I have so many questions I wish I could ask Victoria, but I know she won’t be able to answer any of them.
After reading about Adam’s latest book, The Vixen, I put down Victoria’s diary and started reading that instead. I’ve been reading a little bit of it every day for the last week when I can steal an hour or two. There were no copies in the house, so I’ve been reading it on my phone, which makes my temples ache from eye strain.
In spite of that, I’ve been devouring this book. Adam said that he thought he was “lucky” to have become a best-selling author, but he wasn’t lucky. He’s talented. He’s really freaking talented. I haven’t ever read anything like this book.
I can see why Victoria was worried the book was based on her. The villain, Nicole, is the wife of the protagonist, and she’s an absolute psychopath. She tortures the protagonist by spending all his money and flirting shamelessly with other men while at the same time growing insanely jealous of anyone he even glances at. When she starts outright cheating on him, that’s when he’s had enough. He plots his revenge.
I don’t know if Victoria’s personality in any way resembled Nicole before her injury, but it seems like in Adam’s head, there were certain similarities. At the very least, he believed she was cheating on him. Physically, there’s no doubt they are similar.
Their nicknames are even similar. Vicky. Nicki. And the names of the other man. Mack. Jack.
What happens to Nicole in the book is nothing short of horrific. Even though I’m reading it on my tiny little phone, my eyes are pinned to the screen. In any case, the protagonist definitely gets his revenge. By the end of the book, Nicole is in two pieces. Literally.
As I scoop mashed potatoes into Victoria’s mouth, I try to imagine how she must have felt while reading that book. I also wonder if there was any truth in it. I mean, Victoria did have a terrible accident, but it was nothing like what happened to Nicole.
A dollop of mashed potatoes slides out of the right side of her lips. I reach out with a napkin to wipe it away. I look down at the plate, which still has about a quarter of the food left. “Are you getting full?” I ask.
Victoria nods.
“One more bite and we don’t have to do tube feeds,” I tell her. That’s a big motivating factor for her. She hates those tube feeds.
Victoria looks down at the food, then back up at me. “Sylvie,” she
says.
I smile at her. “Just one more bite.” “Irina,” she says.
My hand freezes in mid-air. That’s the first time she has said the name
Irina, even though she wrote about her extensively in that diary. And Maggie told me Victoria was jealous of Adam’s relationship with Irina. I remember how when I tried to ask Maggie where Irina had gone, she was so evasive.
“Irina,” she says again. “Irina… Glen Head.”
I don’t know what Victoria is trying to tell me. You really appreciate the English language when you’re trying to have a conversation with somebody who can only speak in one or two-word phrases. Maggie had told me Irina was from Glen Head. Does Victoria want me to find her?
“Do you want me to look for Irina?” I ask. “Is she in Glen Head now?” “Yes.” She nods but looks hesitant. She’s never going to eat any more
of the potatoes, but that’s okay. She had most of them. “But… no. She…”
I lean forward, waiting eagerly for her to spit out the rest of the sentence. But before she can say another word, there’s a rap at the door. I lift my head and see Adam standing there. He’s got the dreaded syringe in his right hand.
“Is this a good time to do the medications?” he asks.
Victoria shoots me a pained look. She hates getting those medications more than anything. I thought at first it was because it hurt her going in, but now I suspect it’s because of how they make her feel after. Those medications knock her out. I’m not sure whether or not that’s the purpose of them, but that’s what they do. She spends half her day asleep because of those medications.
“I… I guess so.” I stand up to let Adam have room to get to her. “We’re done eating.”
“Great.” He winks at me as he approaches Victoria. “All right, Vicky.
We’ll make this quick.”
I should probably mention the fact that I haven’t clipped Victoria’s nails in over a week. I could warn him.
But I don’t.
He reaches down to pull her shirt up and get to her feeding tube. I see the strange look in Victoria’s good eye, and I instinctively take a step back. Adam is too focused on the feeding tube, so he doesn’t notice.
And then she lunges at him.
