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They didn’t see me coming.
Three on one doesn’t appear to be good odds to most people, and they certainly thought as much. Releasing that pent-up frustration and seeing the raw fear on their bloody, bruised and broken faces seems to have helped curb my impulsiveness, at least in the interim.
The lights flick off one at a time and the house goes silent. Minutes pass by as if they’re an eternity, and I leave the shadow of the forest, slowly approaching the front door to twist the knob. There’s momentary give before the movement stops. It’s locked.
Good girl.
If there’s ever been something Lara’s been consistent at, it’s locking up every door and window. Likely from the years of stalking and danger drilled into her head with the threat of randomly being taken in the middle of the night by the boogeyman. The copy of her spare key that I know she keeps hidden in the back under the bird bath burns a hole in my pocket as I internally praise her.
A jolt of satisfaction rifles through my body as I consider how well I’ve trained her, though indirectly.
She became strong, cautious and resilient because of me.
Lara Ray, the bright scientist whose parents were killed all those years ago, is who she is, all because of me.
Chapter 7
Lara
A throbbing pounds inside my skull as I groggily roll onto my side, the light streaming in through the window turning my eyelids pink, and I squeeze them tight. Movement on the bed jerks me upright as my eyes snap open painfully, and they land on Tammy’s small form shifting around while still half asleep. Taking a deep breath, I quietly drag myself to my feet and make my way to the kitchen.
I pour a glass of water, and fill a second cup before walking into the bedroom, setting the drinks on the end table and plopping down on the bed next to Tammy, gently shaking her to wake up.
She groans loudly and rubs a hand down her face which already looks a little green. “Ugh, I feel sick.” She slowly sits up and clutches her stomach as if that will ease her queasiness.
“Here, have some water. I’ll grab a bucket, just in case.” I chuckle as my own flips in circles. I can only imagine how worse off Candace and Tammy are.
Rest in peace, liver.
I’m still giggling internally as I head to the kitchen to get the bucket and start breakfast. Popping two hash browns in the toaster oven, I grab the large pail from under the sink, and walk into the bedroom.
Tammy is hunched over, still clutching her stomach, and she gives me a pained look as she sees what I’m carrying.
“The bucket is a good call. I’m gonna hurl.”
I set it in front of her and rest my hand on her shoulder, “I’m about to make some breakfast for us, so hurl away and we can reward ourselves.” Pacing out of the room, I cast a glance to the bed and see Tammy hunch over the bucket as she empties her stomach of its contents.
I fall into a rhythm while making breakfast as the shower turns on from the bedroom. By the time Tammy comes out, I’m placing some cheese on top of the eggs, hash browns and sausage, and rolling each of our breakfast burritos.
She drags herself into the chair across from me and presses her forehead to the counter. “I love you, but fuck, I never want to drink again.”
I can’t stop the laughter that chokes out as I slide her plate over, and pour her a cup of coffee. “I can’t say I blame you. You drank like a fish last night. You drank more than I did, and that’s impressive.”
She groans as she takes a big bite of burrito and hums in approval with a full mouth. “Fuck Lara, this is delicious.” she mumbles, “I’m not just saying that as hungover Tammy. This is so-”, her praise cuts off as she takes another large bite and hums happily as she chews.
I smirk and dive into my own burrito, and we sit in comfortable silence as we finish our breakfast.
“My flight is today at five. I wish I could stay longer but, I was only able to take two days off work.” She frowns in disappointment, resting her head in her palm.
I wave my hand dismissively, “Totally understandable, do you need a ride to the airport?”
“No need, I can cab it. You’re going to work, yea?” She leans back in her chair and takes another big sip of coffee.
“Yeah. More of the tests should have come through yesterday so, I really need to compare the data to see if there are any variations in the results.”
“On a Sunday?” She raises a brow at me and I shrug.
“Candace and Henry work on weekends,” I say. When she levels me with a look I continue, “Plus, I’d like to know the results as soon as they’re in.”
