Case File 81

Case File Name:
The Sole Reason.

♤Chapter Eighty-One♤

"This wine is really fucking good," Marie said to Gia, which earned a nod from me.

"Definitely top three," I added as I stood at the kitchen island with everyone else.

Except I made sure the twins stood between me and Gia.

"Well it was fucking expensive so I'm glad it's good," Gia said as she made herself another glass.

I nodded, but almost as soon as the doorbell echoed throughout the house—my attention snapped toward the hallway.

"Relax, it's just the pizza Lena," Mav said as he walked past us, taking a wad of cash from Vic.

I nodded almost unconsciously, "Right... the pizza," I whispered, taking another long sip of my wine.

"Look, I'm sure Taz is fine," Vic said, giving me a subtle nudge.

I let out a deep sigh as I tapped the lock screen of my phone.

Which was void of any texts from Tazmin.

"The last time she texted me was when she got there," I pointed out, already overthinking what could've happened in that meeting.

"She's probably too busy to reach for her phone," Gia suggested, which earned a nod from Marie.

"Or maybe she forgot to text you when she left," my best friend added, clearly trying to calm any of my anxieties.

But I couldn't possibly be fucking calm until Tazmin gets here.

"This pizza is about to smack," Mav said as he approached us with numerous pizza boxes.

"I'll grab the plates," Gia offered, turning around to the cabinets.

"Let me go get the movie pulled up," Vic said, walking past us as Marie helped Mav with the different pizza boxes.

Meanwhile, I was checking my phone yet again.

Except this time I eyed the current time.

10:37 pm

It's been over an hour since she left...

Which feels like a bad sign to me—what if she's been arrested and we don't even know it yet?

"Lena?" Vic called out from the living room, which easily snapped my attention away from my phone.

And as soon as I realized he was waiting for an answer from me, I quickly shook my head to myself, "Sorry what did you say?" I said, noticing Marie now opening the boxes of pizza.

"Is it cool if we go ahead and eat without Taz?" Vic asked, glancing back over to the TV when Netflix loaded in.

I immediately nodded, noticing everyone was waiting to eat.

I'm sure Tazmin wouldn't mind eating later.

"Yeah, I'll text her now," I said, grabbing my phone from the counter to text her yet again.

Me: Everyone's going to eat but I'll save us both a plate to eat together

I let out a deep sigh as I glanced up from my phone, following everyone into the living room where the new Netflix movie was already pulled up.

And as they got the pizza distributed between plates that they passed out—I just sat silently with my knees tucked to my chest.

But I couldn't even bother to focus on the movie with Tazmin at the forefront of my mind, wondering why she hadn't answered my last three texts.

At some point during the movie, I decided I would call her as soon as we all got up for a break.

If she didn't answer my call then I would know something was definitely wrong.

"I'll grab the candy—babe can you make the popcorn?" Marie asked Vic as Gia threw out the dirty paper plates and Mav carried the pizza boxes back into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I was pouring a glass of Dr. Pepper for Marie, which I felt like she purposely requested when she noticed me grabbing my phone for the tenth time tonight.

But still, I decided to give in to her request anyway and pour a glass of cold soda for her.

At least until the garage door suddenly opened, and grasped everyone's attention.

Specifically, mine when I noticed my fiancée finally walk into the house.

And even seeing that she was safe and sound was enough to make me let out a visible breath of relief.

Until I noticed the stoic look on her face.

Or how she didn't glance over to me once.

"Tazmin," I said, watching as she silently walked into the kitchen, "Is everything okay?" I asked, which made everyone slowly halt whatever they were doing.

The only thing that invaded the sudden silence was the popcorn popping so loudly in the microwave.

And the longer Tazmin remained quiet, the more anxious I grew—praying everything went well with her meeting.

My eyes unconsciously traced her sharp face before darting down to—

The envelope in her hand.

"Roman was cleaning out his new office," Tazmin finally spoke, rolling her tense shoulders back as she calmly opened the envelope, "And apparently this was left addressed to me."

I blinked a few times as soon as the picture was revealed to all of our eyes.

Specifically, the one of Gia and I that night on Christmas Eve.

And it looked even worse than it did when Adriana had handed it to me on that awful night.

How Gia tugged at the straps to my dress, the way my legs straddled her body—even our lips which were pressed so obviously together.

Fuck.

"Taz we can exp—"

"You fucked my girlfriend?" Tazmin cut her sister short before she could finish her sentence.

I quickly shook my head at her assumption, "No it never went further than kissing—"

"I don't even want to hear it from you right now," Tazmin cut me short, her dark eyes finally snapping to me.

And even her darkened stare on me was enough to make my throat close up so fucking unbearably.

"You were going to marry me and not even mention this shit," Tazmin said, immediately glancing away from me as if she were physically disgusted by my presence.

And I couldn't miss the way the twins looked visibly shocked alongside Marie.

Which I knew was not only due to the picture but because of what Tazmin had just revealed to everyone.

"Wait, they're getting married?" Mav tried to whisper to Vic, but with how silent it was, we could all fucking hear him.

"Oh not anymore," Tazmin said, shaking her head to herself, "Trust and fucking believe that."

And before I could even realize it, tears were burning in my eyes at her words.

"Tazmin I swear I never slept with her," I whispered, quickly wiping my tears away as I unconsciously stared down at the floor in embarrassment.

I hate crying in front of people.

Gia suddenly walked over to Tazmin, "We both fell asleep Taz—"

"Do you have feelings for her?" Tazmin suddenly cut Gia short.

And as soon as the air stilled around us, I glanced back up, watching as Gia stood so timidly in front of Tazmin.

My heart began racing in my chest, anticipating the next words that Gia would say—mostly because her silence wasn't helping anyone right now.

"Answer the fucking question, Gia," Tazmin said, taking a step closer to her sister.

Which made Gia instinctively take one step back from her, "I-I don't know I—"

Gia suddenly gasped as soon as Tazmin grabbed her throat—and harshly pressed her back to the nearest wall.

Which immediately made my breath hitch in my throat—instinctively taking a step forward to pull them away from each other.

But before I could, Mav pulled me back, silently shaking his head once as a firm no.

"I could kill you for this," Tazmin said, but the only sounds she got out of Gia were wavered breaths as she rapidly tapped at her sister's wrists.

"I'm sorry," Gia managed to weakly force out, now trying to tug at Tazmin's hand around her throat, "Please I'm so sorry," she choked out with visible tears forming in her eyes.

"Now it all makes so much fucking sense," Tazmin said, still holding Gia firmly in place by her neck, "How you danced with her at the club—I knew something wasn't fucking right."

Gia shook her head rapidly, "It wasn't like that," she gasped out, "I-I'm sorry," she repeated herself, slowly loosening her hold around Tazmin's wrists.

Which immediately alarmed me, realizing Tazmin was actually about to strangle Gia to death.

"Tazmin," I said, attempting to take another step forward, but Mav only pulled me right back by my arm, "She's your sister, Tazmin," I tried to be a voice of reason, feeling more tears burn so harshly in my eyes.

And as soon as Tazmin tightened her hold around Gia's neck, Vic suddenly took a step closer to her, leaving Marie back by my side in visible shock.

"Taz," Vic said, placing a careful hand on Tazmin's shoulder, "You only have a few more seconds until she's dead," he calmly added, tapping her shoulder once.

I shook my head, burying my face in my hands when Tazmin didn't show any signs of letting Gia go.

Which made me feel physically sick.

I couldn't actually watch Tazmin kill Gia—which is something I knew she would regret for the rest of her life.

"Taz," Vic repeated himself.

But all I could hear were Gia's wavered breaths that slowly grew more spaced out.

Until I suddenly heard a grunt and loud gasps of air, which immediately made me lift my face from my hands.

"I want her out of my fucking house," Tazmin finally spoke, motioning Vic over to Gia—who sat on the floor rubbing her throat as she coughed roughly with each wavered breath.

"Taz," Gia weakly forced out, wheezing a few times as she hunched over—coughing up blood into the palm of her hand, "I'm really sorry please."

Tazmin only shook her head, "I don't want to ever fucking speak to you again Gia—how's that for sorry?" she said, watching as Vic grabbed one of Gia's arms.

Which made Mav instinctively take a few steps forward to grab Gia's other arm and lift her up off the ground—dragging her out of the kitchen entirely.

"I should..." Marie suddenly trailed off, blinking a few times as she glanced between Tazmin and the hallway that the twins walked through, "I'm gonna follow them," she whispered, giving me a brief look of disappointment.

Which made me feel even fucking worse.

But before I could say anything to her, Marie quickly walked out of the kitchen to follow behind the twins.

Which left me alone with Tazmin—who remained leaning over the counter, still refusing to look at me.

"Tazmin," I hesitantly whispered, taking a very small step towards her, "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you it's just—"

I gasped as soon as she smacked the glass off of the counter—instantly shattering the glass of Dr. Pepper which spilled out all over the white floors.

"Get out," Tazmin said, not bothering to look at me as she finally lifted up from her leaned-over stance.

I rapidly shook my head, "I swear we fell asleep Tazmin—we never had sex please," I nearly pleaded, taking a few more steps closer to her.

"It's been fucking months," Tazmin said, finally meeting my stare in disapproval, "I was on my knees begging for you that same day Milena and what do you go do? Fuck my sister?"

I drew in a few deep breaths when uncontrollable tears grew in my eyes—which slid so quickly down my cheeks before I could begin to wipe them.

"I was patient with you—so fucking patient with you," Tazmin said, shaking her head at me, "I know I was responsible for your parent's deaths—and I know the Adriana situation was fucking hard but this..."

I quickly wiped some of my tears away, "I tried to tell you, I swear but you said you didn't want to know about any—"

"You failed to mention my fucking sister!" Tazmin cut me short, her voice echoing all around us.

Which only made me cry harder, covering my mouth with my hand to hold myself back from full-on sobbing.

I've never heard her yell before.

"Your parents were unintentional—it was all in the past, and I swear I live with that shit every day Milena, you have no fucking idea," Tazmin said, her voice now back to a calmer level, which almost felt forced, "And the Adriana situation was always out of protection—to protect you and so many other fucking people."

I nodded a few times but inevitably cried even harder.

Mostly because I knew where this was all headed without her even telling me.

"I've never tried to intentionally hurt you," Tazmin emphasized, shaking her head to herself, "But you—it's like you want to fucking hurt me Milena and I'll never understand it."

I quickly shook my head, taking a few steps toward her, "No I don't want to hurt you—I swear it was unintentional, we were really drunk and it never went further than kissing," I tried to explain again, hoping she would hear me out.

But Tazmin only shook her head, "Honestly Milena," she sighed, her dark eyes never wavering away from me, "You could tell me the sky is blue and I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of your fucking mouth."

I felt my face physically fall, swallowing the hiccups that desperately wanted to fall from my lips.

"All you do is lie and this is the last straw for me," Tazmin said, and as soon as she glanced away from me, I knew what came next.

So I lowered down to my knees before I could think it through—willing to beg and plead for her just as she had done for me.

I winced as soon as the glass cracked under the skin of my covered knees, which seemed to only make my tears grow at the pain that pressed through the thin material of my leggings.

But Tazmin only remained unaffected as she stared down at me, "This is beyond begging and pleading Milena—you fucked my sister and I'm not moving past this shit," she said, taking a step back from me.

Which only made my tears grow even more rapidly, "We only kissed, I'm so sorry please—"

"A good time to say sorry would've been when you actually told me about this," Tazmin said, shaking her head at me, "Or maybe before you agreed to get fucking married to me."

I quickly wiped my warm tears, even if they came back ten times harder, "I couldn't tell you because I knew you—"

"I would be fucking disgusted with you?" Tazmin harshly cut me short, "Because trust me, I am Milena."

And her harsh words alone were enough to make me break down entirely, covering my face with my hands as I balled up into my knees.

"I'll have someone drop off your stuff tomorrow—just get out of my fucking house," Tazmin said, and before I could form a response her footsteps began retreating away from me, leaving me a crying mess practically balled up in a pile of broken glass.

Which is exactly how I felt.

Like fucking broken glass—that I was the sole reason for breaking.

This is all my fault.

She's right, all I used to do was lie about the smallest things—I would even lie to myself and avoid things that needed to be discussed.

But I've been working in therapy to fix my avoidant issues—to not lie anymore about things.

Except this thing with Gia is really fucking big and I should've never lied about it in the first place.

I mean, I can see how it looks like we fucked—the picture is compromising, the whole club incident with Gia touching me didn't help, and then on top of that, we kept this from her for months.

Which only made us look more guilty of doing something more than just kissing.

And there's no coming back from this one.

Tazmin thinks I slept with her sister and I know how unforgivable that is.

"Lena," I could hear Vic's echo in my ears.

Which only made me feel more pathetic, considering I was still balled up on my knees sniffling and crying.

"I got her," I heard Marie's familiar voice, which only made me cry harder.

"Just hurry up before Taz comes back down," I heard Mav say as their footsteps grew further away.

But I didn't want to move—and I definitely didn't want to leave.

I just wanted to stay here forever even if Tazmin didn't want anything to do with me.

I would do anything—give up anything she asked of me just to have her.

"Lena," I could hear Marie's hesitant voice, hearing glass slowly crack around me, "It's time to go," she whispered, softly pressing her hand to my back.

I shook my head, "I can't—I don't want to," I forced out, refusing to even lift my head.

Maybe if I refuse to leave she'll talk to me?

"And I get that," Marie softly whispered, "But Mav and Vic are going to carry you out if you don't get up yourself."

I squeezed my eyes shut when more tears burned in my eyes, feeling my stomach twist so terribly.

"She's not coming back?" I whispered, already on the verge of breaking down all over again.

It felt like I could cry and throw up at the same time—but all I wanted to do was sit here just to get another chance to speak to her.

Even if it meant her yelling and degrading me all over again.

"No babe, she's not coming back," Marie told me, removing her hand from my back only to gently grab my arm.

I let out a shaky sigh, finally lifting my head and allowing the light to invade my blurry vision—and the brightness alone burned my puffy eyes, making me want to crawl back up into my knees.

But Marie had already helped me slowly stand up before I had a real chance to ball myself back up to my body and insist on waiting for Tazmin.

"I don't want to leave," I said again, my voice barely audible in my ears as my eyes burned with more tears yet again.

Marie's already softened face somehow fell even more at what probably looked like the most pathetic version of myself.

I have never felt this fucking low before.

"Let's just head over to my place—maybe give her some space," Marie suggested, quickly handing me the paper towel in her hand for my leggings soaked in the Dr. Pepper from the floors I had been kneeled on.

"Space?" I whispered, grabbing the paper towel from her, but not even bothering to use it, "You think space would be good?"

Marie instantly nodded as she guided us further past the kitchen, "I think space would be really good," she assured me as we walked through the front foyer.

But the closer we got to the door, the worse my tears got.

I almost savored the familiar smell of her house and how it all looked because for some reason—

It felt like I would never be back.

"And you think she'll move past it after space?" I forced out, clenching my jaw when even more tears burned in my eyes and slid down my flushed cheeks.

Marie drew in a deep breath, her dark eyes suddenly meeting mine as she opened the door, "I um... I don't think so," she hesitantly said, but at least she was being honest.

I nodded almost rapidly, even if it only made my tears grow worse—nearly sobbing at the idea that she really wouldn't move past this.

"But it's going to be okay—you'll be okay," Marie comforted me, gently guiding me out of the house into the warm Miami air where I could smell the saltiness of the nearby beach.

And once she closed the front door, I hid my face in my hands, unable to stop my crying from growing even more pathetically.

But it felt like all I could do was cry—like maybe crying is what would make her come back.

Yet, it never happened.

Tazmin never came out of that house and I never got invited back in.

I would never be invited back in.

And that realization alone left me crying in the passenger seat of Marie's Urus—watching the tall gates close behind us one last time.