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She came to a stop in front of a familiar plant with white petals. It smelled like vanilla. I knew what it was just by the look alone.
White Oleander.
"This is what you're looking for," she said. "I'll cut some of them off and put them in a jar for you. Go inside and wait."
I did as she requested and waited in her living area. She didn't have photos out, like most mothers would, but she did seem to favour bright colours and sunlight. I could see Caleb sitting in the car, waiting for me. He was tense, probably because I'd made him sit outside.
My mother came in not long after I had and handed me a jar. I could see the cuttings of the Oleander and some berries in the bottom.
"What are the berries?"
"It is the fruit from the belladonna plant," she said. "The most toxic plant I can give you. The berries are easy to grind up, but make sure to use gloves."
"Belladonna?" I asked as I looked at the plump little black berries.
She nodded. "Let me know if you need help. Oh, and just so you know, the poison can be bitter, so you need to mask it well."
I nodded and she walked off, back to her house, and closed the door.
"You okay?" Caleb asked me.
"Yeah, let's go."
I put the jar in my backpack that was on the back seat and zipped it up. Caleb took off and headed back home. It felt weird to be in a car with him again. He wasn't at all like the hot guy from my girlhood dreams, he was hotter. He was tatted up now, a large tattoo on the side of his neck gave off dangerous vibes but I could tell he was still a gentleman. He'd always been the one to open doors for me when I was younger, the knight I'd always needed.
"What?" he asked. I hadn't realised I'd been staring at him until just now.
"Sorry," I laughed at myself. "You grew up. I was admiring your neck tatt."
He smirked over at me. "You like tatts, huh?"
"Sure," I said. "What girl doesn't?"
"You have any?" he asked me.
"Nope," I replied. "Judd didn't like them on women."
The tension in the car rose and we both sat in silence.
"I can do this for you, Cal. You don't have to get your hands dirty. Take that girl of yours and disappear."
It was tempting to be sure, but I knew this had to be me. I didn't want to tell my daughter one day that I let someone else, a man, take care of my problems. I had to do this myself.
"No, I've got it handled."
"How? How are you going to get close enough to get poison him?" he asked. "Doesn't it take longer to die, so you need to keep doing it?"
"I have a plan," I told him.
"Tell me."
"My friend Scarlett, she's the only solace I had in that place. She used to be married to Judd's cousin, but he died, so we kind of adopted her as the aunt to Christa when Judd wanted me alone. I've known for a while now that Judd has wanted her for himself. In fact, the day I left, he made a move on her. She's going to slip it to him for me."
"You're trusting her to do this for you?" Caleb asked. "She's always been team Gallo, why would she help you when she can be his Queen now?"
He seemed genuinely concerned for me, and it was so sweet. I wasn't used to being treated like this, especially not by Judd, not lately anyway.
"Caleb, you gotta trust me here. I can trust in her. Women have a bond."
