Diego said and turned back to me, "What are you saying?"
I took his hand in mine and held it to my heart, "I'm saying that for a couple weeks at least, we need to put us on hold. I just need to get a feel on the situation." I said softly.
Diego ripped his hand from mine and stood up, "Take all the time you need." He snapped and walked out of the room.
"Diego!" I called as I stood up, "Diego be reasonable! It's not like I asked for this!"
"He'll come around Malia. Just be patient." Vanya said.
"Yeah..." I said quietly.
The rest of dinner was quiet, as it usually was when we grew up. Once it was over, I walked towards my room but stopped at the phone that was perched on the wall. I opened up my file, found the phone number to my home and dialed out. This was the first step to figuring things out. On the third ring a male voice came over the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Uh... hey... it's me?" I felt so awkward talking to him.
"Babe! I've been so worried." I winced at his term of endearment, "Everything okay?"
"Uh yeah... I just called to tell you that I'll be staying the night at my... dads?" Do I call him dad in this timeline or Mr. Hargreeves?
"Again? Babe, you've been there since Saturday. Just come home already so we can make up. I miss you."
"Make up?" I asked hopeful. Maybe we weren't as happy as I thought.
"Yeah. You got angry at me for going to that conference with a colleague and not telling you it was a she remember? I promise you nothing is going on with her, we just work closely together at the hospital."
Alright, I can work with that, "Separate rooms or the same room?"
"Separate. I told you this already. You really don't believe me?" He seemed a little too defensive.
"Did you car pool?" I asked.
"Of course. We were going to the same place. It made sense to car pool. Are we really going to have this argument again?" I could practically hear the frown in his voice.
"What hotel did you stay at?" I asked.
"The Four Seasons. Where the conference was."
He was good, I'd give him that but if I have been staying here since Saturday, something about his story doesn't add up. I'm ninety percent sure he was lying about something but I don't know the guy so I can't say for sure. There was one way to figure it out though.
"I have to think a little more. I'll call you tomorrow." I said and hung up without waiting for a response.
I tapped my chin as I thought about my next move. I was going to need to investigate this further and I hoped it had a desirable outcome. If he was cheating, I could end things quick and painless. If he wasn't cheating, then it was going to be a long drawn out couple of weeks. I was going to need some help, I just hoped he was cooled down enough to see reason.
I turned and walked the few steps to Diego's door and leaned against the door jamb. Diego was laying on his bed playing with one of his knives. He didn't look to me but he knew I was there. I could tell by the way he tensed up at my presence. I coughed slightly to gain his attention and he huffed before sitting up and planting his feet on the floor.
"What do you want?"
"I just called Elijah." I started.
Diego scoffed, cutting me off before I could continue, "Good for you. Find out you have a kid in your happy little family?"
I closed my eyes in irritation before stomping over to him and hitting him in the side of the head, "Would you shut up and listen to me?"
"Ow! You didn't have to hit me!"
"You're being a prick! And it's really hard to ask for your help when you're acting this way! I didn't ask for any of this to happen and want out of this as much as you! Now stop throwing a tantrum and act like the adult you are!" I said angrily.
He took a deep breath and I thought he was going to yell back but he released it slowly and then nodded, "Alright, sorry... What do you need?"
I plopped down beside him, "He said some pretty weird things, leading me to believe he's having an affair. I've been staying here since Saturday. Now that could have something to do with the apocalypse but I think it's more than that."
Diego gave me a side glance, "What do you want me to do?"
I gave him his file that he left on the dining room table, "Have you read this fully?"
"No, why?" He asked suspiciously.
"Apparently you're a private investigator and bounty hunter. You became one after you failed the police academy. I need you to investigate him." I said, "Credit card statements, GPS log, and phone records."
"And what are you going to do?" Diego asked.
"I'm going to see if the hospital actually had a conference at the Four Seasons in Washington."
"I feel like we're trying to prevent another apocalypse." Diego said.
I let out a breathy laugh, "It's not the end of the world Diego. We're just trying to figure out if this guy is a cheating scumbag so we can get on with our lives."
"And if he isn't?"
"We'll worry about that when the time comes alright?" I said, kissing him lightly on the lips, "Besides, we wouldn't be having this problem if you had just manned up and told me how you felt."
I giggled and left the room, demanding he get to work. I went back to the phone and called the Four Seasons in Washington DC. Turns out they didn't have a psychiatric conference there at all in the past six months. My next course of action was to call the hospital. The only problem was, anyone I would need to talk to wouldn't be working right now so I would have to wait until morning.
So that's what I did. I woke up, showered, put on a pair of coral skinny jeans I had in the bag that I apparently brought with me on Saturday and a black blouse. I did my hair in the waves I used to wear it in and smiled at myself in the mirror. I haven't felt like myself in a long time and it felt amazing. The ligature marks around my neck were faded but still present and I had a bright pink line across my forehead that was luckily covered by my bangs. I think I'm going to keep the bangs; they look good.
Diego left an hour ago to investigate Elijah like I asked, that left me to my own devices. Before I call the hospital, it was time to delve into my life here. First things first, my office. I took a taxi to the address stated in my file and realized one flaw as I stood outside the building – I don't have a key, nor do I know where to find one. Looks like I'll be breaking in.
My office was on the second floor, windows facing the back alley. There always had to be a goddamn alley. I climbed up onto the dumpster under my office window and pulled myself up onto the ledge. I pulled it open and thanked my own stupidity for not locking it. I tripped as I fell into my office and sighed as I hopped to my feet and looked around.
It looked different than what my last office was like but it was still homey. My last office had all leather and dark furniture. This office has a cream coloured sofa with blue linen throw pillows and matching armchairs. The desk was a white oak that matched the few bookshelves. On the walls there was lots of artwork. My desk had two pictures. One was of my entire family, including Pogo, Grace, and Mr. Hargreeves, when I was twelve years old and then other was of me and a handsome blond man. He has blue eyes as well as an angled jaw. He was completely clean shaven. He was the exact opposite of Diego.
There was a knock on the cream coloured door and I went to answer it. There was a bald man with thick framed glasses standing before me. He seemed a little frazzled.
"Can I help you?" I asked.
"Miss. Hargreeves, It's 10:30, I'm here for my appointment. I see you every Wednesday at exactly 10:30am for one hour. Not a minute more, not a minute less."
"Uh... right..."
"Bill! Bill Cormac. You don't remember do you." He said, running his hands over his head, "It's happening again. Oh no, oh no."
Oops.
"No, no, no. It's not happening again Bill. I promise. I've just had a lot on my plate recently. Speaking of which, we're going to have to reschedule."
"Reschedule?" He started to freak out, "I come here every Wednesday at exactly 10:30am and stay for one whole hour. Rescheduling will completely mess up my entire routine. I'll have to catch the bus early and who knows who is going to be on the bus if I get on early. Someone might be sitting in my seat... and the diner I go to for lunch won't be serving lunch yet. I've never been there for breakfast..."
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – a bad case of it too if I'm not mistaken. No wonder he came to see me. I feel bad turning him away but I had other things to tend too. Not to mention that I couldn't just talk to my regular clients without knowing anything about them. I'd have to look through every single file I had before I could begin sessions again.
"Hey Bill. I have two options for you." I said soothingly, "The first one is, you can sit in this waiting chair outside my office for an hour and then go catch your bus. Your routine will stay on track and nothing will be messed up."
"The second?" He asked.
"You go get on that bus right now and have an adventure. Then next Wednesday at 10:30am exactly, you can tell me how it felt living a day outside your normal routine."
I watched him mull over both decisions in a ritualistic way. He would pace back and forth three times, tap his left foot, tap his chin twice and repeat. He did that seven times before shaking his head and sitting in the plastic waiting chair. He crossed his right leg over his left four times before keeping it in place and crossed his arms. Bill was an interesting character for sure.
I sighed and shut my door and went over to my desk. I flipped my MacBook open and pulled up my schedule for the rest of the week. My schedule was packed but that just wouldn't do. I emailed all my clients telling them I would have to postpone all appointments for the next week. I would begin again next Wednesday. I didn't really have a choice because there was no way I could leave Bill hanging for the second week in a row.
Once that was dealt with, I called the hospital. I spoke to the Human Resource Manager, Kelley Lipton, who apparently knew me well and was looking forward to the wedding. Little did she know. Kelley told me the hospital did have a conference three weeks ago but it wasn't for psychiatry and it wasn't in Washington. Bingo.
"Is Elijah working today?" I asked.
"Yeah, his first appointment is in session. Do you want me to get him to call you on his break?" She asked.
"No, that's okay. I'll just talk to him later."
After hanging up with Kelley, I took a taxi to my townhouse. Elijah and I bought the townhouse together but he can have it for all I care. I didn't want to live with Diego in a house that I lived in with someone else. I looked up at the building in front of me when I got out of the taxi.
It was a cute two-story house made of grey cobblestone. It was an older build but was redone to look new. It was definitely my style and such a shame it had to be wasted on a relationship I didn't want. I found a spare key to the house in my office which was good. It would have looked bad breaking into my own house.
It was clean, tidy, organized but it didn't feel as homey on the inside as I would have liked. Everything looked untouched but a home should feel lived in. I can't believe I was happy here. I knew I was happy because there were pictures everywhere of the two of us with smiles on our faces. I wasn't that good at faking so there was truth to these feelings.
I picked up one particular picture of Elijah and I and frowned. It was an engagement photo and it focused on the ring. The ring was flashy and large and everything I didn't like. Who was I in this timeline?
"Nice ring."
I dropped the picture and swiveled on my feet, socking Diego in the stomach. He let out an 'oof' and held his stomach with one hand held the table for support with the other hand. Served the bastard right.
"You scared me you idiot!"
"Sorry." He wheezed, "But you have GOT to stop hitting me."
"Then don't sneak up on me!"
"You're supposed to sense these things!" He was back to stand upright.
"I sense danger Diego. Not morons sneaking up on their girlfriend!" I snapped.
"Fine sorry." He held up his hands in surrender.
I picked up the picture from the floor and placed it back where it was. The glass was broken but I didn't really care. "I like the ring you got me much better by the way. This one is too fancy."
"Fancy enough that he's going to want it back most likely."
"Well he's shit out of luck there isn't he? I have no idea where it is." I said and looked at the other pictures, "It's weird isn't it? Having lived this whole other life that we know nothing about."
"Yeah, it's weird." He agreed and picked up a picture of Elijah and I, "If we weren't together, would you have tried with this guy? Tried to make it work?" Diego asked and placed it back down on the shelf he took it from.
I shook my head and looped my arms around his neck, "No, I don't think so. The Malia he knows and me are two very different people it seems. Even if I hated you, I could never marry a man I don't know. What are you doing here anyway?"
"I thought I might find you here checking out your new digs. It didn't take that much rooting around to find what you wanted me to find."
"Really? What do you have?"
Diego showed me the printouts of Elijah's credit card statements, GPS log, and phone history. There were a few pricey purchases from a jewelry store. So he either bought the other woman gifts out of affection or me gifts out of guilt. I was going with the former but I would know for sure once I checked my jewelry box. The GPS log had addresses to quite a few hotels on it. The most recent one was Sunday which I know he didn't go with me because Mr. Hargreeves said I was there having dinner. The phone history had lots of incoming and outgoing calls from the same number.
I picked up the phone, dialed the unfamiliar number and it was picked up on the first ring, "Hello? Elijah babe is that you?" Caught.
I snickered at the sultry voice on the other end, "No, it's not him but you can have him all to yourself now."
I hung up the phone and gave Diego the brightest smile, throwing my arms around him. I'm so glad this worked out in our favour. I really needed something to NOT go wrong for once. Diego hugged me back just as tightly and whispered how much he loved me in my ear. We could finally just be together with nothing hanging over our heads.