When you play with fire

"Auntyyyyyyyy!" Darcy screamed excitedly, abandoning her colouring book to go hug Trisha, who was waiting for her with open arms and a grin on her face.

"Uh, my baby's grown heavier!" Trisha remarked as she lifted Darcy up, "What have you been eating, you foodie?"

"Sharon gives me chocolates and cookies!" Darcy replied, "And cupcakes too!"

"And Brenda gives me lasagne and spaghetti and rice…"

"Well, I see you haven't been sparing a single grain." Trisha cut in, comically and Darcy laughed again.

It was true. I noted. Darcy was becoming bigger. She will turn 4 in March.

"Now, what was my little angel doing?" Trisha asked.

"I was drawing Daddy and mommy." Darcy said, gesturing towards her colouring book, "And me too!"

Trisha faked a frown, "I'm not part of your family?"

"Of course you are!" "I'm gonna draw you as well."

"And my super uncle." Darcy added.

Trisha looked at me with a confused expression on her face and then looked back at Darcy, "And who's your super uncle?"

"Uncle Derrick!" She announced. I shifted uncomfortably as she continued, "You are my super aunt and uncle Derrick is my super uncle."

"You mean that jerk is your super uncle now?"

"Trisha." I cut in. She turned to stare at me, annoyed, "Can we not talk in front of…"

"Sure." Trisha replied, stiffly and lowered Darcy to the floor beside her colouring book.

"We actually have a lot to talk about." She added without sparing me a glance.

I exhaled again. These are becoming more frequent these days.
~

Ceramic figurines hung on shelves against the sky blue walls of the room. A large cylinder-like drawer sat against the wall close to the large bed which was littered with small and large pillows. Trisha stretched herself on the bed. She was already dressed in a coffee brown nightdress and wore an off-colour bonnet to cover up her hair.

"What, are you just gonna stand there and watch me fall asleep?" Trisha asked when she took sight of me.

I removed my shoulder from where I was leaning by the door and allowed myself into the bedroom, "I can see you're all ready for bed."

"Likewise." She replied, staring at my crimson nightie, "Bold!"

I chuckled and sat on the bed, "Thanks."

"So, are you gonna tell me what I need to know?"

I hesitated for a while, "What do you need to know?"

Trisha gave me a 'You've got to be kidding' look and sat upright. Here comes the, "You're kidding me, right?"

Just as expected.

I rolled my eyes at her and breathily said, "Fineeeee."

"I haven't told Damien Jaeger yet."

"What?!" Trisha screamed. I drew back, taken aback.

"You're kidding me, right?" She saw that I wasn't, "Mélie, What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Trish!"

"Don't 'Trish' me, Mélie. Don't Trish me!" She cut in with exasperation, "Why didn't you tell him?!"

"I...I'm scared, Trish." I replied and lowered my eyes to avoid her angry face.

She went silent and I braced myself for another outburst, "Are you crazy?!"

"No."

Trisha laughed dryly, "So you're afraid of Derrick now." "Wait, is he threatening you?"

"He's blackmailing me, Trisha." I replied in an almost inaudible voice.

"Why?"

"He wants to…"

"Tell Damien what's up?" She cut in. I went quiet, "That's because YOU refused to tell him yourself!"

I looked up at her as she dragged off her bonnet and ran her fingers through her hair, obviously stressed out. A guilty sting shot through my chest.

"Mélie, he's not gonna trust you if you keep hiding things from him." Trisha said, "And the longer you keep this from him, the more difficult it's going to be to explain things to him."

I grumbled, "I know, Trisha. I know."

"I just don't know how to say it." "I mean how do I tell him that Derrick was my boyfriend and we had met in a stripclub?"

"You'll also have to explain why you've been pretending not to know each other all this while." Trisha added.

"Derrick is crazy." I remarked, "I should have known he was hiding something under his sleeves when he acted as if he didn't know me at that time."

Silence. I finally noticed the clock ticking on the wall. It was a Louis XVIV inspired design.

"What am I gonna do now?"

"What does that even mean?!" Trisha asked in a voice laced with disbelief.

I grumbled again, suddenly feeling like I was coming down with a fever. This was going to be more difficult than I thought, "Should I…tell him right now?"

"Sure."

I picked up my phone and Trisha stopped me, "Wait, you want to tell him over the phone?"

I nodded a yes.

"You can't do that!" She said and grabbed the phone from my hand, "You need to have a proper conversation."

"Like husband and wife." She added.

I heaved a sigh, "You're right." Trisha has always given the best advice. Even though she was my friend, she went out of her way to play the role of an older sister or a mother when needed.

Should have taken her advice from the very beginning. Idiot! The tiny voice in my head said.

"I'm glad that you're gonna be here until Damien Jaeger gets back, Trish." I said.

"I'm gonna whack him hard on the head with a hockey stick the next time I see him." She said, spitefully. I knew that she was far from kidding. She had earlier admired a hockey stick in the gameroom. Trisha was a crazy woman!

"So what are we gonna do?" She suddenly asked after a while and I arched my brows in confusion.

"It's my first night in your house, silly!"

"Oh!" I exclaimed, my finger stroking my chin as I thought about how I would entertain her, "Wanna watch a movie in the theatre?"

A grin appeared on her face, "I thought you'd never ask!"

Getting out of bed, Trisha slid into her ducky slippers and grabbed a woollen jacket, "You got popcorn?"

"Of course." I replied.

She opened the door and I followed behind her. My heart was increasingly pounding against my chest, suddenly struck with paranoia. I had been playing with fire for way too long!