Mr. Mystery
Everyone liked to party a bit on Saint Patrick’s Day. New Yorkers had turned out for the parade, and were hitting up the local bars late into the evening. It had been a busy night on Staten Island as well. Kevin Reed and Patricia Sullivan had gone out for the Saint Patrick’s Day festivities. They were in their forties, and both had children from previous relationships, but they were musicians and accustomed to that lifestyle.
Patti and Kevin had been touring together for years. When they originally met, they were both married to others. Now they were single, and free to be together. That was how they liked it. They-ran with a circle of former musicians-all of whom liked to party.
Kevin still looked good even though he was the closest to fifty. Occasionally he wore his contacts, but usually he left his glasses to cover his brown eyes. His sandy brown hair hadn’t even started to streak yet, and his smile won his fans over every time.
Patti was still well built for her age. She could still pull off leather and mini-skirts on the stage. She kept her thick black curls in long tangles down her back. Everyone thought she was gorgeous. In fact, she’d had her share offers from their crowd of friends. But at the end of the night, she always went home with Kevin.
They caught a cab home. It was late, and they were both heavily intoxicated. Patti was a bit glad that her nineteen-year old daughter Gianna had her own plans for the night. She and Gianna already had a strained relationship. She didn’t want to make it any worse by allowing the girl to see her mother drunk.
But those thoughts left her mind as Kevin pushed her against the living room wall. He’d had his hands on her all night. He usually did. That was kind of the whole thing of their relationship. After Patti’s husband had died, Kevin had begun pursuing her.
It had started out as heated sex after concerts. Then they’d decided that they actually cared about each other-to a point. That didn’t stop the regular fights and breakups their friends were now used to. Finally, they’d bitten the bullet. They’d bought themselves a Staten Island home near Kevin’s children, and Patti had moved Gianna in. Now they were forced to work out their problems, and not stomp away like sixteen-year-olds.
Kevin’s lips were hot on her throat. Patti wanted him. She knew it was partially alcohol fueled. That was ok. She liked that type of sex with him.
Somehow, she found herself on the bed. When they’d made it to the master bedroom it was a total loss to her.
Patti sat up, pulling her shirt over her head. Her bra was green in the Saint Patrick’s Day spirit. Kevin had cared when she told him in the bar, but that was several beers ago. Now he was so highly intoxicated that it didn’t seem to make any difference to him. He simply ripped the garment aside and threw it onto the floor.
His shirt was gone, and then her jeans. Her thong underwear was white, trimmed in green lace and sprinkled with shamrocks. Kevin had seen that in the bar, and he didn’t care now. He was simply ripping off clothes. He needed her. She couldn’t complain, she needed him too.
Patti cried out as Kevin drove himself into her with one thrust. She dug her hands into the blankets as he began pounding into her.
“Yes…that’s it…. just like that.” She gasped. “Oh yeah Kevin…so close.”
She wanted to tell herself that the sex was only this needy and rough because of the alcohol, but it wasn’t. They both liked their sex, they liked it hot and they liked it fast. They had sex against walls in the green room after concerts. They weren’t exactly the wait for the moment type.
Kevin’s mouth was moving against her throat. Patti clutched him, holding him against her as she moved with him. Her orgasm wasn’t as intense thanks to the alcohol. It was the one downfall to drinking as heavily as they had. But it felt good nonetheless.
Kevin groaned, coming inside of her. Patti lay back, looking up at the ceiling. The bedroom was spinning. She was going to be horribly hung over in the morning. Oh well. That was how most of New York would feel on March 18th.
The next thing she knew she was conscious of was the ringing phone. Patti sat up, looking for her cell phone. She still felt drunk. Not as drunk as when she’d fallen asleep, but drunk nonetheless. Then it occurred to her that it couldn’t be her cell phone ringing-she’d left that in her purse in the car.
“Why is the phone ringing?” Kevin mumbled from under the blankets beside her. It wasn’t her cell phone-or his. It was the rarely used landline. Sighing, Patti reached for it. She clicked the button on the handset, turning it on.
“Hello?” She tried not to sound drunk. She had no idea what time it was.
“Is this Mrs. Sullivan?” A woman’s voice from the other end asked.
“Yes.” If this was a telemarketer, Patti was going to flip out. Her eyes sough the clock. 6:01AM.
“Mrs. Sullivan, I’m from New York Medical Clinic. It’s about your daughter.”
That sobered her up quickly.
“Gianna?” Patti asked, suddenly frightened. “What happened to Gianna?” Kevin was sitting up beside her. His concern was written on his face.
“No, no, not Gianna.” The woman continued. “Bianca. Your daughter Bianca.”
The phone fell out of Patti’s hand. She was vaguely aware of Kevin asking her what was wrong. What had someone said to upset her like this?
“It can’t be Bianca.” She murmured. “It’s not possible.”
******
She had opened her eyes in the early morning light. Bianca Madison Sullivan blinked, taking in the room in which she was currently residing. A hospital. But why?
She tried to move and found that it hurt. Her muscles did not want to cooperate. Her mouth and lips were dry. What the hell had happened to her?
There was a call button laying on the bed beside her. Bianca managed to get her right hand to work. She stabbed at the button. A moment later, a nurse was peeking hesitantly into the room.
“Oh my…” She whispered. “Bianca, you’re awake. Can you hear me?” Bianca forced her head to nod. It felt heavy, and didn’t want to cooperate either. “Ok, honey let me call you parents. Just stay still. A doctor will be right in.”
******
Patti and Kevin made it to the hospital in record time. There was not much traffic out in the city at this time on a Saturday morning. Patti was half running ahead of him. Kevin let her go. He was not about to come between a mother and her child.
“What’s happened?” Patti ran up to the nurse’s station. “What happened to Bianca?”
“Mrs. Sullivan-.” The nurse began, but Patti shook her head.
“What happened to my daughter?” The nurse turned to look down the hallway. A doctor in a white coat was coming towards them.
“Mrs. Sullivan? I’m Dr. Regan. Let’s talk, ok?” He guided both she and Kevin down the hallway.
“You can’t just call me and act like nothing has happened!” Patti exclaimed. Her Italian temper was taking over. Kevin did not make an attempt to calm her down. “What’s going on with my daughter?”
“Mrs. Sullivan, its good news: Bianca woke up.”
Patti was momentarily stunned to silence. It had been more than a year since the car accident which had killed two of Bianca’s friends and sent Bianca into a coma with serious head injuries. Originally, the doctors had not expected her to ever wake up. If she ever did, she would never be the same.
Bianca was the family’s middle child, but she had no Middle Child Syndrome. She was their shining star. Everyone knew it. Bianca’s older and younger sister knew it full well too. She was so full of life that no one had ever met and disliked Bianca. Plus, she was smart. Bianca was a wiz with numbers. She was so good, her parents allowed her to balance their checkbook at fifteen. After she’d graduated high school, she’d gone to a nearby Upstate New York college for accounting after high school. She planned to eventually get a master’s in taxation. One day she would work in Manhattan’s Financial District. Absolutely no one in the family had doubted that.
But that had all changed one fateful night during Bianca’s freshman year in college. Bianca and her friends had gone to a basketball game. Her friend Brian was driving. His girlfriend Emma-also a friend of Bianca’s-had been riding in the front seat. The car had hit ice. It skidded out of control and into the path of an oncoming truck. Brian and Emma were killed instantly. Bianca had survived, but the beautiful life she had planned was going to be no more.
Patti’s husband, Stephen, had been so distraught over his daughter’s injuries that he had shot himself a month after the accident. His daughter, Bianca’s half-sister Mia, had been so upset with her grief that she had left college and disappeared with her boyfriend. Patti and Gianna’s life had fallen apart. That was when Kevin had come into her life full time, and Patti had taken the steps to start over again in Staten Island with Gianna.
“They said she would probably never wake up.” Patti was conscious of Kevin’s hands stroking her arms.
“Well, they were wrong.” Dr. Regan smiled. “Bianca not only woke up, but she’s trying to function. It really is miraculous.”
“Honey, this is good.” Kevin rubbed her arm. “Can we see her?”
“I don’t see why not. She’s still struggling to speak, but I’m optimistic.” He turned, motioning them down the hallway. When he stopped outside of a room, Kevin caught Patti’s arm.
“Why don’t I wait outside?” He rubbed her arm. “Bianca should see her mother first.” Patti nodded. She still looked like she was in shock.
“Ok.” She turned, stepping into the room.
As soon as she was inside, Patti’s dark eyes fell on her daughter. Bianca and Gianna both had their mother’s dark eyes. Their hair was a shade of brown and straight rather than Patti’s mass of black ringlets, but the resemblance was still uncanny.
“Bianca?” Her daughter’s hair had grown out and was much longer than she always kept it. Patti tried to remember when she had last visited. It had become so hard that she’d stopped, finding it too hard to see her once life of the party baby in that state. It probably made her a terrible mother-she had left her daughter alone in a hospital. Worse yet, she had left her daughter to wake up alone in a hospital.
“Mm?” Bianca’s voice was raspy, like she was suffering from a serious case of laryngitis. Patti smiled, tears rushing to her eyes.
“Hi baby!” She dropped down on the bed beside her. Her fingers wrapped around Bianca’s hand, squeezing tightly. “Just relax, ok? I know you’re not feeling great yet.”
She wasn’t, that was for sure. But Bianca was glad to see her mother nonetheless. She didn’t see anyone else though, and that was what confused her.
Her parents had known each other for years before they married. Stephen had taken her in like she was one of his own, and Bianca had loved him as her daddy since she was a child. The fact that he wasn’t here…now…was weird.
“Da-?” She whispered weakly. Patti drew a deep breath. She didn’t want to try and explain this now-not after what Bianca had gone through.
“I’m sorry baby.” Patti rubbed her daughter’s hand. “Dad’s not here. And he can’t be here. Something…bad happened to him.”
Bianca was stunned. She knew what her mother was implying, but she couldn’t handle it. She didn’t want to process the thought that her father was dead. She’d been through so much right now that she didn’t want to think that her whole life was gone.
“W-?” Her words broke off as she stared at her mother. Patti squeezed her hand.
“Later, baby. Later. I’ll tell you everything later.”
Bianca could not really grasp much more-not today at least. She bit her tongue, fighting back any more questions. Apparently, more time than she realized had passed.
******
Gianna Michalena Sullivan had never expected her big sister to wake up. While some middle children were lost in the shuffle, Bianca had the ability to outshine both of her sisters. Gianna had always felt that if it was she who was in a car accident, her family wouldn’t really have missed her.
She’d come home from her St. Patrick’s festivities tired. The house was silent. She figured that her mother and Kevin were both passed out somewhere. She was eighteen, and her friends weren’t supposed to be drinking, but they always managed to get alcohol. Her mother never asked. Patti was either drinking in bars with Kevin and her friends, or out trying to make her music career work. She had little time for Gianna.
Stephen had always been the stay at home dad type of person. He had worked nights and weekends in technology in the Broadway theaters. When he wasn’t at home, Mia was in charge. It hadn’t really mattered. Bianca always had the personality to overtake her. Gianna had loved her sister, and had looked up to her, but Bianca had also driven her insane. There was no way that Gianna would ever be as perfect as Bianca. She supposed that was the type of relationship sisters were supposed to have.
Since Bianca had gone into her coma, Gianna had mostly raised herself. Her mother signed the necessary checks, and nodded mutely if she needed something. Patti was good about handing out a credit card whenever it was required. Come fall, Gianna was going to live on campus at NYU. She didn’t plan to see much of her mother.
Gianna made her way upstairs. Her room was across the hallway from the master bedroom. She’d expected the door to be closed. Instead, it stood open revealing the dark bedroom. The sheets were thrown back. That was odd. Gianna wondered what had happened that they’d left so quickly.
In her room, she flopped down on the bed. She had homework, but it would wait until tomorrow. For now, she was going to nap.
As if on cue, one of the three cats wandered into the bedroom. It leapt onto the bed beside her, curling into her side. It was a sign. Right now, this was all that she needed.
Gianna didn’t know how long she had slept, but she woke up to the sounds of footsteps pounding up the stairs.
“G!” Patti called, flipping on the light in the room. “Wake up!”
Gianna muttered a curse under her breath. She knew better than to say anything against her mother. If her grandmother found out she’d be in trouble. Her grandmother was adamant about parental respect-even if Patti was a lousy mother some days.
“What?” She sat up. She couldn’t imagine that Patti cared that much how her night had been, she certainly didn’t care how her mother’s night had turned out.
“I have something to tell you.” Patti was sitting down on the bed beside her. “It’s about Bianca.”
So Bianca had finally died. It was about time. Gianna felt terrible with herself for thinking that way. But even if the rest of her family ignored it, she felt bad about Bianca’s accident. She could not imagine her vivacious big sister living her life in some type of a home onwards. In Bianca’s case, death was truly better.
“What is it?” Gianna steadied herself for the news. She did not think that she would cry.
“She woke up today.”
“WHAT?” Gianna literally leapt off of the bed. “You have to be kidding me! After all this time?”
“I know, I know it’s unbelievable. I was shocked when I got the call too.” Patti reached out to take Gianna’s hands. She pulled her back onto the bed beside her. “The doctors are saying that it’s a miracle.”
A miracle? Bianca now awake to be a vegetable? Or an invalid? Gianna would have to ask them their definition of miracle.
“So…” Gianna hesitated. “Now what?”
“Well,” Patti rubbed her hands, “are you ready to see her? I think it would be good for her.” Gianna did not want to see Bianca. She wanted to remember Bianca as she had been, not as she currently was.
“If you think it’s best.” Gianna shrugged. Patti smiled.
“She’s in better shape than they ever thought she would be. It’s too early to say, but Bianca may go back to her old self.”
“What?” That got her attention. “She really might…be ok?”
She wanted Bianca to survive for herself, but she also wanted an ally. If Bianca was going to be ok, she might just have someone to cover for her when Kevin and Patti got weird, or when they were running off to tour with a band rather than staying home with their children.
“They want to run some tests,” Patti said carefully, “but yes, Bianca is recovering. She may be ok.”
This made Gianna smile.
“Ok then, I’d love to see her.”
******
It had been one month of physical, occupational, and speech therapy, but Bianca was finally ready to go home. She had recovered much faster than anyone had ever expected, to the point that the therapies had just become a formality. Now she was up, and functioning, weak but ready to attack the world.
Well, at least she hoped that she was.
It had been a rough month. Bianca had to come to terms with the fact that so much had changed. She’s lost a year of her life. All of the hard work that she had poured into school was gone. Her father had killed himself-at least that’s what Gianna had said. Mia was gone. And her mother was dating Kevin.
That was what didn’t sit well in Bianca’s mind. Her family had known Kevin for years. He’d been in the first band that her mother had joined. She and Kevin had toured everywhere together. It had meant leaving both of their families behind. Bianca remembered when Kevin had divorced. Stephen and Patti had discussed it. Bianca had been too young to ask what had happened. Now she questioned.
Had there always been something going on between her mom and Kevin? Or was she just paranoid? He’d come to see her in the hospital, and it had been uncomfortable. She simply didn’t know what to say to him. What did you say to the man that made your mother give up her entire life? Gianna said that Kevin tried, but he and Patti were just not around all of the time.
Someone entered the door and Bianca turned. Gianna stood in the doorway.
“Mom and Kevin are talking to the nurses.” Gianna entered the room. She was the only one who didn’t look at Bianca like she was an invalid. The doctors had all assured the family that she would be fine, and be able to go back to her normal life. But it didn’t seem to stick for everyone.
“Ready to go home?” Gianna sat down on the edge of the bed. Bianca didn’t like to lay down. She had spent too much time in bed. She didn’t care if she never slept again.
“How is home?” Bianca asked. It wasn’t the home that she had ever known. Gianna was silent for a few minutes.
“It’s a really nice house.” She finally came up with. “And we have three cats.” Bianca guessed that that was better than nothing.
“And how’s Kevin?”
“He’s ok.” Gianna answered. “They’re not around much.”
“Ok.” She looked towards the doorway as Patti and Kevin came in.
“Are you ready to go home, sweetie?” Gianna saw it already. The Favorite Child was back, and she would soon cease to exist. As glad as she was to have her sister back, she couldn’t believe this was happening again.
Bianca could only glance at Kevin as she they left the hospital. She had no idea what the world that she was returning to would be like.
The drive home was silent. Bianca watched the city that she had once loved buzz around her. It was so strange to see now. It looked different. She felt sick, but she didn’t think that it had anything to do with her lingering injuries.
Gianna had been right, the house was nice. It was a large three story brick on a small plot of land. She was a bit surprised that her mother had come to Staten Island. The family had always been the type of New Yorkers who joked about those who lived on Staten Island.
“So there’s a whole bedroom upstairs.” Patti told her as she was showing Bianca through the house. “We thought you might like it.” That incited a gasp from Gianna.
“You’re giving her the third floor?” Patti looked uncomfortable.
“G, come on, she’s been through so much.” Gianna bit her tongue. She couldn’t say anything, but Bianca sensed the hesitation. She immediately saw why.
The third floor had apparently been set up to be its own apartment. It had a kitchenette, a living room, a bedroom, and its own bath. Bianca saw immediately why Gianna would be jealous.
“You can have it, really.” She assured Gianna. Gianna shook her head.
“No, go ahead. You take it.” She was saying it because it was the right thing to do, and Bianca knew that. She shrugged awkwardly.
“Ok.” She glanced around. “So did you put my stuff in storage or…” Patti looked uncomfortable again. This time, Gianna only looked accusing. “Oh what now?” Bianca sighed.
“Well, baby,” Patti looked up at her, “we donated your stuff when we moved.” Bianca was stunned to anger.
“Wait. So they told you that there was a possibility that I could survive…yet you STILL got rid of my stuff?” What parent tried to erase their child so quickly? Bianca was stunned-truly stunned. All of the mementos of her life were gone. How her mother and sister could do such a thing was beyond her.
“Well we just…. didn’t know.” Patti offered nervously. Bianca sighed. Getting angry was undeniably bad for her recovery.
“Ok. So we’re getting me new stuff, right?” She meant it as rhetorical. There was only one good answer. If they gave her the wrong answer…well, that spoke for itself too.
“Of course, baby.” Patti was pulling her into her arms. “Of course we will. We’re just so glad to have you home.”
Bianca looked over her mother’s sister at Gianna. Gianna merely shrugged. Bianca understood. Their family had fallen into all sorts of weirdness.
******
In the three months since she had been back in the world of the living, Bianca still found everything to be strange. Her mother had done everything in her power to replace the things she had lost, but it didn’t help. Bianca no longer felt like she fit into this world…or this family.
She still had to straighten out her schooling, and what she would do with her life. She had just turned twenty-one. She was an adult now. She had no idea what to do with herself.
She was also quite tired of being alone all day. Patti and Kevin were both off doing whatever music industry thing that they did. Gianna was in school. Bianca had nothing. She sat at home all day and looked at the cats, who were still not sure about her. Today, she was making a change. Today she was stepping out.
She had downloaded the Uber app onto her new iPhone. As soon as the driver pulled up, she headed outside.
“Where to?” The driver whose name was Lennie asked.
“Somewhere fun?” Lennie chuckled.
“You got it, honey.”
Five minutes later, they were pulling up in front of a store that Bianca had never seen before.
“Is this a record store?” She asked suspiciously. Lennie laughed at that.
“It’s a record store, café and a place for live music. It’s very hipster.” Bianca didn’t think she looked hipster, but she thought she’d give it a try.
At this hour of the day, there weren’t many people in it. There was, however, a band setting up in one corner. Bianca went to browse through the records for a few minutes, and then headed over to the bar to order a latte. She was sitting there, sipping it, when someone moved to the bar beside her.
“You a groupie for them?” A boy in a green t-shirt and wearing a cowboy hat motioned to the band. Bianca shook her head.
“Hardly. I don’t know who they are.”
“No one does.” He sat down at the counter beside her. He held out one hand. “I’m Keith.”
“Bianca.” She shook his hand. He was good looking. She thought she spied some tangled blonde hair emerging from beneath his hat. His eyes were a bright green which matched the shirt he was currently wearing, and he had the air of someone who worked out.
“Good Italian name. Are you Italian?”
“On my mom’s side.” She was glad that he had sat. She wanted someone to talk to for a few minutes. Someone who wasn’t worried about her health. Someone who didn’t know her history. “Nice hat, by the way.”
“Thanks.” He tipped it to her. “I’ve never seen you in here before, and I come here a lot. New to the area?”
“Sort of.” Bianca shrugged, not wanting to get into it. “My mom lives nearby with her boyfriend. Why do you come here? For the records? Or the coffee?”
“Neither,” Keith grinned at her, “my band plays here a lot. Do you sing?”
That was a hard question. Bianca did sing. Or she had, rather. It had been one of her many talents. She was the only one of Patti’s daughters who had inherited the trait. She didn’t know if she still could.
“I used to,” she finally answered.
“Well, if you find that you do, this is the place to hang out. Lots of groups looking for singers.” Bianca wanted to hate the music industry. The pursuit of it was what had taken her mother from them. She had seen the strain that it put on her father. Part of her already hated it.
However, part of her was drawn to it. She wanted to know if she could sing. And then there was the dark thought in the back of her mind. If she could be a singer too, maybe she could prove a point to her mother. That was an even worse thought to have.
“I’ll see.” Bianca pushed the other thoughts out of her mind.
“Good.” Keith reached into his wallet. “You on Facebook? You should like my band’s page.” He handed her a business card. “If nothing else, you’ve now got my email address and phone number.” He gave her a quick wink. “Hope to see you around.”
Bianca watched him go off. She gave herself a quick once over. She looked decent enough (for someone who had spent a year in a coma). But she was still underweight and looked weak. In fact, she was tired now. She needed to get home.
Quickly pocketing the man’s card, she set up another Uber. She was glad when he dropped her off at home because now she was incredibly exhausted. As soon as she laid down, she was asleep.
She awoke to the sounds of someone moving around downstairs. Heading down, she found Gianna in her bedroom.
“Hey.”
“Hey.” Gianna looked up. “I came up earlier and you were sleeping. Is everything ok?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Bianca shrugged. “I went out today.”
“Oh? Anywhere cool?” Bianca sat down on the ottoman in front of Gianna’s bedroom chair.
“I don’t know. Some hipster place that has music and coffee?”
“Oh Ray’s.” Gianna nodded. “I know that place. They are pretty fun. They’re under twenty-one until ten on weekends. We should go back.”
“After I get some strength back.” Bianca warned. “I talked to this guy there. He asked me if I could sing.”
Gianna looked interested.
“You used to sing. Can you still?”
“I don’t know.” Bianca answered honestly. Gianna was looking at her. Then a slow smile spread over her face.
“Of course. Only you go out after a year in a coma and meet a boy on your first trip.” Bianca had to laugh at the irony.
“We talked for like five minutes. He gave me his card, told me to like his band on Facebook.”
“Maybe I’ve heard them.” Gianna thought this was momentarily nice. It was this type of thing that made her glad to have her sister home. “Anyway, you should find out if you can sing.”
“I will,” Bianca mused. “Tomorrow.”
******
Bianca hadn’t spent much time in the basement. There was a covered hot tub that they could use, but she’d chose to pass on. Kevin had set himself up a small recording studio in a corner of the basement. He used it for recording demos and the like. She let herself in, flipped on the lights and looked around.
Most of the recording equipment she didn’t understand, but what she mostly wanted was the music hook up. She set her laptop down, hooked up the cords, and brought her music application. She felt this was the best place in the house to see if she could still sing, so she would try here.
While she waited for her computer to load up, Bianca looked around. On the walls were pictures of Kevin’s touring days. She spotted a variety with her mother included. Those were what made her eyebrows rise.
In all of the pictures, Kevin had his arm around Patti. Bianca could clearly tell from the clothing that these were tours after her parents had married. Not that it mattered, Patti and Stephen had been together for years before they’d married.
The pictures seemed to get worse. Kevin’s hands were all over Patti. Patti had always worn seductive clothes on stage, and Kevin appeared to be taking full advantage of that. She didn’t know how any of them had missed it. It must have been there before.
Her opinion of Kevin’s relationship with her mother was getting darker. From what Gianna said, they’d gotten together so quickly after Stephen had died. Had something happened? Had they planned something? Stephen’s death had been a suicide-supposedly.
Bianca forced the thought from her mind. She was being ridiculous. These types of things only happened on soap operas. People didn’t really kill others and fake a suicide.
Soap operas and crime shows, Bianca reminded herself. Despite the stuffiness of the little studio, Bianca shivered. She had just given herself a terrible thought. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on the music app.
She had barely started a song selection when footsteps pounded down the stairs. She turned only to find Kevin standing the doorway.
“What are you doing in here?” She got the feeling he was trying not to sound accusing, but was failing nonetheless.
“I…wanted to see if I could still sing. So I brought my computer down to use your hook up.” Why on earth did it matter? Was there something in here that he didn’t want her to see?
“Oh.” Kevin nodded. “Right. Well, let’s see what we can do then.”
Kevin knew what he was doing. Soon he had the proper sound systems fired up.
“Ok. So. What were you going for?” Bianca studied the laptop screen.
“Well, I guess something easy that I know the words to,” she picked a country song that she thought she remembered from high school. “So you can tune down the voices so I can only hear the music?” That had been her entire point of this, after all.
“Yep.” Kevin toyed with a few more buttons. “Ok. Give it a shot.”
Bianca took a deep breath. The tune was familiar to her so it wasn’t hard. Remembering the words was another story. She began slowly, softly. When she stopped, Kevin nodded.
“I don’t think I ever heard you before, but it sounds like you still got it.” Bianca had to laugh. She did still have it.
“Was it good?” Despite her opinions of Kevin, he would know. He’d been rather successful in this business.
“You’ve got your mom’s talent-for sure.” Kevin looked a bit nervous. “Bianca, I know things have been difficult for you, but don’t just jump into something too quickly.”
It seemed so odd that he was telling her to quit so soon. She wondered why…a man in the music industry.
“Yeah, I’ll be careful. Thanks Kevin.” Bianca got up to leave the room. She was suddenly extremely uncomfortable with Kevin. But she didn’t fully know why.
******
She began spending her days at Ray’s. It was better than being alone in the house. She couldn’t get clearance to drive for another six months, so she relied on Uber, or Gianna the occasional evening. Gianna didn’t mind going. She was glad that she could get in somewhere with her sister.
And Keith was there. Bianca had found that she liked him. Technically, given the time that had passed, it had really been awhile since she had liked someone. He’d successfully managed to catch her up with life without knowing it. His music brought her back into today. He could talk about television shows without her having to know every word. It was extremely relaxing.
One afternoon, Bianca had been sipping on a latte at the counter. She was legally old enough to drink now, but she wasn’t prepared to start.
Keith had been wandering around the small club. They’d exchanged a few words, but nothing serious. He finally made his way over to her with his guitar in his hand.
“You’ve never really answered if you could sing.”
“Oh?” Bianca busied herself in her latte. Keith watched her.
“And you don’t drink either. Interesting character, Bianca Sullivan.” Bianca smiled faintly.
“It’s a…long story why I don’t drink.”
“Oh?” Keith settled himself onto the stool beside her. “I have time.”
“Some other time.” Bianca cautioned him. “As for the singing,” she hesitated again. Everyone had always told her that she was good. But was she really that good? Was she really good enough to sing here, now? “Why don’t you play a few notes and we’ll see if I know it?”
Keith smiled. His fingers immediately went to the guitar strings. He strummed over them, bringing the first few notes to life. Bianca listened carefully. She knew the tune. It was old-one that she easily should have known. Finally, it dawned on her.
“Country roads…take me home…to the place…I belong. West Virginia…mountain mama…take me home…country roads.” Keith grinned at her.
“Well, you know your John Denver.” He kept playing. “And you have a lovely voice. You should try with us sometime. Just for fun.”
“I…couldn’t.” Bianca lowered her head. “I mean…my mom tried singing and it was really hard on our family and I….”
“Hey, hey, hey,” Kevin put his hand on her arm. “I’m not asking you to give up your entire life for it, just a few notes. Come on, what else do you know? I could play it, and you could join us?”
“What about…’I’m All Right.’” She hadn’t heard that song in ages. She didn’t know if anyone still knew it. But Keith apparently did. He picked right up, playing the cords. Bianca laughed, but gave him the next line.
“Well it’s been a long time glad to see your face…”
Keith was laughing as he stopped playing. He turned his sparkling green eyes up to her.
“See? You’ve got this. Give it a try. Maybe…one song…when my band gets here?” He was looking at her optimistically. Bianca nodded reluctantly.
“Ok. One song. My choice.” Keith looked pleased.
“In that case, I can’t wait to hear what it is.”
******
The song she chose was Reba McEntire’s “Fancy.” It was one of those songs that had always been on her potential karaoke list. So tonight, in front of a mostly empty hipster joint, she sang it.
“Here’s your one chance, Fancy. Don’t let me down.”
When she finished, the audience actually looked interested. She immediately hopped down from the tiny stage.
“Keith!” One of the club’s manager’s Dave was approaching them. “She’s a good fit for you, you should keep her.”
“Oh no way.” Bianca waved him off. “It was a one-time deal.” But Keith was already on the floor beside her, wrapping one arm around her waist.
“You know Dave,” he grinned between the two of them, “I’ve been thinking that exact same thing.”
The night escalated quickly. One song turned into two, and then three. Suddenly, Bianca was looking up at Gianna in the middle of the crowd.
After the song ended, she jumped down from the stage. Dodging through people, she finally made it over to Gianna’s side.
“Hey!”
“Hey yourself!” Gianna looked around. “Look at you. This crowd loves you.” Bianca blushed.
“It just kind of happened.” Suddenly it dawned on her. “What are you doing here? You’re not twenty-one!”
“It’s called a fake ID, ok?” Gianna muttered. Bianca held her tongue, not wanting to go into over-protective big sister mode.
“Heyyyy Bianca!” Keith was suddenly wrapped around her again. Gianna looked impressed. “Is this your sister?”
“It is, actually.” Bianca looked over her shoulder at him. “Gianna, this is Keith. Keith, Gianna.”
“Nice to meet you.” Keith offered her his hand. “Your sister’s got talent.”
“I always knew it.” Gianna smiled in a fashion that made Bianca think she was thinking of something else. Her talents always had been a rivalry between them.
“I should…go.” Bianca looked at Gianna.
“Don’t let me stop you.” Gianna stepped back. “I can get a drink and….”
“No it’s cool, I’ll go with you.” Bianca reluctantly detached herself from Keith’s arm. “Hey, thanks for tonight. It was fun.”
“I hope you’ll be back.” Keith told her honestly. “You’re too good to lose.”
“She’ll be back.” Gianna winked. Bianca turned to say one more good night to find Keith face to face with her. She smiled softly. Keith leaned over, pressing his lips against her cheek.
“Bye, Bianca. It was good seeing you.”
As soon as they were in the car, Gianna looked over at her.
“You didn’t have to leave because of me.”
“And have Mom find out I let you stay in a club after they’d gone twenty-one and over with a fake ID?” Bianca buckled her seat belt. “Hardly.”
“Please,” Gianna scoffed as she put the car into gear, “Mom would think it was funny.”
She probably would. Bianca could not deny that. She wondered if her mother had always been such a terrible parent or if she only realized it now.
“What I want to talk about,” Gianna was driving them towards home, “is that boy Keith.”
“What about him?” Bianca was feeling her face get hot. “We don’t need to talk about this.”
“Sure we do. He’s hot, and he likes you.”
“He doesn’t-.”
“I didn’t see him pulling other girls up to sing with his band. Or wrapping his arms around them. Or kissing them good night.” Gianna batted her eyes.
“Cute.” Bianca rolled her own. They drove in silence for a few more streets.
“B,” Gianna glanced over at her, “do you remember the accident?”
Bianca hadn’t really thought about that. She remembered the moments before it. She remembered the chattering between them. Emma was turning around to talk to her. Brian was grumbling at them both to keep still because of the weather.
“A…bit.” She shrugged. “But not clearly.” Now it was her turn. “Gianna, what happened to Dad?”
Gianna turned her Volkswagen into the driveway. She pressed the button on the garage door opener. She watched it open in the darkness.
“He shot himself.”
“Where?” Bianca murmured. Gianna pulled the car into the garage. She sat for a moment before cutting off the engine.
“In the garage. At our house.”
“No one talks about it.” Bianca looked at Gianna in the yellow garage light.
“Mom found him.” Gianna murmured. “She was upset.”
“Obviously.” Bianca couldn’t imagine what that must have been like. Her father had been such a sweet, loving man. To know that he could have hurt himself. “Was Dad depressed?”
“He was upset…” Gianna shrugged. “But it didn’t seem too bad, you know? I mean we were all upset.”
Bianca didn’t understand. She couldn’t imagine how much pain her family had been in from an accident. She had to ask what she was thinking, even though she didn’t want to say it.
“Did anyone…” She paused to gather her thoughts. “Did anyone think that it…might not have been suicide?”
Beside her, Gianna turned in her seat to look at her. With her other hand, she reached for the door handle.
“Who would want to kill Dad?”
Bianca had a suspicion, but she didn’t want to say it. Actually, she didn’t have to. The other car pulled into the driveway and then into the garage. Kevin waved to them. Sighing, Bianca got out of the car.
“Where were you girls?” Kevin asked. Patti came around to stand beside him. His arm immediately went around her.
“Out at Ray’s.” Gianna moved to Bianca’s side. “B was singing.”
“Really?” Patti looked surprised. Kevin looked a bit turned off. “Bianca, you know I always said-.”
“I know what you always said.” Bianca smiled. “I’m pretty tired. I think I’m going to bed.” She headed into house. Something was uncomfortable. She didn’t know what, or why, but something was already wrong.
******
Keith had become an escape for her. Keith was not her family who looked at her weird, or didn’t want to talk about things that had happened while she was in a coma. Keith wanted her to sing, and she did.
She’d started spending more time with him. It became less about the band and more about the two of them. Every now and then, they grabbed food when he walked away from Ray’s. He never questioned why she didn’t drive. Bianca appreciated that.
One evening, Keith’s band had played the set which would be the last before it turned twenty-one and over. His band was staying for the show. Keith wanted to leave.
“You want to go somewhere quieter?” He was packing up his guitar.
“Such as?” She had a feeling what he was suggesting. He finished putting the guitar away, slinging the case over his shoulder.
“I don’t live far. We could order a pizza, chat for a bit.” They did a lot of chatting, but it was usually on rushed time. As much as she thought that this might not be her best idea, she did want to be alone with him.
“Drop me off after?”
“Absolutely.” He took her hand. She smiled, and willingly gave in. She decided right then and there that she didn’t care what the rest of the night brought.
He did live close-only a few blocks away. It was a small apartment on top of a store. He unlocked the door, ushering her in. While it looked like a guy lived there, it was surprisingly neat.
“So, where do you want pizza from?” Bianca laughed.
“My grandma was born and raised in Italy. It doesn’t matter to me because you’ll never find a pizza to compare to Grandma’s.”
“That’s entirely fair.” Keith dug through the menus. “How about the basic pepperoni from a mediocre place?”
“That sounds…incredibly acceptable.” Bianca sat down at the kitchen table.
Keith ordered the pizza. The two made small talk until it arrived, and then set the pizza on the table between them. They picked at opposite sides of it.
“Why are you such a mystery?” Keith finally asked her. “Why type of background do you not want me finding out?”
He was smiling, but Bianca knew that his words were serious. He’d been trying to get information out of her, and now he wanted it. She could not fault that.
“Well….” She said softly. “Do you really want to know?” Keith abandoned his food.
“Bianca, talk to me. I look at you and I see this look like you’re hiding from something…from someone.” Bianca hesitated, and then spoke.
“I was in a coma until four months ago.” Keith hadn’t been expecting that. He pulled back, looking surprised.
“No way.”
“Way.” Bianca rested her elbows on the table, her chin in one hand. “One night, my friends and I went to the local college basketball game. It was snowing. But we’re from New York, that doesn’t keep us in, right? Anyway, he-his name was Brian-hit ice and the car skidded. It went off the road, crashed and flipped. My friends in the front seat were killed. I survived, but with a head injury no one thought I’d recover from.”
Keith was staring at her in amazement. Bianca wondered if he believed her. If he didn’t, she’d understand.
“That’s amazing.”
“It’s not-.”
“No, Bianca, really. You have an amazing survival story. I don’t know why they aren’t putting you all over the news.”
“I’d hate that.” Bianca shuddered at the very thought of such a thing. “Anyway, when I woke up from that coma I found out that I was now twenty-one, my father had supposedly killed himself, my older sister vanished, and my mom had shacked up with a guy that she used to be in a band with.”
For a moment, she thought that Keith’s jaw was literally going to hit the table. He just stared at her.
“You must be….”
“Kidding? Please, I wish that I was.” Bianca sighed. “Sadly, this is entirely true. This is my dysfunctional life now. I used to be normal-I swear.”
“I think you’re still normal.” Keith rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “How could you not be normal?”
“I don’t drink, I don’t drive.” Bianca pulled her hand from his so that she could shrug. “I don’t drink because I’m afraid of the risk on my body. I don’t drive because I’m not allowed to have clearance yet.”
“That’s not what makes you normal.” Keith pulled her hand back to his. “What makes you normal is that you come out there, and you get up on that stage and sing with us. You’re amazing, Bianca. Truly.”
She smiled. No one had called her amazing. Not in all of this. People murmured about being a miracle, but Bianca felt overlooked despite the fact that it was her own life.
“Thanks.” She murmured.
For a second, the two of them only looked at one another. Bianca wasn’t entirely certain which one of them moved first, but suddenly they were kissing. It was her first kiss in years. She didn’t think she’d been kissed since November of her freshman year at college.
Things were suddenly getting serious. She hadn’t done anything like this in so long, and she was a bit out of practice. Even then, she hadn’t done it much.
“Wait,” she whispered as she pulled back.
“What?” Keith stroked her hair. “Don’t you want to…?”
“I do.” She did. She wanted to feel normal. She couldn’t think of anything that would make her feel more normal than this. “But I haven’t done this in a while…” That was obvious.
“It’s ok, Bianca.” Keith pressed a kiss to her cheek. “We’ll go slow.”
He pulled her back to him. His kiss slowed down a bit. That relaxed her some. She was able to wrap her arms around his neck. Keith’s hands reached up to caress her breasts.
“How far have you gone?” He pulled back to whisper.
“I’ve done this…. Once.” Bianca murmured softly. Keith smiled.
“Ok then. I promise to be better than him.” His lips moved back onto hers. He kissed her slowly for a long moment. But Bianca needed more, had to have more.
“Don’t take it too slow.” She pulled back. “I need you. I need to feel normal.”
That seemed to be all he needed to hear. He pressed his lips back to hers while he tugged her shirt up. Bianca pulled back, tossing it aside.
Keith got up. He took her hand, leading her into the bedroom. Bianca sat down on the edge of the bed before she unhooked her bra. That had always been another of her best features-her breasts. Apparently he thought so too.
Keith’s hands moved up to cover them. He squeezed them while he kissed her. Bianca groaned into his mouth. It had been so incredibly long that anyone had done this. She hadn’t even realized that she’d missed it. But judging by her body’s reaction, she had.
Keith pushed her to lay back on the bed. He crawled on top of her. Bianca pulled at his shirt until he drew back long enough to take it off. He tossed it aside before he returned to press his chest to hers. Bianca thought that she could kiss him forever.
His fingers were working her jeans free. He pushed them down, easing them off of her hips. Bianca was momentarily nervous. She hadn’t wasted her time becoming one of those girls who bought pretty underwear. She’s grabbed the five for twenty at Target and made it work. But now a boy was actually seeing them.
Keith didn’t seem to mind. He slipped his hand under the waist band. Bianca whimpered a bit as his fingers brushed over her. Then they were passing through the wetness that had pooled there. Bianca cried out entirely. All the time, his mouth was sucking on her throat.
Slowly his middle finger rubbed a circle on her clit. Bianca’s head fell back. Her eyes stared dimly across the room as she focused on his actions.
Keith’s finger left the nerves and pushed inside of her. When he received no cries of protest, his index finger followed. Bianca spread her legs wider for him, driving her hips up to his fingers.
“That’s so good.” She whispered, turning her head to his.
“Mmhmm.” Keith met her lips. His fingers sped up while his thumb returned to her clit. Bianca thought she wouldn’t be able to take the pleasure.
“Keith I…” She wanted it so badly. This was the closest to human she’d felt in months.
“Come for me.” Keith pressed kisses to her throat. “Come for me, Bianca.”
She did. Her body came unraveled at his words. The pleasure was intense. She was sure that none of the college boys she’d fumbled with had ever made her feel this good.
She was still recovering as Keith settled down onto the bed beside her. Bianca finally mustered a smile to him.
“That was…”
“I’m glad.” He kissed her again. Her fingers were already moving to the front of his jeans. His hand came up to cover them. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Bianca nodded in affirmation. She wanted him…needed him more now than she had in the first place.
Keith did not waste time. At her encouragement, he got off of the bed to remove his pants. After he shed the boxers beneath, he moved back to cover her. Bianca waited, feeling him fumbling to position himself at her entrance.
She sighed as he pushed into her. He felt good-so good. Hearing no words of argument, he began to move inside of her. Bianca brought her hands up to grip his shoulders. Her legs wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly to her.
His pace was growing more urgent. She was growing close for the second time.
“Yes…” She whispered into his ear. “Just like that.” Keith needed no encouragement. He angled his hips, pushing deeper into her. Bianca whimpered, crying out his name as she came for the second time.
She heard Keith’s hiss of breath, and then he stilled over her. She heard what might have been a faint whimper as he came after her.
“Thank you,” she whispered against his shoulder.
“No thank you.” He breathed. “You’re incredible.” He pulled out of her, settling himself onto the bed beside her. “I didn’t ask you over here just to…”
“It’s ok.” Bianca looked over at him. “I wouldn’t mind if you did.” Keith laughed softly. His arm draped over her waist.
“Look, about your singing...you’re really good…like beyond Ray’s good.” He met her eyes. “You should really think about that.”
Bianca considered what he was saying. It was nice…to have something that could be hers finally. And hell, she was good. She knew that.
“I appreciate that, but…” She trailed off. “I just don’t know. I mean, I saw what pursuing a music career did to my family. I don’t know if I could ever do that to my children. I mean, it would mean giving up so much…”
“It doesn’t have to.” Keith tilted her face up to his. “You have to know that.”
“But my mom,” Bianca licked her lips, “my mom was always so good at leaving us.”
“I appreciate that,” Keith told her gently. “But maybe…your mom made mistakes.”
“Enough of a mistake for my dad to kill himself.” Bianca answered bitterly.
“How did it happen?” Keith’s hand played over her cheek gently.
“I don’t really know.” Bianca turned to fully face him. “Apparently he killed himself in the garage of our house. My mom found him.”
Keith’s face registered a look Bianca couldn’t read. He took a moment, finally answering her.
“What was your dad’s name?”
“Stephen Sullivan. Why?” Keith drew a soft breath.
“I was afraid of that.” This time, Bianca sat up.
“What do you mean?”
“Look, I didn’t know, ok?”
“Keith!” Bianca exclaimed. “Tell me. Now.” Keith heaved out a sigh, and then nodded.
“Stephen Sullivan’s suicide was a big question. It made the news for weeks. Everyone thought it was odd that he’d kill himself like that, but there wasn’t any proof otherwise and it just dropped off.”
Bianca leaned back against the pillows, stunned. If that was what Keith was saying, then there was a possibility that her thoughts could be true.
“Who did they think did it?” She looked at him.
“Well,” he hesitated a moment, “they didn’t really know. I mean, there was a lot of speculation….” He brushed her hair lightly. “We could Google it-if you want.”
“No,” Bianca murmured. Her mind was racing. She couldn’t cope with this tonight. “I’ll do it at home tomorrow-alone. But uh,” she paused for a moment, “can I stay here tonight?” Keith’s face lit up in a smile.
“Well of course you can.” He reached for her, pulling her into his arms. Bianca let him. She needed something to calm her down. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-.”
“No.” Bianca tightened her arms on his. “No, you did exactly what you should have done and told me. I only wish that my family had done the same.”
She did. Inside, she was seething with anger. She couldn’t believe that no one had bothered to bring this up to her. Tomorrow, she was going to get to the bottom of this-once and for all.
******
Bianca closed the laptop and rubbed her eyes. It had been a long day. Keith had dropped her off around eleven. After a shower, she’d gone upstairs to the third floor where she set up her laptop.
A quick search of Stephen Sullivan’s death brought up a dozen news videos. Bianca had watched all of them. She watched as her picture was flashed across the screen. Initially, everyone did claim that Stephen’s death was a tragedy from losing her. But then the speculation started.
Apparently Patti had been seen with Kevin a number of times in the early days after Stephen’s passing. Everyone thought it was odd-or at least the news media made it seem that way. Stephen hadn’t had any family left, but his friends had voiced their objections. Bianca watched as people she knew, and people that her parents had called friends, spoke out against her mother.
All of the friends they spoke to voiced the same arguments: the Sullivans had been a happy family, but Stephen did everything. Patti had never been home. And now she was running around with the man she had been spending all of her time with when she was away from her husband.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bianca let her head rest on the closed laptop. She was frightened that her realizations had been so clear. This was like watching a crime show. She didn’t want to think about what the repercussions might mean.
Her phone rang on the bed beside her. Bianca looked down: Keith. She picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” His voice had a sympathetic edge to it. “How are you?” She’d told him fully of her plans when he’d dropped her off. He’d offered to stay and help her-he knew what he was looking for, after all. But Bianca had insisted on doing it alone.
“I’m ok.” She leaned back on the bed. “I just finished looking at videos. I don’t think I can look at anymore.”
“You probably shouldn’t,” Keith offered gently. “You’ve got a lot of information. Look, why don’t we get dinner tonight? You need to get away from that house, away from everything.”
“You’re right, I should.” Bianca smiled. “And I wouldn’t mind going out with you again.” She heard the smile in his voice.
“Honestly? That’s what I was hoping for. When should I pick you up?”
“Um, the sooner the better?” Bianca laughed as she got up. “I need to change. Forty-five minutes? An hour.”
“An hour for safety’s sake.” Keith told her. “I’ll see you then.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Bianca hung up feeling better. She liked the idea of finally having a life. It wasn’t that anyone in this house cared. She hadn’t spoken to her mother in a couple of days. She’d texted Gianna last night, and that was about it.
Speaking of Gianna, the phone was ringing her number now.
“Hey!” Bianca grabbed up the phone. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Where are you?”
“Home. Where are you?”
“I had a meeting after school. I’m on my way home. I forgot my key, so I just wanted to see if anyone was there.”
“Well, I’m here for now.” Bianca moved to stand in front of her mirror. Her long brown hair fell around her face. She scooped it up with one hand, holding it to a ponytail on her head.
“For now?” Gianna echoed.
“Yeah, Keith and I are having dinner.”
“Dinner after you spent the night at his house?” Gianna clicked her tongue. “How serious, B.”
“Funny,” Bianca moved into the living room after off the floor. She glanced down the stairs, into the hallway. “When I get home, we need to talk.”
“Why?”
“Well, Keith mentioned something to me last night. So I spent the day watching news videos online.” Gianna was silent on the other end. “Gianna?”
“I really hoped no one would tell you. But you had already figured it out anyway, so what does it matter?”
“I needed to know.” Bianca put the phone down, turning on the speaker while she got a glass of water. “Now the question: what do you think?”
More silence on the line. Bianca waited as patiently as she could.
“I don’t really know.” Gianna replied.
“Come on, G. You have to have some idea. You just think that Dad killed himself?”
“I don’t, ok?” Gianna answered. “I never have. But I was just a kid. No one was going to listen to me. Dad wouldn’t have left Mia and I. He loved you, but he was devoted to all three of us. He wouldn’t have done that.”
That was what Bianca wanted to hear.
“So who do you think did it?” She took a sip of her water, not sure if she was ready to hear the answer.
“Honestly?” Gianna asked. “Both of them.” She answered without hesitation. Bianca heard the tone of conviction in her voice.
“Wait, what?” Bianca hadn’t been expecting that. “You think Mom and Kevin killed Dad?”
“Well, no. I mean, I don’t have proof. But I think Kevin was involved. And I think Mom knew something. She just kept saying it was terrible it had to happen like this. I mean, that’s weird right? Who says that? Saying it’s terrible it happened is one thing, but why add on the ‘like this’?”
Bianca thought she heard a noise. She took a step forward, looking down the stairs into the house. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought a shadow was moving.
“G, I’m going to go. You’re almost home right?”
“I hit fucking traffic. I’ll be there soon.”
“Ok…” Bianca nodded. She had a strange feeling. Maybe Keith would be ok with Gianna joining them. She suddenly didn’t want to be alone in this house-or want Gianna there by herself.
Hanging up the phone, Bianca slipped it into her pocket. She made her way downstairs, looking around. Everything was empty until she passed through the kitchen. A small family room was on the other side. It led out into the driveway and garage.
Kevin was leaning against the back door.
“Kevin.” Bianca froze. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
“I’m sure that you didn’t.” Kevin turned to face her. “I’m sure that conversation wasn’t exactly one that you wanted me to hear.” Bianca sighed.
“Look, I’m sorry ok? This guy I’ve been seeing…he mentioned it to me last night. I just wanted to catch the news reports.”
Kevin stared at her for a long time. He took a step towards her.
“Yeah, I guess you still need to catch up on some things.” He moved towards her. “You know, we were so close to having the life your mom and I had always wanted.”
“Wait, what?” Bianca froze where she was. “What do you mean?”
“I mean my kids lived with their mom, Gianna was on her way out, and now we have one more come in.” Kevin shook his head. “You were easier to tend to when you were in a coma.”
Now Bianca took a step back. This wasn’t like the Kevin she’d always known. Fear was creeping up her spine. She did not want to be alone with this man. She suddenly didn’t know what he was capable of doing.
“I tried for years to get your mom to leave your dad. I told her that she should just hand over the kids. She wanted the career anyway. She wanted the lights, and the music. She lived for it. Being saddled with two babies-and then three-that wasn’t her life.”
“My mom-.” Bianca began, but Kevin cut her off.
“Is this really some shock to you? Your mom never pays any attention to where you’re going, what you’re doing. The only interest she’s shown is when you’re singing, and she’s just concerned you’ll show her up.”
That hurt. Bianca wondered if he was just being intentionally cruel, or if something really was going on.
“Kevin-.”
“Bianca.” He smiled. “A happy accident worked out so well. You were in a hospital. You were either expected to die, or be a vegetable in a nursing home for the rest of your life. Your mom just had to get rid of your dad and Gianna.”
“You two…” Bianca murmured. “You two were sleeping together.”
“For years.” Kevin waved his hand nonchalantly. “I was your mother’s escape from her routine, mundane life. She could actually have a thrill with me. And she liked it.”
Bianca wanted to scream at him. She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t true. But she knew that it was. The life her family had led wasn’t for her mother. Patti had been trapped…and apparently with no way out.
“She could have just divorced him.” Bianca was leaning against the kitchen counter now. Gianna would be home soon. Keith would be here soon. She had to keep Kevin talking…somehow.
“She could have, but you and Gianna weren’t his. And for some reason, your mom didn’t want to hand you two over to him.” Kevin’s face indicated that he was enjoying telling this story too much. Bianca wondered why he was telling it now.
“I told her that it was easier to make your dad’s death look like a suicide. Another dead child would be suspicious. Besides, he was the real roadblock. We could make due around kids. Spouses were entirely different.”
“So you killed him.” Bianca finally said it. “You killed my father.”
“I did.” Kevin at least faked an apologetic look. “In fairness, he didn’t know what was happening. He pulled into the garage, closed the door, got out of the car, and it was over.” Kevin held up his hands. “I’d waited for him. Your mom was upstairs. She heard the shot, but she waited a little while before she called the EMT. She wanted it to look real, you know?”
“You’re such an ass.” Bianca shook her head. “How do you think you’ll get away with this?”
“Easily.” Kevin took a step closer to her. “We have been getting away with it. Come on, Bianca. You and Gianna can do whatever you want, we don’t care. Just leave us alone. Let us play music, and drink and screw around however we want. Ok?”
“No.” Bianca didn’t even hesitate. No way was she going to let these two go about their lives with what she’d just heard. “My father was a good man. He didn’t deserve that. Hell, Gianna and Mia didn’t deserve it. You took away their father and destroyed their family. All for your own selfishness.”
Kevin sighed heavily. He was now leaning against the doorway beside her.
“You realize I’m not going to let you tell anyone about this, right?” Bianca did not want to find out what came after that statement. She dove in the opposite direction. She was headed for the back door. She reached it in no time, grabbing the handle and yanking. But it wouldn’t open.
“Do you really think that I wouldn’t lock it?” Kevin landed on the door beside her. “I came down here and locked it while you were on the phone.” He caught a handful of her hair, dragging her back from it. Bianca caught a glimpse of Gianna’s car pulling into the driveway.
“Gianna-no.”
“Oh good! Gianna’s home!” Kevin was yanking her by the hair and back of her neck across the kitchen. “I can take care of her as well. Or maybe not.” He shoved Bianca against the dining room doorway. “It’ll be a shame to tell her how you were so weak that you never fully recovered. I came in and found you unconscious on the floor.”
Kevin’s eyes were gleaming in a way that Bianca could only describe as intent. He knew what he was doing-and what he wanted to do now. But what did it matter? He’d already killed once before. His hand was wrapping around her neck. Just as he began squeezing, Bianca heard Gianna’s voice from the opposite side of the door.
“Bianca? Kevin? Come on, I don’t have my key.”
Kevin squeezed harder. Bianca squeaked faintly, hoping to warn her sister. Her fingers raised to clutch at the fingers holding her throat. She clawed at them, trying to pull them away. But Kevin was right, she was too weak. She couldn’t fight him back-not like this at least.
Suddenly, Bianca heard a sound. It sounded like breaking glass. A moment later, she saw a flash of blonde barreling into the room behind Kevin.
Keith.
The younger man grabbed the older one’s shoulder. Keith yanked Kevin backwards, sending him to the floor with one punch.
“Bianca go! Call 911! Now!” She didn’t hesitate. One hand on her throat, Bianca staggered outside. Gianna was already on the phone, pressed against the side of Keith’s Jeep. Bianca slumped to the ground beside her. She stared back at the house, not fully able to believe what she’d just seen.
Gianna was kneeling beside her. Her sister’s face was a mask of concern. One hand reached out to take her upper arm.
“Are you ok?”
“I…. think.” Bianca didn’t think her body had been ready for another fight for its life. She was weak, and shaky.
Police arrived. Two went into the house, emerging a few minutes later with Kevin. Keith ran to the two younger women. Dropping down, he put his hands on Bianca’s face.
“Are you ok?” Bianca swallowed hard. It was all too much. She wasn’t sure she could handle it. The realization, the near death…it was all too much. The faintest beginnings of a panic attack were rising in her throat.
She was getting oxygen from a paramedic when the second car pulled up. Patti jumped out. Her dark eyes frantically searched from Kevin’s car in the drive to Bianca, Gianna and Keith.
The look on her face said one thing: it was over.
One year later-
******
Mia was completely different in looks than Gianna and Bianca. She was as light as the two were dark. Her eyes were blue and her hair was blonde. No one could believe that the three were actually related.
“I think you’re getting voted off next week.” Mia put down her glass of wine.
“Thanks a lot!” Bianca snapped. The three were having dinner in a Nashville restaurant. Bianca had made it six weeks into a nine-week realty show. Just three more and she’d land her record deal.
“She doesn’t want to win.” Gianna batted her eyes at her sister. “She’d have to leave Keith.”
“That is not true.” Bianca argued. Keith has his own band, and his own contract. He’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that.” Mia sighed. “Where is Mr. Right, anyway?”
“He’s coming.” Bianca reached for her glass. It was a Jack and Coke. One of the first things she’d embraced about herself in the last year was that she wasn’t as traditional as people wanted. She may have been in Nashville pursuing a country music career, but she was a New Yorker at heart. Secretly, everyone believed that was her appeal to the show’s producers.
Everyone had encouraged her to do the show. Keith had turned down auditioning himself because Bianca was ‘prettier.’
Mia had come from the woodwork a few days after everything had come to head in New York. Apparently, she’d always believed her stepmother and her new boyfriend to be killers. Mia was already soliciting Dateline interviews.
Bianca was trying to put the images out of her head. She believed that everything happened for a reason. If she hadn’t been in the car accident, she wouldn’t have been in the coma. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have woken up and discovered her new career. When she was on stage, she was where she should be.
Not to mention that if none of those things had happened, she’d never have met Keith. He was the most perfect thing in her life right now. Maybe she really didn’t want to risk having to leave him.
“Bianca?” Gianna was saying her name.
“Hmmm?” Bianca put her glass down, looking up at her sisters.
“I asked what you’re singing this week?” Mia was watching her over the rim of a glass of wine.
“Oh.” Bianca smiled. “Some Hearts Get Lucky.”
After all, there was no truer statement.
*****