“Thank you for that, by the way. It was really thoughtful.”
She shook her head. “No worries. I’m five minutes up the hill at the last turnoff.” She waited for traffic to clear, flipped a U-turn, and headed back a little faster than she’d been driving before. “We might be a few minutes late, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“No problem,” Katherine said. “And Toni hasn’t seen your house before.”
“Toni, where do you live?”
“Kinda out in the country,” she said. “But neither of you can see mine. Eventually yes, but it’s a work in progress.”
“Mine’s one of those McMansions up in Ferraro Hills. You’ll see. It’s boring as hell.”
“Your home is lovely,” Katherine said.
“But it’s so boring,” Megan said. “It has no soul.”
Toni laughed. “You think houses have a soul?”
“Oh definitely.” She glanced at Toni in the rearview. “What made you pick your house if it’s a work in progress?”
“It was cheap and I like the location.”
Katherine turned. “And that’s it?” She knew exactly what Megan was saying. It might not have been scientific, but Katherine adored her home’s personality. And wasn’t that a little like a soul?
Toni shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it felt like home even though it’s a disaster. I like the trees.”
“Trees are really important. Our neighborhood in Atlanta had the most magnificent oak trees.” Megan steered through the carefully tended gates of Ferraro Hills and past the manicured lawns. “Look at the trees around here. Nuthin’. That’s what’s around here. A whole lot of nuthin’.”
Toni huffed. “There used to be an oak grove here. It was pretty.”
“And they tore it out? See what I mean? No soul.”
Katherine spotted Megan’s house at the end of a cul-de-sac. There was a sleek grey convertible in the driveway. “Is Rodney still home?”
Megan frowned as she pulled in next to the convertible. “That’s weird. He’s probably on his way out the door.”
Katherine looked over her shoulder.
Toni’s eyes were narrowed on the convertible. “That’s your husband’s car?”
“Yeah. Cool, right?” Megan hopped out of the car. “He got it when we moved here. I’ll just run in.”
Toni pushed the door open. “I’ll come in with you.” Her face was grim.
A curdling suspicion twisted in Katherine’s stomach. Toni wasn’t going in to gawk at Megan’s home. She sensed something was wrong.
“I’ll come too.” Katherine stepped out the car, ignoring the ache in her knee and ankle. “I’d love to thank Rodney for the lunch reservation.”
“Sure.” Tiny lines formed between Megan’s eyebrows.
Toni and Katherine flanked Megan as she walked up to the door. The minute Megan opened the door, the silence seemed to envelop Katherine. The world was cast in grey and her perception shifted. She stepped into the vision like stepping through a mirror.
Megan strode down the hallway, screaming and crying. A woman ran out, her clothes clutched to her chest and red lipstick smeared across her cheek. A glaring red handprint shone against her pale cheek.
“That bitch is crazy.”
The shouting in the hallway got louder. Angry voices building and building until there was a crack and a crash. Katherine walked toward the commotion, trying to stretch the vision, trying to give her friend minutes.
“Megan, I’m calling the police!”
“You fucking bastard!”
The scream made her ears pop and her eyes cleared.
Megan was standing motionless in the entryway. She knew something was wrong. The sudden silence that echoed in the house spoke volumes. So did the pair of women’s heels in the entryway.
“Well, damn,” Megan whispered, staring at the heels. “Aren’t I the pretty idiot?”
In a moment of clarity, Katherine reached down and grabbed Megan’s hand before she could take off down the hall. “Wait.”
“I can’t breathe.” Megan’s chest was heaving.
Toni reached for her other hand. “Megan, calm down.”
“Breathe.” Katherine squeezed her hand. “Look at me.”
Megan turned and looked her in the eye. Katherine had never seen blue eyes so hot and so cold at the same time. “I just saw what you don’t want to happen, so listen to me.”
Toni said, “We got you, Atlanta.”
“Keep your eyes on me,” Katherine said. Her own heart was racing, but all she could hear over and over was the screaming and the crying. “You’re going to be very calm. He doesn’t get the satisfaction of making you lose control.”
Megan swallowed hard, bit her lower lip, and nodded.
“Tell me quickly,” Katherine whispered, “do you want this house?”
“I hate this fucking house,” Megan said through gritted teeth.
“But he likes it,” Toni said, “so you don’t give him the house.”
Katherine kept a tight grip on her hand. “You go into that room and tell them to get out of your house right now. They’re expecting drama. You don’t give him anything. You’ve been married to this man for years. You know the buttons he’s going to try to push. You’re going to breathe through it.”
The steel entered Megan’s eyes, and she took a deep breath, then nodded. “I got you.” She turned to Toni, and her voice wavered for a moment. “I need… I need you to make me strong.”
Toni met Megan’s eyes, and all the antagonism was gone. “I can do that.” She squeezed her hand hard. “You got this.”
Megan took a deep breath, lifted her chin, kicked the heels to the side, and walked down the hall. Katherine and Toni waited in the entryway.
“What did you do?” Katherine said. “To Megan.”
“Nothing really. Calmed her down a little when we first walked in.” Toni shrugged. “She’s already strong as hell.”
There was a man’s voice rising, but no shouts came in return. A few minutes later, a woman with long dark hair and red lipstick came walking down the hall with flaming cheeks.
“Hey there, Julia Verdino,” Toni said. “Imagine meeting you at my friend’s house. Does your mother know you’re sleeping with a married man? Because she’s going to.”
“Fuck you, Toni,” the woman spat out. “He said he wasn’t married.”
“Fuck you too. You think I’m
