Warhol's Prophecy

9

PROPELLED FROM HER nightmare with ferocious speed, Hailey sat bolt upright, breathing in gasps.

She looked around her, at details of the room.

It took a second or two for her to realize that there was no velvet draped across one wall, no thick carpet. No tables bearing the bodies of her daughter or of her husband and his lover.

Instead she saw the luminous red digits of the radio alarm, the bedside lamps, the outline of built-in wardrobes across the room.

Normality.

She swallowed hard and let out a deep breath, the last residue of the nightmare fading slowly.

Rob rolled over and saw her sitting up, eyes staring wide, unkempt hair plastered across one cheek.

‘Are you OK?’ he asked, reaching out to touch her arm.

She nodded.

‘Bad dream?’ His voice was thick with sleep.

She lay down and felt him snake one arm around her shoulder, drawing her towards him.

Hailey slid a hand across his chest, running her fingers across his flesh.

‘Did she have bad dreams?’ she asked.

Rob sighed.

‘Not now, Hailey. Please.’

‘Did she?’

‘Sometimes. Does it matter?’

‘And did you comfort her like this?’

‘Why is it so important for you to know?’

‘I want everything clear in my own mind. I need to know.’

‘We’ve been over these things so many times before. Why torture yourself by coming back to it again and again? It’s over: I told you that. Christ, I can’t even remember half of what happened between us.’

‘Was she good in bed? You must remember that.’

He rolled onto his side to face her, kissing her gently on the forehead.

‘How many times, Hailey?’ he said evenly. ‘How many times do I have to tell you before you’ve heard enough?’

‘Was she good?’ Hailey persisted.

‘I’m not an expert.’

‘Did she do things I wouldn’t? Did she dress up for you? Did she act out your little fantasies?’

‘She didn’t do anything that you haven’t done.’

‘Did she come when you fucked her?’

He drew in a weary breath.

‘Tell me, Rob,’ Hailey insisted.

‘Yes,’ he said flatly. ‘You’ve asked me that before and I’ve told you before.’

‘Did you go down on her?’

‘Jesus Christ, let it go, Hailey. Please.’ There was a hint of irritation creeping into his tone, but she ignored it.

‘Tell me,’ she implored.

‘Yes.’

‘I bet she enjoyed that, didn’t she? Mind you, she’s probably had plenty of other blokes do it to her before. I bet she’s slept with loads of men. I wonder if the others were married too.’

He gritted his teeth and pulled her closer to him.

Hailey looked into his eyes. Her own were clouded with tears.

‘Why did you do it, Rob?’ she whispered. ‘You knew how much I loved you. I would have gone to the ends of the earth for you. Why did you want to hurt me?’

‘I didn’t want to hurt you.’ He stroked her hair. ‘Go back to sleep,’ he soothed.

Hailey gripped him firmly by one wrist, sliding his hand down her flat belly towards her tightly curled mound of pubic hair. She parted her thighs and pushed his index finger between her moist lips, allowing him to feel the slippery warmth there. Then she raised his compliant hand to his face and pushed his index finger between his lips, allowing him to taste her.

With her other hand she enveloped his stiffening penis and squeezed gently, kneading the flesh and muscle.

‘Not now, babe,’ he said softly. ‘It’s late.’

‘You wouldn’t have refused her, would you?’ she said, rolling away from him.

Rob opened his mouth to speak, but then merely shifted onto his side, his back to her.

Within moments she heard his low breathing again. Low, even breathing.

Contented?

Hailey lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. A single tear rolled from one eye.

It was a long time before she slept again.