War Zones and Paradise

Chapter Fourteen, Part Three - White Shores

An hour later, I'm freezing my ass off in Central Park.

Tyler and I loitered beneath a small, stone overpass, stomping on the snow in an effort to stay warm. Every once in a while a runner would dart past, another happy zombie, heedless of the world outside their own. If I hadn't been tethered to the situation, heart and soul, I might've taken flight, escaping with them.

"Five more minutes," I said, staring, forlornly at my phone.

Tyler was off to the side, finishing up a joint in the shadows beneath the bridge.

"Don't bother," he said. "You'll have better luck finding Jimmy Hoffa."

I sighed, feeling like an idiot. "She's not coming, is she?"

Tyler shook his head like "I told you so", blowing out his smoke at the same time.

"Screw this, I'm calling her."

I dialed Erin's number, then pressed the speaker button. It took her a few extra rings, but eventually she came through.

"Hey." Huh. Why did she sound like someone was dead?

Oh. Right.

"Valentine--where are you?"

"I'm sorry, Ali. Change of plans. I'm not coming."

Tyler's gaze connected with mine, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.

Something's not right; she knows it too.

"Listen, Valentine, I don't care what kind of trouble you're in," I said. "I just wanna help you."

"You can't help me, Ali--no one can."

"That's not true. Your sister is in town. Maybe if you just talk to her--"

"She's not my sister."

Raising my eyebrows, I shook my head at Tyler. What is she talking about?

Tyler shrugged. I dunno, she's crazy.

"Valentine, what do you mean?"

I heard Erin exhale, tinny, like she was a million miles away. "I don't have a sister, Ali. Whoever Rachel is, she's a liar."

Tyler rolled his eyes. She's lying, he mouthed, then took his last drag.

Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. Either way, I had to see this through.

"You're not making any sense," I said, gently. "If she wasn't your sister, who was she?"

Crickets.

"Valentine?"

"I... I never meant to take things this far. It's just... I needed you."

This time around the crickets were louder.

But not as loud as my thoughts.

They brought me back to the other night, when A'keem mentioned how Erin had taken Peyton shopping for Halloween costumes...

Of course Peyton had chosen a Kitana costume--because Erin had persuaded her to.

Kitana vs Mileena.

Peyton vs. Aaliyah.

All along, Erin had been sewing her little seeds of doubt, trying to pinpoint blame and suspicion on Peyton.