Meredith felt herself stop breathing right about the time the two police officers stepped into Michael's house.
Now she
really had nowhere to run; they'd catch her before she got to the other exit on the roof. And despite what Michael said, there would be no hiding after this either.
No, Merri was officially screwed.
Michael was livid, and Merri half expected him to pull out a gun and shoot the cops--and probably Gen--on the spot. Instead he waited, fingers flexing into a fist and chest rising and falling with anger. Sage looked a tad confused herself, as if she hadn't been expecting the police.
So she didn't know what Gen was planning...
And Genevieve herself had an unreadable expression and cool stance. After gesturing towards Merri, she crossed her arms at her chest and leaned against the far wall, watching.
Two officers, one tall and broad, the other shorter and older, approached. Merri forced herself to take a deep breath.
The taller of the two held a small notepad in his hand. He stopped a few feet away from her and read something jotted down on the paper. "Your name is Meredith McCreary, from Newhaven High?"
Merri nodded.
The older man held a file folder, which he opened. Both of them glanced through the contents, flipping through papers and photos. They glanced up at her a few times, then back to the folder again.
"Remarkable," the taller one said.
"Very similar," the other officer agreed.
Merri nearly held up her hands with her wrists pressed together to tell them to just arrest her and get it over with. What was taking so long?
The older one shook his head. "Eyes are different, though. Facial structure is finer. Still, you'd almost think they were related." He gazed up from the photo and gave Merri a genuine smile. "We're sorry to trouble you, but you look like a fugitive we've been pursuing. We've shown the photo around town and a number of people suggested you might be her, but you're clearly two different people."
"It looks like she's left town," the first officer added. "Glad we could get this sorted and out of the way." He glanced over his shoulder at Genevieve. "Thank you very much for your help, miss."
Merri felt cemented in place as she watched the police officers leave. What the hell had just happened?
Genevieve closed the door behind the cops, and just as it clicked shut, Michael was on her.
"What the fuck is your problem? Why would you bring them here--"
Gen met his eyes, her own burning with blue fire. "They were all over the school this morning looking for Belle Swanson. I had to get rid of them."
"But...why didn't they recognize me?" Merri whispered, staring at Gen. "How could they not know it was me?"
"It's a little thing I like to call
magic." She breezed past Michael and lifted a book from the breakfast bar counter. Merri recognized the tome as the one Michael had her read from the night Finn assaulted her.
"What did you cast?" Michael asked.
Gen pulled a small quartz from her pocket and held it up for them all to see. "Turns out these work better than regular rocks. I'd have gone with a diamond if any were lying around the garden outside. Anyone within a ten foot radius of the person carrying this stone won't recognize Merri as Belle Swanson." She tossed the stone Meredith's way.
Merri caught it and turned it over in her hand a few times before meeting Gen's eyes. "How long does it work for?"
"You'll probably get a few days out of it before I have to recharge it. I thought maybe Michael could spring for a better quality crystal or something in the future, but it'll do for now."
Merri squeezed the quartz in her palm. Gen had done that for her? After all that had happened? To top it off, she implied that she'd keep casting the spell as often as necessary. "Gen, I--"
Genevieve raised her hand to stop her, eyes hard and cold. "I don't want to hear it. You've lied to me--to all of us--for months. I have no idea who you are and I don't care right now. Just tell me one thing: did you kill Warren?"
My god, she really believes that... Merri shook her head. "No. He hit on me that night and tried to pass some drugs onto us. I told him I'd meet him out back to get rid of him. But I didn't kill him."
"Good."
"If you listen to me, I can explain--"
"I don't want to hear any more of your lies," Gen said. "I don't trust you and I don't know when I'll ever trust you again. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to try to make some of my classes this afternoon." Though she started for the front door, she turned back once and tossed something Michael's way. He caught a stone pendant on a chain. "Give that back to Krysta for me."
The door slammed behind her and everyone stared for a moment, dumbfounded.
"Um...when did she turn into such a bad ass?" Sage asked. "'Cause it's kinda cool, actually."
"I'm going to kill her," Michael said, still staring at the door.
"Michael--" Merri began.
"Don't you dare make any excuses for her--"
"But she kind of solved this problem for us," Sage interrupted. "Just like that, Merri--or Belle or whomever--is off the hook." She glanced over at Merri. "What
do you want to be called?"
"Merri's fine."
"But if she hadn't--" Michael continued, but it was Merri who stopped him.
"This is my fault. I put everyone in this situation."
"And you're just mad that she solved Mer's problem before you could," Sage pointed out with a shrug. A sharp look from Michael seemed to silence her on the subject and she dropped her gaze to the floor.
"So you didn't know what she was planning?" Michael asked.
Sage shook her head. "She called me this morning and told me to meet her here. She didn't say anything about having the police waiting."
"I'm going to kill her."
"Michael, she bought us some time," Merri said. "Go easy on her."
"You should probably thank her," Sage said. Her face shaded red as Michael turned his glare her way. "I'm gonna go to school now. You coming, Mer?"
Meredith looked to Michael, who nodded his agreement.
"Might as well make an appearance now that they won't recognize you," he said.
"Want us back here later?" Sage asked.
Michael shook his head. "Not you or Gen. But you," he looked at Merri, "still can't go back to your apartment. You're free to stay here--in fact, it would still be safer for the time being, so I'd prefer it."
Though grateful that she didn't have to go back to that awful apartment building, she wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of staying at Michael's. He was already insisting on paying people to forge new identification and records for her--she couldn't very well stay at his place for free as well. He'd never tried anything with her, never looked at any of them like that, but still...still, she didn't like owing a guy anything, in case he decided to collect at some point.
"For now," she said carefully.
"Then go to school and I'll see you later."
Merri and Sage stepped outside the house. A glance around the street didn't show any more police officers lurking. Merri absently reached for the quartz in her pocket and felt the outline of it beneath her jeans.
I hope Gen was telling the truth.
"So I guess you want to know what's going on?" she said to Sage as they walked. Tensing, she waited for anger and accusations from her friend, but they never came.
"Not really. I don't care what's going on. You've saved my life and that's enough for me. When Gen cools down, I'm sure she'll feel the same way."
I hope you're right.
*~*~*
Michael stood alone in his house for a few minutes after the girls had left, trying to sort everything out in his mind.
Yes, Genevieve had finally made herself useful, but he still wasn't pleased about it. When the hell would these kids get it through their heads that they shouldn't be doing things on their own? He might not relish the job of looking out for them, but he'd committed to it anyway. The situation could have been dealt with much more safely if Gen had just come to him in the first place when the police approached her. If her spell hadn't worked...
Merri could have been dragged off in handcuffs.
But her spell
did work. Even a few nights ago, when she'd charged a simple rock with magic while being drugged, her spell had worked. Just like Merri said...
"She's getting stronger."
And that was the point, right? To help the girls get stronger. They had enormous burdens to bear, too many things to face in too short an amount of time. They were still young, though. Reckless. Foolish. And that led to mistakes and lapses in judgment.
He wouldn't kid himself, however. There was more to it than that.
"She scares you, doesn't she?"
The stronger she got, the more unpredictable things became. They'd nearly had a fucking disaster a few nights before. And the next time? She didn't know, yet, what the real world was like. She was still an innocent. But if something happened again, something he couldn't prevent, and she changed...
And if she fully realizes the things can do...god knows what will happen.
So what were his options? Keep her in the dark about her power in case something bad happened to her, or protect her long enough for her to grow into someone responsible enough to handle magic. Fine ideas that wouldn't ever work in practice.
It would have been so much easier to let her die. To let everything go to hell...
He picked up Merri's garbage bag of clothes and knapsack from behind the couch and tossed them in the spare room, then locked up the house. He had one issue to deal with, and then he could work on getting Merri settled with an actual identity.
Krysta let him inside the building as soon as he buzzed and was waiting for him in the living room of her apartment.
"I thought you'd be here sooner," she said with a smile.
Michael stopped in the doorway, retrieved the necklace of Gen's from his pocket, and tossed it on the couch next to Krysta.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?"
Krysta picked up the pendant and deposited it a small wooden box behind the couch. "Doing your friend a favour."
"Leave her alone."
"
She came to me, Michael. Maybe you should get her a leash."
"First you sent her to that fucking kid--and we both know what he's capable of--and now you're helping her with spells. This has to stop."
"
You're the one who told me what a powerful little witch you had on your hands," Krysta said with a casual shrug. She rose from the couch and wandered his way, lips pulled into a pout. "Rethinking that position, are you? No reason for you to get so upset about
your mistake." Stopping just inches away, she placed her hands on her hips and smiled up at him.
"Leave her alone," he said again.
"Let me remind you once more: I didn't contact her in the first--"
"She doesn't need your influence."
"And what's so bad about me? Hmm? Maybe I could teach her a thing or two."
"Stay the hell away from her."
"And what's so special about her? Why is it you're so worried about someone corrupting her precious little brain?"
Michael ignored the question. "If she comes to you again, send her away."
Krysta's predatory grin widened, as if she took great pleasure in their exchange. She moved her hands to him and ran her fingers down his arms. "Or what?"
"Or I'll kill you."
"I'm starting to think I might find it interesting to see you try..."
He grasped her wrists and yanked her hands from his arms. Fingers still gripping her, he twisted her arms swiftly until her eyes winced with pain.
"No, I actually don't think you would," he said.
Krysta's brown eyes darkened to near black. "Get the hell out of my apartment."
Michael dropped her arms again. "With pleasure."
As he walked down the hallway away from her, returning to the elevator, he heard her behind him.
"This isn't over."
"It never is," he muttered under his breath as the elevator doors closed.
Right around three in the afternoon, Merri returned to his house after school, without Gen and Sage as he'd requested. She left a small stack of notebooks and a textbook on the breakfast bar.
"Remind me not to leave my knapsack behind next time," she said with a sigh as she stretched her arms and slid onto a barstool.
"We need to discuss living arrangements," he said.
Almost immediately, she grew fidgety and her eyes hardened. "This is only temporary. Once I can--"
"You have better things to do than work several jobs to pay rent at some shitty apartment, and I have room to spare." Without waiting to hear her next feeble argument, he started toward the spare room and threw the door open. Merri followed him and the two of them stood in the doorway.
He hadn't done anything to the room yet except changed the sheets on the cot after Finn left. Not anticipating any guests staying for long periods of time, Michael hadn't thought to buy something better than a cot. Boxes of books that he'd put off sorting were stacked along one wall, while trunks of his things from some of his other old apartments around the world collected dust in the closet. Simple shades covered the windows, but otherwise nothing else adorned the walls and the only furniture was the cot.
"I'll get the boxes moved out tomorrow," he said. "And I'll make sure there's room in the closet for your stuff. I'd prefer you keep out of my room and the other spare rooms. You have free range of the rest of the house."
"Michael, I can't live here for free."
Jesus Christ, what the hell was her problem now? "Look, I've got plenty of room to spare, the house is fully paid for so it's not like--"
"I'm fine if this is temporary, but since you're going to the trouble of hiring a forger and that... I would just prefer to pay rent. My cousin and my brother have been sending me money over the past few months for rent and stuff, but I can't risk getting my mail transferred again. I'll give you what I have saved up, but--"
Why the hell did these kids have such a problem with someone helping them? Merri at least seemed to have more sense than that... "If you find somewhere else to stay, that's fine, but I doubt you could afford it, and you're needed here with Sage and Gen."
"But--"
"You don't want to stay here for free? Fine. I'll give you a job."
Merri visibly tensed. "What?"
"I'm in between assistants at the moment."
She frowned slightly, as if she hadn't been expecting that proposition. "An assistant?"
"I have books sitting in boxes here because they need to be organized and filed into the database on my computer--which I believe you have some familiarity with--and I have no patience to go through emails from people who think they have something to tell me about the three of you. If you want to earn your keep, that's how you can do it. I'll give you an estimate of what I paid my last assistant if you think I'm just making up work for you to do."
A long stretch of silence passed in which she seemed to consider his words.
"You're serious?" she said at last.
"Have I ever been anything but?"
"I think I should buy my own groceries."
"Fine."
"And you really need to get cable at some point."
Christ, maybe he should just send her packing now. "Anything else?"
"Any rules about having people over?"
"Keep out of the common area, otherwise I don't care what you do with Thad in your room."
Her face coloured a bit. "And I suppose the same goes for Krysta?"
"She isn't permitted to be in this house."
And whether or not I see her again this century is looking doubtful.
"You know by having me here, you're just setting yourself up to deal with girly sleepover parties," she said with a grin.
"I'm due for a vacation soon anyway."
*~*~*
Wednesday morning, Gen stood at her locker sorting through books for the day. Not going to Michael's the night before meant she actually had time for homework for once...which she'd blown off, and caught a movie with Levi instead. Deciding to at least make an effort to finish an essay or two, the best course of action seemed to be skipping her next class in favour of a study period at the library.
Thankfully, she hadn't yet run into Merri that day. She still wasn't sure what to say to her. The sense of betrayal after her lies seemed too fresh, and Gen hadn't yet decided how to deal with it. Michael would probably just yell at her some more for upsetting his precious, innocent Merri, so she wasn't eager to see him either.
"
Love the tattoo."
Gen closed her locker and looked over her shoulder to see a familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes gazing at her lower back.
"Thanks." Gen chanced a smile at Janine, which the other girl returned.
"Did you get it done in town?" Janine started walking and Gen followed--it was in the direction of the library anyway, though in truth she probably would have gone to class if that was where Janine headed.
"Yeah, there's a new parlour on Division. It's a nice place. Reasonable prices."
I should stop before I start babbling--maybe she's just being nice in starting a conversation with me.
"I'll have to check them out. I waited around for like two hours at the place I went before..." She reached for her shoulder and slid the neckline of her shirt to the side to reveal a Celtic cross on her upper back.
"Nice."
"Thanks. I love your design, though. Was it one they had in their gallery or did you pick it out elsewhere?"
"I drew it."
Janine raised a dark, shapely eyebrow in surprise. "Really? It's gorgeous. I don't suppose I could convince you to draw me something for my next one?"
Oh, please do convince me. "Sure."
"I'm headed to the library to work on my Calculus homework--wanna join?"
Gen was so incredibly thrilled at the prospect that it took several moments--and Janine giving her a confused look--to realize she hadn't yet answered and her mouth lay wide open.
"Yes! I mean, I was just headed there myself."
Did I somehow work a love spell in my sleep? Gen wondered as the two girls walked to the library together. Surely Michael would have warned her at some point if she could inadvertently cast spells?
For now, there seemed little point in worrying about it--she'd just enjoy Janine's newfound interest in her and ponder the reasons why later.
Maybe.
Gen opened the library door for Janine. The other girl smiled as she walked by and Gen felt a little flutter in her stomach. This actually seemed to be going well...
Just as Gen followed, she felt fingers wrap around her wrist and jerk her backward.
"Hey--" She sent an accusatory glance over her shoulder.
Michael's cold green eyes looked back at her. "Why the hell aren't you in class? I've had the office paging you."
"Jesus, are you working for my mother or something now?" She yanked her arm from his grasp. "I'm busy--I'll talk to you later."
"We need to go somewhere. Now."
"Then it can wait until after--"
"No. Now."
The handful of students around the library had all turned to stare at them now and Gen felt colour rise in her cheeks.
"Are you still coming?" Janine asked. Gen looked back at the object of her affection to find Janine looking from her to Michael curiously.
Le sigh.
Gen snapped her attention to Michael. "Go wait outside the school--I'll be there in a damn minute. Comprende?"
"Hurry up."
She stared after him a few beats longer to ensure he really was going, then she turned back to Janine with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, that's my...uh...employer...sorta."
"He wants you to work during school?"
"Um...yeah, he's like really incompetent and always needs my help. Maybe do the library thing another time?"
Please say yes.
"I don't usually do the library thing anyway."
Gen's heart sank.
"Maybe the club thing would be better."
"Club...thing?"
Janine leaned against the library doorframe and gave her a dazzling smile. "
On the Map is the local hotspot now that people keep getting killed there. I'm going Saturday night. Wanna come?"
Oh-my-fucking-god-yes! "Yeah. Sure."
"Great." She gestured over her shoulder. "Better get in there and start working, though. Guess I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah. Okay. Later." Gen gazed after her as Janine continued on into the library. So was that like a date they had planned? Janine supposedly had a girlfriend, and since she was one of only two out lesbians in the school, it seemed like their breakup would be news.
Not that I've been paying much attention to any rumours lately. Between what happened with Finn, and then the past few days with Merri, Gen was barely aware of what day of the week it was let alone who was dating who. But another pretty girl hitting on her? This was totally awesome. It was like she fell asleep and woke up in
The L Word. ..only with less cheating and general skankiness.
The cell phone in her back pocket rang. A glance at the screen revealed a text message from Michael telling her to hurry up.
She turned to look down the hallway, where she could see the front doors to the school. Michael stood out there glaring in her direction and gesturing at his watch.
What a whiner. She texted him back a message that said, "one minute," then stowed her books back in her locker and headed outside.
"Do you just wait around here until you see me talking to a pretty girl so that you can interrupt me and ruin my life?" she asked as they started walking away from the school. She spotted his car parked in the bus zone at the end of the walkway, so she guessed he had some sort of field trip in mind. "More spell books from skanks?" After tossing her messenger bag in the back, she got in the passenger side of the convertible. Michael took the front seat.
"We're going shopping."
"Is this going to turn into that scene in
Pretty Woman where people bring out all kinds of ugly eighties clothes for me to try on?"
He started the ignition. "Not shopping for you."
"Have you come out of the closet as a female impersonator and you want my fashion tips?"
He glanced at her sharply as he pulled the car out of the school parking lot. "It's for Merri."
"We're buying
her ugly clothes?"
"No one is getting any clothes!"
"Then why the hell did you drag me--"
"Merri is going to be living at my house now, since she can't go back to her apartment because of
you. "
"Uh, maybe she shouldn't have been such a big ol' liar, then. Why do you need me here?"
"She needs proper furniture and things. You can pick it out and help move it."
No amount of protesting could get her out of the task. Though Gen initially consoled herself with the prospect of having full access to his credit card, Michael nixed that idea when he revealed that everything would be paid for in cash, and he would be overseeing all purchases.
They left the department store by early afternoon. The backseat of the convertible was filled with any purchases that could fit, while the furniture pieces would be delivered within the hour. After seeing the obscene amount of money Michael parted with for his new houseguest, Gen briefly wished she could have a room there as well, until the homeowner himself snapped at her a few more times about her stupidity and incompetence.
"Okay," she said as she lugged inside the last bag of bedding and things from the store. "Congratulations--you made me miss an entire day of school for this. Can I leave now?"
She found Michael standing outside the spare room with two large boxes in his arms. "Start grabbing boxes and move them into the far room." He nodded toward the back of the house to some rooms she'd never been in.
"Why can't we have Sage do this?" she called as she reluctantly complied. The boxes of books were heavy as hell and she only managed to carry one for every three Michael moved. "She's stronger than me."
"Sage isn't the one who nearly had Merri leave town."
"Once again, not my problem." God, it was like he decided to punish her with manual labour or something.
Next up will be a mop and broom.
Thankfully, the delivery of furniture arrived before he could make her clean anything. While Michael directed the delivery people to drop the boxes off in the spare room, Gen went to the kitchen for a drink.
Merri and Sage walked through the open door a few minutes later. Both looked curiously from the deliverymen to Genevieve. Sage went to sit on the couch while Merri approached Gen.
"What's going on?" Merri asked.
"Your B.F.F. decided to drag me shopping. Like, because I'm a girl, I'll know what girl stuff to buy."
"He bought a bed?" Merri guessed as she slid onto the barstool next to Gen.
"He bought like half the store. Apparently all you have to do to get on his good side is kill a man and then lie about it for six months."
"Gen--"
Genevieve put up her hand to silence Merri. "Don't. I still don't want to hear it."
It looked as though the last of the deliveries had been dropped off, and Michael saw the men out the door.
"Can I go home now?" Gen called, but was disappointed when Michael shook his head.
"The bed has to be put together."
"What!"
"You picked out one that had multiple pieces."
Of course he'd turn that back on me. She'd picked out a wrought iron daybed because it looked pretty. Had she known she'd have to put the stupid thing together, she would have suggested a mattress and a bed frame.
Gen dragged her feet toward the spare room. Her muscles ached from moving boxes for the past half hour and she wasn't looking forward to more work. Merri and Sage followed.
Though Gen had expected Michael to be directing them, instead he breezed right past and went to the living room.
"Uh, there's a bed here for you to put together," Gen pointed out.
"Sage and I have work to do," he returned. "You and Merri can go to it."
It seemed, to Gen, to be a not-so-subtle attempt at forcing them to work out their differences, but considering the "difference" was that Merri was a murderer, Gen wasn't so eager to bury the hatchet. She'd hold her tongue, get the stupid bed put together, and even move the dresser and desk set, but she'd be damned if they started talking about their feelings or something stupid like that.
The girls worked in silence. About an hour after entering the room, they had the daybed set up and furniture moved. Already the dark, small room was looking bedroom-ish with the boxes gone. By the time they got the curtains up and the bed made, Gen thought it might even be homey.
"Gen, I want to tell you something," Merri said as they stretched out the fitted sheet over the mattress.
"I still don't want to talk about it," Gen said. "I probably wouldn't believe you anyway."
"Please..." Merri dropped the comforter on the bed and gazed downward, her brows pulled into a thoughtful frown. Gen stopped working as well to listen to her for a moment. "I want to tell you who I am and what I did. And I know you'll think even more less of me than you do now, but I still need to say it. I owe you the truth."
At least you've figured that much out. "Fine." Gen sat on the bed and crossed her arms, waiting. "Start talking."
