The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) (21 page)

He looked even more annoyed, “Don’t you think that if they were really up to something over there Evie would have found out about it by now?”

“Maybe… maybe not.
Max says that they have a
top secret lab
there.
”

“Max, huh?” he sounded
exasperated.

I had yet to tell him about being followed in the city, but the way he was acting I knew it wasn’t a good time. He was tense and edgy, and not at all like himself.

“Why didn’t you tell me you met Paul yesterday?”

I was caught off guard by his tone, and immediately got defensive. “I
didn’t plan it
, I only caught him following us… well…
me
, because…
It was like a test.
It’s complicated, you see, there’s a few things I haven’t had a chance to–”

I was about to launch into the story when he dropped the bomb.

“Mom says that
it looks like
there’s something going on between you and Paul– Is there?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” I
scoffed
.

His face was hard, and his eyes looked hurt and guarded
.

“Does he always hit on you?”

“What? No! He works for Evie!” I cried.

“I don’t trust that guy. Half the time I called you in Germany he hung up on me! He made it sound like I was bothering you… And when I came to see you in the city he treated me like I was the enemy or something!”

“He’s just like that,” I said, “All he cares about is our training. He’s all business.”

“Then why did you hug him?” he asked angrily
.
“
She
said it looked like you were together. She saw him kiss you!”

I thought about how I almost shot Paul, and his rare display of emotion.
I wondered if I should I tell Ethan about the gun. It seemed like a very bad time to bring it up.

“What? No way!” I cried, “He was
only
telling me to be careful!”

“With a hug?” He asked in an accusing tone.

“It was a goodbye hug
!
” I protested, “Ethan, your mom is trying to make something out of nothing. She’s making it all up.”

“She said that you had plans to meet him… That you snuck away to be with him while you guys were supposed to be shopping.”

“That’s not true!” I raised my voice.

“You’re saying that she’s lying to me?” His voice tightened.

I tried to stay calm, but I could feel the anger welling up in me, “All I’m saying… is that it sounds like she’s trying really hard to come between us.”

He took a step back with his arms folded across his chest, “Why would she do that? She told me
she
likes you!”

I snorted sarcastically
.
“Yeah, right! Did you know that she’s been snooping around in my stuff? She was giving me a hard time about the things I have at your house.”

“Our house,” he pointed out
irritably.

“She
’s different when you’re not around
.”

“She only wants to protect me.”

I was incredulous, “She wants to protect
you
from
me?
”

“She doesn’t want to see me get hurt.”

I almost laughed out loud at the irony of it all, but I was still angry.

“Ethan, she’s given me a weird feeling since the first minute I met her! It’s like she’s spying on me or something… She watches everything I do… I don’t trust her.”

“She’s only worried that something’s going on between you and Paul.”

I’d had about enough of this,
and I bellowed,
“NOTHING IS GOING ON!” I was breathing hard, trying to keep myself from blurting out all the terrible things I’d heard about Ruby. I took a step back.

He looked startled at my reaction, and then contrite, “Okay, okay, I don’t want to fight with you.”

I took a deep breath, calming myself. How stupid could I be? I was playing right into her hands; this was exactly what she had in mind.

I was reminded of a medieval seafarer’s map
I once saw; w
hen it reached the end of the known world it warned, “
T
here be dragons here”. I felt like I was entering
that
uncharted territory
, and monsters lurked behind every word
we spoke
.

“Look,” I said, trying to sound calm, “It’s only that it seems like she’s always trying to find fault with me.”

“She’s just protective… Don’t be mad.”

“You don’t understand, it’s more than that,” I knew I was walking through an emotional mine field,
but I couldn’t help myself.

“Like what?”

“I caught her digging around in my purse, and, and….
n
ow she’s lying about me.”

He looked disappointed, “She didn’t
steal
anything… did she?”

“No,” I admitted.

He sighed, “Marina, did it ever occur to you that she might be jealous of you?”

“
What? No!
”

“She grew up really poor,” he explained
.
“She never had anything. She ran away from home and got married way too young–”

He stopped himself when I raised my eyebrows at him.

“She’s not like us,” he protested, “She didn’t have a family, and she married
D
ad to get away from her foster parents. She said she was depressed… not thinking straight. That’s why she left us.”

“For ten years?”

“She was afraid to come back.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” I said darkly.

“She said she felt trapped… Dad didn’t want her to get a job or go anywhere.”

Again, I had to stop myself from blurting out what I knew, “There are two sides to every story. Have you asked Dutch about it?”

He shook his head, “
He
doesn’t like to talk about her.”

I knew how that went. Both of our fathers wanted to forget their painful pasts, but for very different reasons. I bit my tongue. If I told Ethan what I’d heard from Abby, would he be mad at Dutch or at Ruby? Maybe he’d shoot the messenger and be mad at me… Or
even worse, he’
d be hurt. I looked up at him and saw his face soften.

He stepped close to me, and gingerly put his arms around me, “Is it really so hard for you to believe that she’s sorry? That she wants to get to know me?”

I paused,
exhaling.
“No.”

He sighed as I leaned into his chest. I closed my eyes and laid my head down, listening to his heartbeat. There was a weak spot there where Ruby was concerned; a thin scar that covere
d a wound that might never heal
– a wound that she’d placed there long ago when he was only a defenseless child.

I hated her for it.

I sighed
too
, “When does she leave?”

~

C
hapter
F
ourteen

SUSPICION

~

Ruby dragged out her visit, staying on the entire week. She skillfully kept Ethan at her beck and call, constantly feigning helplessness about one thing or the other. I was aggravated by his inability to see through her act, but the truth was, he really wanted to believe it.

I was afraid he needed to believe it.

“I’m scared to spend the night here alone,” she whined, keeping him from joining me at the studio. “I can’t take the bus in heels!” she protested, getting Ethan to chauffer her around town. She was practiced at deflecting blame; nothing Ruby ever did was ever Ruby’s fault. She was full of stories of all the terribly unfair things that had happened to her in her life, and Ethan took this as further evidence that she should be forgiven for her past transgressions.

It occurred to me that she’d done Ethan a favor by leaving. As much as her abandonment had hurt him, I couldn’t imagine what years of being around her twisted mindset might have done to him. He was being psychologically toyed with, batted around and used like one of Stumpy’s
playthings
, and there wasn’t much I could do about it.

Ruby was a master manipulator, and the more I tried to point out what she was up to, the more he made excuses for her. I stopped trying to argue the point, deciding to wait out her visit, hoping Ethan and I would be able to pick up where we left off. I called my dad every night, happy to hear his voice get stronger and stronger as the week p
rogressed
. He seemed to be doing just fine without me.

Ethan was constantly after me to visit the apartment, but I declined, choosing to see him
only
at school. We made the most of our limited time together, snuggling side by side on the bench under the big oak tree. He kept trying to explain away his mother’s behavior, unable to see through her façade. I struggled to hold onto sympathy for Ethan, fighting desperately not to resent him for his weakness.

Patience, I told myself. I owed him at least that much.

The days ground
into
a
whole week, and I
began to
move more and more of my things from Abby’s into the studio. It was just me and Stumpy, and I spent more than one night painting myself into exhaustion in a desperate bid to stay away from the night waves. Canvases started piling up again,
and
the obsessive painting
was
only barely enough to keep me from running
out
to the sea.

Detached from Ethan, I felt like an anchorless boat; fearful that the smallest current might send me drifting away.

By the time Friday rolled around it was becoming obvious that Ruby would be outstaying her welcome. I pestered Ethan to pin her down about her plans, and she finally claimed to have a bus ticket for Las Vegas that departed Sunday morning.

I’d told him about Megan’s show on Saturday, and he was conflicted. “Tell Megan I’m sorry to miss it,” he sighed
.
“I should
probably
be there for Mom’s last night.”

I couldn’t help but be disappointed, but I could see how torn he was. It would be cruel for me to make him choose between us. I was so
happy
to hear that Ruby was leaving that I agreed to
join her and Ethan for
a goodbye dinner on Friday night. I called Cruz, telling him I’d miss Evie’s dinner for Megan, but I’d be up first thing the next day.

Ethan met me after class on Friday, insisting on seeing me off on my trip to the lab. When Max arrived, I waved him over with a smile and introduced them. Ethan shook his hand firmly, and I saw his eyes narrow. His face hardened as he stared down a nervous Max
,
telegraphing a threat without speaking a word.

“Be careful with her,” he said in a low voice.

He pulled me close and kissed me like he was marking his territory, “I’ll see you tonight.”

We walked to the parking lot, where Max led me out to a beat up old Volkswagen Bug.

“Your boyfriend seems like the jealous type,” he said nervously, opening the door for me.

I paused before climbing in, embarrassed, “He’s really a nice guy. He’s just going through some stuff right now.”

I could understand Ethan being unhappy about all the time I was spending with Paul
–
after all, I was still wary of
his ex-girlfriend
. But Ethan had actually dated
Amber
, and Paul was simply a friend and an ally. Ethan’s rude behavior towards Max was another thing entirely. He was completely out of line, and frankly, I was offended. His mother’s insinuations seemed to be making him unwilling to trust anyone at all– especially me.

Ruby’s presence had brought out a dark side of Ethan that I’d only seen hints of before. His insecurity was making him suspicious of everyone, and his suspicions were making him unpleasant to be around. I could only hope that once she left, the black cloud that was hanging over his head would disappear along with her.

“Have you ever been out to the lab before?” Max asked, sneaking nervous glances at me as he drove us up the coast. We passed the turnoff that led to the burned out shell of Edwards’
former
mansion, taking the
very
next exit. The landscape looked familiar, and I realized that it was
close
to the beach
where
I
’
d surfed with Bradley on that terrible day not so long ago.