Page 55 of Ondine: Vol. 2

What the fuck am I looking at?

My favorite type of water bottle, the oversized one with the straw, sits on a side table. The curtains are layered and wispy. There are so many wicker baskets with plush throw blankets piled inside.

I turn to Jake. He’s surprised by the look on my face.

“Are you upset?” He asks.

“Where the fuck is he?”

Now he looks shocked.

I don’t fucking care.

“Where is he!” I yell.

This entire nest is the making of only one man. Only one man that knows me well enough to hit every last detail on the mark.

This is the work of Arnold Berrera.

17

Screaming on the Lawn

Ondine

Jake holds in his glee. His lips are tight and his eyebrows raised.

“He’s around,” he answers, and I have to give him credit for not pretending like he doesn’t know who I’m talking about. “Probably with Shadow and Sebastian.”

“How? Why?” My voice cracks.

Jake stands up tall and confidentially says, “There are two types of people in this world. Those who play fair. And those who win.”

My mouth parts. What a total Jake thing to say.

Sebastian is outside. I have to go find him and then he’ll lead me to Arnie.

I turn and dart out of the room.

Jake can easily catch me but he lets me run. He’s right behind me though.

I burst out of the house and run across the lawn. I go to where I saw him last and then look around. There’s a bonfire near the river’s edge. Three men sit around it. I see Shadow and Sebastian. But the third man’s back is to me.

My feet are bare on the cool grass. I run towards them without a thought of it.

“Arnie!” I call out but I’m so emotional it comes out quiet.

Sebastian sees me and pops up on his feet.

“Ondine? Are you ok?”

The third man stands and turns to me.

Arnie. I crash into him.

Arnie.

He wraps me in his warm embrace and I start to cry. My feet sink into the gravel below us.