He Already Invited Them

Chapter 3

I closed the door and leaned against it, my heart hammering.

Luca was already in the living room, crouched in front of Derek's chair. He clasped Derek's shoulder with both hands. Two old friends. Two men who had shared secrets long before I entered any of their lives.

Eli stood in the hallway, still holding his duffel bag. He did not look at Derek. He looked at me. His gaze was not hungry. It was patient. That was worse.

Derek waved me over. His voice was light, almost playful. Come say hello properly.

I walked into the living room on legs that did not feel like mine.

Luca stood up and turned to face me. He was taller than I remembered. Broader. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, revealing a thin gold chain against his collarbone. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, exposing forearms with dark hair and a thin silver watch. His eyes traveled down my body and back up slowly. He did not hide it. He wanted me to notice him noticing.

He said I looked tired. His tone was soft, almost concerned. But his smile said something else. Something dangerous.

I crossed my arms over my chest. My old sweats felt like armor. Thin, useless armor.

Eli set down his bag and walked past me toward the kitchen. He asked where the coffee was. I told him. He opened the cabinet and found the mugs without asking which ones I used. That bothered me more than Luca's staring. Because it meant he had been paying attention. For years.

Derek talked for an hour. He told them about his physical therapy. About the cane. About the progress he was making. He did not mention the accident. He did not mention the things he could no longer do. He painted a picture of a man recovering, not a man broken.

I sat on the edge of the couch and said nothing.

Luca asked about my job. I told him I quit. He asked why. I said someone had to stay home with Derek. The silence that followed was heavy. Derek looked at his hands. Luca looked at me. Eli poured another cup of coffee and stared out the kitchen window.

By noon, I needed air. I went to the backyard and sat on the concrete steps. The sun was warm on my face. My hands were still cold.

The door opened behind me. I expected Luca. It was Eli.

He sat down next to me. Not close. Close enough that I could smell his soap. Something clean and simple. He did not speak for a full minute. Neither did I.

Then he said he was sorry. Not for anything specific. Just sorry. For the accident. For the two years. For the way Derek had changed.

I asked if Derek told him why they were really here.

Eli was quiet for a long moment. Then he said yes.

My stomach dropped. I asked what exactly Derek had said.

Eli turned to look at me. His eyes were dark green in the sunlight, flecked with gold. He said Derek told them everything. About the loneliness. About the guilt. About the thing Derek could not give me anymore.

I wanted to disappear. I asked if Derek told them about the watching.

Eli nodded. His jaw tightened. A muscle jumped near his temple.

I asked how he felt about that.

He did not answer right away. He picked up a small stone from the step and turned it over in his fingers. Then he said he would not touch me unless I asked. But he needed me to know something first.

I held my breath.

He said he met me before Derek did. The coffee shop on Maple Street. I spilled my drink. He helped me clean it up. I gave him my number. He lost it. Then Derek introduced me as his girlfriend a week later.

I remembered that day. The kind stranger with the soft voice. I had thought about him for days. When he never called, I assumed he was not interested.

I told Eli I remembered.

He said he had been in love with me for four years. Every time Derek brought me to dinner. Every holiday. Every birthday. He watched me be someone else's wife and told himself it was enough.

His voice did not crack. His hands did not shake. He was calm in a way that scared me more than shouting.

I asked why he was telling me this now.

He said because Derek had given him permission. And because he was tired of lying.

Then he stood up. He walked back inside without looking at me.

I sat on the steps for another ten minutes, my heart pounding.

When I finally went back inside, Luca was alone in the living room. Derek had gone to lie down. Eli was nowhere to be seen.

Luca patted the couch cushion next to him. Sit. We need to talk.

I stayed standing.

He shrugged. Suit yourself. Then he said something that made my blood run cold.

Derek showed us the video.

I asked what video.

Luca pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen. He turned it toward me.

It was a recording from our bedroom. The angle was high, from the dresser. I did not know Derek had set up a camera. The video showed me sleeping. Then it showed Derek watching me. His hand was between his legs. He was touching himself. Slowly. His face was twisted with something between pain and pleasure.

I could not breathe.

Luca said Derek had been recording himself for months. Watching me sleep. Touching himself to the thought of me with other men. And then sending the videos to Luca and Eli.

I asked how long.

Luca said since six months after the accident.

Six months. Derek had been able to feel something for eighteen months. He had lied. He had let me suffer. He had let me cry myself to sleep while he sat in the dark and filmed himself getting hard to the idea of sharing me.

I grabbed Luca's phone. I wanted to throw it against the wall.

Luca stood up and gently took it back. His voice was low. He said Derek was sick. Not evil. Sick. And he needed help. But that did not change the truth.

I asked what truth.

Luca looked me in the eye. He said Derek could not perform. But he could feel. And what he felt was not love anymore. It was a need. A need to watch.

I asked why Luca was telling me this.

He said because someone had to. And because he was tired of pretending he did not want me.

The words hung in the air.

I should have walked away. I should have gone to the bedroom and locked the door and called a lawyer. I should have done anything except what I did next.

I asked Luca if he wanted to kiss me.

He said yes.

I said not yet.

He smiled. Slow and dangerous. Then he said he could wait. He had been waiting for two years. What was a few more days?

I heard a noise behind me. Eli was standing in the hallway. His face was unreadable. He had heard everything.

He looked at Luca. Then he looked at me. Then he walked to the guest room and closed the door.

Luca put his phone away. He said dinner was at seven. Derek wanted us all to eat together. He wanted me to wear the red dress.

I asked how Derek knew about the red dress.

Luca smiled again. Because Derek picked it out. Last week. Online. He had it delivered yesterday.

Derek had been planning this. The clothes. The video. The invitation. Everything.

I walked to the bedroom. Derek was lying on the bed, eyes closed. He was not sleeping. I could tell by the way his breathing changed when I entered.

I stood over him. My voice came out low and steady.

You have been able to feel for eighteen months.

He opened his eyes. He did not deny it.

I asked why he lied.

He said because he was ashamed. Because the only time he could feel anything was when he imagined me with someone else. And he did not know how to say that to his wife.

I asked if he loved me.

He said yes. More than anything.

I asked if that was true.

He did not answer.

I walked out of the bedroom. I went to the bathroom. I locked the door. I looked at myself in the mirror.

The woman staring back at me was not the same woman who had opened the front door this morning. That woman had been ready to say no. This woman did not know what she was going to do.

A soft knock came from the other side of the door.

Eli's voice. Quiet. Gentle.

He said dinner was in two hours. He said he hoped I would come. He said no pressure.

Then he added something that made my chest ache.

He said he would wait for me. However long it took. He had already waited four years.

I heard his footsteps fade.

I turned on the shower. I stood under the hot water and let it burn my skin.

And I made a decision.

Not about Derek. Not about Luca. Not about Eli.

About myself.

I was done being the woman who waited.

But as I stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel, I saw it. The red dress. Hanging on the back of the bathroom door. Derek must have put it there while I was outside.

I touched the fabric. Silk. Cool against my fingers.

I had two hours.

Two hours to decide if I would walk downstairs in that dress. Two hours to decide if I would let Luca's smirk become something more. Two hours to decide if I would let Eli's quiet devotion break me open.

I wrapped the towel around myself. I walked to the bedroom. Derek was gone.

On the bed, he had laid out something else. Not just the dress.

A note.

His handwriting. Shaky.

I know you are angry. You should be. But tonight, I am not asking you to be my wife. I am asking you to be free. Just for one night. See how it feels.

I read the note three times.

Then I heard Luca's laugh from downstairs. Low. Warm. Derek joined in. The sound of two old friends, easy with each other.

I did not know what game my husband was playing.

But I was tired of being a pawn.

I dropped the towel. I picked up the red dress. I put it on.

And I walked downstairs.