GRINGA (65 page)

I’m watching a Jennifer Lopez DVD when I hear shouting
in Tongue’s room again and again I fly up the stairs.
After last night’s incident with Paris and Elaine fighting over Tongue, I just don’t know what to expect.

             
Paris and Elaine
are
on one side of the room
. On the other side,
a fiery
Mexican woman with suspender belt and garters stands.
They yell at each other while tongue lies on his bed
in just his underwear,
a big smirk on his face.

             
‘What the fuck Tongue!’ I yell.

             
‘I get bored,’ he says in a matter-of-fact voice.

             
M
other and daughter
hiss at the s
enorita.

             
‘I will cut you and you,’ the
feisty
senorita says to Elaine and Paris
.
She turns to look at me. ‘I will cut you too.’

             
‘Fuck you, bitch!’ I snarl. ‘You want to take me on? Huh?’

             
‘Yeah Payton,’
Paris
says, from behind me, ‘kick the shit out of her, Payton.’

             
‘Yes Payton,’ Elaine whispers, ‘give her a thrashing. You can do it, Payton.’

             
The Senorita sneers and slithers towards me.

             
I grab a vodka bottle off the bedside table and slam it against the wall
above Tongue’s head
. Broken glass rains down on Tongue. Wielding the broken
bottle,
I
lunge at he
r. ‘Come bitch! Come
!
’

             
The senorita
eyes
the jagged bottle in my hand and
reluctantly
takes a step back. Quickly she gathers her clothes and hurries out of the room.
I’m relieved because I know she would have kicked my ass.

             
Tongue laughs hysterically.
‘You are so sexy, gringa,’ he says. ‘Come lie with me.’

             
I
look at
Paris and Elaine
. ‘Tomorrow, I want you both out of here.’

             
Paris
’s smile is cynical.
‘What?
Why you want me out?
You scared your man’s gonna
want me
, huh?’ 

             
I roll my eyes.
‘Oh please
.
’

             
‘You think it’s impossible? It happened before, remember?
I won.
’

             
‘
Paris
,’ I hiss, ‘y
ou’re
fucking
nuts
.
Won what? You call
Austin
a
prize
? And w
here did it get you anyway?
What I don’t understand is; h
ow
the fuck
can you gloat when your husband recently declared his undying love for me?’

             
‘
Mff. I don’t give a fuck about that asshole anymore.
I don’t think I really loved him. I just wanted him then. But now, the important one is Lucifer. I’ve seen the way he looks at me
.
Wonder why he didn’t send me away from Tana
-
Mera when you left? He
wanted
me around.’

             
‘
Oh, d
ream on,’ I say, feeling really insecure suddenly.

             
Diago appears and I shut up.

             
Paris
runs up to him and takes his hand in hers.
‘
Diablo, c
an we
please
stay a little longer,
huh? Pretty please,
Diablo?’
Paris
asks
.
‘
Payton seems to think you’d mind
, mmm?’

             
He shakes his head from side-to-side. ‘I don’
t
mind,’ he says,
looking at me. ‘They can stay
long as they like.’

             
My heart hits the ground. Could
Paris
be right?

             
Paris
smirks at me. ‘There. Now you don’t have to stress, Payton,’ she says in
lyrical voice and saunters
towards
my
room.

             
I don’t quite know how to handle this situation. But my past insecurities stir and I find myself watching Diago intently. He’s
watching
Paris
walk away
.

             
Elaine quietly leaves the scene. I don’t think she’s going to be any trouble after this.

             
My insecurity blooms
.
I turn to Diago. ‘You think
Paris
is pretty
, Diago
?’

             
His answer is immediate. ‘
Si
.
’

             
I feel myself turning the colour of the weed growing in our backyard.
Fucking
Paris
!

Paris
joins us at the table
, hair shiny and styled, make-up fresh and enhancing. She’s wearing one of my tight-fitting dresses and my high strappy sandals. Without permission of course.

             
I know she’s doing this to prove a point. I follow Diago’s eyes
. He’s
looking at her
. Beneath the table, my fists are tightly clenched.

             
‘Senorita Paris, you look just like Senorita Gringa tonight,’ Lucas remarks. ‘Diablo might make a mistake and chose the wrong sista, eh?’

             
Paris
flicks her hair and smiles at Diago under her lashes. ‘What an interesting
mistake
that will be,’ she says in a breathless voice.

             
Diago grins as the men around heckle him.

             
I abruptly excuse myself and walk towards the cliff. I need to be alone right now while Diago is being put to
Paris
’s test. 

             
She always did this. In the past, whenever I brought a boy home, she’d make a play for him – wore her shortest of shorts, tightest of sweaters, briefest of bikini
s
or she would try the helpless female routine
; bring them a jar of …baby food to open, then say,
‘
Wow, you’re so strong.
You obviously work out, right?’

             
The guys usually fell went gaga over her and I was left out in the cold. Same thing with
Austin
and now with Diago.

             
‘You let her get away with this?’

             
I jerk around and look into Santana’s face.

             
‘With ... what?’

             
‘You know she wants Diablo. Like Payback ...?’

             
I’m
wary about discussing
Paris
with
Santana
.

             
‘Eh, mmm. She’s welcome to him if that’s what it is,’ I
sound
insincere even to myself.

             
‘Are you goin
g
to cry?’ Santana asks, peering at me.

             
‘N
o
!’

             
‘Good. You mus
t
fight.’

             
It’s a set-up. It has to be. Santana asking
me
to fight for Diago? I must be asleep, I must be dreaming. Maybe
Paris
sent her.

             
‘Why do you care?
You should be happy.’

             
She shakes her he
ad and puckers her lips. ‘You love
Diablo. You won’
t
hurt him.’

             
I stare at her for a while before I answer. ‘And you, Santana? You love him
too
, right?’  

             
She nods and I see pain in her eyes. ‘
Si
. He is my man. My husband. But he don’
t
love me.’

             
‘Husb ...?’

             
‘He l
oves
you
.’

             
Her pain
is
so
tangible, so
acute that I feel absolutely wretched. ‘Santana, I ... look,
I’m
sorry. I really am. Honest. I didn’t mean for this to happen.’

             
She
nods slowly.