Meredith's gaze slowly travelled to
Michael. He had pulled a stack of paper from the folder again and
was leafing through the pages casually, as if he didn’t realize everyone
else stared at him in shock.
I'm not going to jump to
conclusions, she reminded herself, and attempted to bite back
some of her immediate anger.
"Michael?" she said, irritation
rising in her. "What the hell is he talking about?"
Without
a word, Michael dropped the papers back onto the folder and stalked past
the kitchen towards the main room.
"You really don't know what's
going on, Mer?" Gen whispered, concern but also relief touching her
eyes. Of course to her, the only thing worse than Michael lying to
them would be Merri lying to them as well... But at least in this
case--lucky for Genevieve--Meredith didn't have a clue what was going on.
Merri shook her head. "No."
But he's damn well going to
tell me. Her chair scraped against the hardwood as
she stood suddenly, intent on following Michael to the living area, but
found he was already on his way back. Behind him, the door to the
weapons cabinet lay open, still swinging slightly.
He stopped next
to Merri and set a handful of knives on the tabletop, then spread them
out.
The knives the men had... She recognized the smooth
silver blades and detailed handles, and a chill rolled over
her.
Unbidden, memories emerged in her mind--feelings that weren't her
own, images she wished to forget... She absently wrapped her arms
around her torso and shivered despite her attempts to remain calm. A
few deep breaths and she straightened up, distancing herself from the
knives, from the people who used to possess them, and waited for Michael
to explain.
"One for each of your throats," he reminded them,
pointing to each knife in turn. "The Witch, The Warrior, The
Seer...and The Immortal."
Meredith stared down at the knives, and
though she didn't chance a look at Sage or Genevieve, she guessed they did
the same.
"The Immortal," Merri repeated. She glanced at
Michael, but his expression hadn't changed. "Does that--"
"She's difficult to track down," he interrupted. "And,
obviously--though a knife was forged to slit her throat--she can't be
killed, which is why the others never went after her. Hence, I
haven’t found her yet."
"Were you planning to tell us this at any
point, Michael?" Merri said coldly.
He had lied to her. For
months now. She never pressed him for any information--not about
himself, or what he was doing helping them, or...or certain things she
found "off" about him. In return, she at least expected some measure
of honestly from him on anything that related to her or the others.
"I was going to tell you when I actually
had something to tell you," he
replied.
"And you didn't think the fact that there's another one
of us counts as something?" Sage shot back. "You said three.
You've been saying three for over a month!"
"Well now you know
there's four," he said simply.
"Jesus Christ, what the hell!" Gen
shouted. "Are you sure there's not maybe five now? Or
six? How about a dozen?"
"Just four."
"Michael,"
Merri said, keeping her tone steady, calm. While the others were
freaking out, if she seemed at least a little forgiving and reasonable, he
wouldn't be so quick to get pissed off and lie further. "Michael,
that's really it? Just a fourth?"
"That's it."
Her
gaze flickered to the new guy, Thad, for confirmation. "That's all
you know about too?"
His dark eyes were wide, darting back and
forth between her and Michael. "Uh, yeah. Far as I've heard
from him and Shaw."
"But if there's another one, wouldn't she come
here, to Newhaven?" Gen asked. "You said that we all magically
gathered here or something."
"Except that she hasn't," he
said. "Or at least as far as I know. So I've been trying to
find her."
"Who's this 'Shaw' person, then?" Merri asked.
Surprisingly, Michael looked at Thad. "You know him so
well--perhaps you'd like to explain."
Thad found everyone staring
at him suddenly, and his eyes widened. "Well...I guess..."
Meredith sat back down on the chair she had before and nodded to
the one next to her for him to do the same. He hesitated a moment,
glancing at each of them in turn, but Michael made no move to release him
from the task, so he sat down with a sigh.
"I know this guy," he
explained. "David Shaw. He knew The Immortal about thirty-five
years ago. She went by Natalya then. Shaw spent a few years
with her, then she disappeared. He said he hasn't seen her since,"
he paused, looked pointedly at Michael, then added,
"
and that he definitely can't help you find her,
Michael."
"Why don't you tell them
why she spent a few years with
Shaw," Michael replied, leaning back on the counter and crossing his arms
over his chest.
Thad sighed, almost as if he was bored with
recounting the tale for them and prepared to rush through the rest.
"She seeks him out every time he's reborn. It's like an obsessive
thing with her. Then she spends a few years with him, and leaves
before they can grow old together because, obviously, she isn't gonna grow
old."
"Reborn?" Gen said.
"Yeah," Thad replied with a
shrug. "Like reincarnation. So she tracks him down when he's
reborn, no matter where he is in the world, and somehow he's drawn to her
too. Then she leaves again, much like she did thirty-five years ago,
and he goes the rest of his life without seeing her."
"That's
really depressing," Gen said, making a face.
"That's love, at
least to them."
"But that makes sense then, doesn't it?" Merri
said. "If he's drawn to her, then he should be able to find her for
us."
"Drawn to her if he sees her," Thad said. "He can't
just get on a plane and somehow end up wherever she is. She always
initiates their meetings, apparently."
"There aren't even any
photos," Michael said coolly, but Thad put up his hands in defence.
"He says he doesn't have any. But he wrote up a
description."
"Yes, I read that..." Michael thrust a sheet
of paper toward him, and Merri caught sight of a few lines of
writing. "Dark hair, pretty, average height and build. Not
exactly helpful."
"Hey, he doesn't want to get into this. He
knows what's going on--he knows what could happen to him if the wrong
people find out who he is. This is it--the end. Lines are
being drawn, Michael, and Shaw doesn't want any part of it."
"This
isn't over," Michael said. "I will speak to him at some point."
"Yeah, didn't think it'd be this easy."
Michael gathered
up the folder and its contents once more, then stalked from the kitchen,
back out through the main room and up the stairs to his loft. Sage
stood only moments later, tossing the empty containers from her food in
the garbage, then returning to the punching bag to lace up her boxing
gloves once more.
"So I guess she's the one who does the
fighting?" Thad guessed, studying Sage for a second before returning his
attention to Merri.
"And who are you again?" Gen cut in before
Meredith could reply.
"Thaddeus Alvin Kincaid," Thad said again.
"Yeah, but who the hell are you? Why do you know us?"
Thad shrugged. "Grow up around the right people, and you
learn a lot. And I know Shaw from school--he was my philosophy
professor."
"So you know where he lives? You
could tell Michael?" Merri asked, studying his
expression as it changed to one of horror.
"Oh, no way. He'd
kill me. Well, probably not, but I'm not taking any chances.
Shaw is wicked paranoid now, with everything going on. Doesn't teach
anymore, wouldn't even send this stuff for Michael through email--had to
be delivered in person."
Though Merri considered pointing out
Michael was far more likely to kill him for not revealing everything, she
abstained from bringing up that fact.
"So what do you do,
Genevieve?" Thad asked.
"I put out candles," she said with a
bitter smile, then stabbed at her salad a few more times.
"Then I
guess you would be The Seer." Thad's gaze shifted to Merri and he
grinned. His smile was a little lopsided--goofy almost--but
endearing at the same time. He raised a dark brow in
challenge. "See anything good?"
Jesus Christ, the guy was
flirting with her! She went out of her way to not be noticed; her
clothes were shapeless and forgettable, and she so much as wear didn't
wear lip-gloss.
"Haven't decided yet," she countered, despite her
better judgment.
In her peripheral vision, she caught sight of
Genevieve making a face at them, but she ignored her.
"Damn," Thad
said, feigning disappointment. "Will you at least let me know when
you do decide?"
"Possibly."
"Get out of here, Kincaid,"
Michael bellowed from the loft.
Thad sighed and shook his
head. "He's pissed. I don't suppose he doesn't really mean
it?"
"He usually carries weapons," Gen replied. "I'd leave
if I were you."
"Alrighty then. Definitely my cue to
go. Later, Genevieve," his gaze settled on Meredith and he smiled
again, "later, Merri."
As Thad let himself out, Merri returned her
attention to her stone-cold French fries and avoided Gen's raised brow and
pointed look.
"Merri's got a boyfriend, Merri's got a boyfriend,"
Gen began in a sing-song voice.
"Hardly," Meredith replied
dryly. "You're the one who got a phone number today."
"I
did, didn't I? Well, okay, you did, but it was for me." Gen
picked up the paper with Peyton's number on it again and looked it
over. "Did she say anything else? Like obviously not a sudden
declaration of love or anything, but...something? Any kind of
inkling she might go for chicks?" Bright blue eyes wide and hopeful,
Genevieve waited, ready to latch onto anything Merri said.
"Not...really," Meredith confessed, wishing there was something
more she could say as Genevieve's expression fell. "But she didn't
seem very interested in Levi, so there's still hope there. Next time
I'll definitely be on the look out for any ass-checking out or anything."
"Good. And I'll be sure to get you Thad's phone number when
next we meet."
"That's okay."
"C'mon, I am just as capable
of telling if a boy is cute as you are a girl is pretty. And he was
cute. And there was definitely some flirtation going on."
"Again, that's okay, Gen. I'm not dating right now."
Or, like
maybe EVER.
"Michael," Gen called as he returned
from the loft, a few books in hand. "Can I have Thad's phone
number?" She shot Merri a wink, which Meredith pretended not to
notice.
"No."
"Please?"
He dropped the heavy books
on the table with a thud. "No."
"More spells--" Gen
reached for one of the books, but he smacked her hand away and give the
top one to Meredith instead.
Aside from a journal to keep track of
her visions, he hadn't given her any books before, and she was puzzled by
the gift. Anything that required reading seemed to be for Gen--what
did this possibly have to do with her?
"And this would be...?"
Merri said, turning the thick, spiral bound book over in her hands.
"A collection of accounts about The Seer in history," he replied.
"What do you mean?" Gen asked. "Throughout history...?"
"Other lives," Merri murmured, flipping through the book.
Something else he never told me
about,
she thought, and much like the existence of The Immortal, this too seemed
like something pretty important to not mention.
"Other...like,
lives
we used to have? More reincarnation?" Gen
asked.
Michael gave her another glare, but before he could snap
something about her stupidity, Merri cut in.
"Yeah, like
that. Everyone gets reborn again and again, and we're no exception."
Gen pondered this for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I get
it." She looked up at Michael. "Ten bucks says you're coming
back as a worm next time, you know."
Merri stifled a laugh, and
returned her attention to the book. Turning the pages, her hazel
eyes scanned the text and photographs inside. It was almost a
scrapbook of sorts, with photocopied pages from ancient texts, drawings,
and scraps here and there.
Michael took the next book from the
pile and tossed it to an empty spot at the table.
"A book is here
for you to pick up later," he called to Sage.
"Don't want
it." The punching bag snapped as her fist struck it, taking quite
the beating under her strength.
"Consider it required reading
material," was his sharp reply.
Meredith turned her gaze toward
Sage, watching her scary resolve. Pain wrapped around her like a
cloak, covering her, clinging to her, and she hugged it back as if it was
the only thing in the world. And still she fought, punched, kicked,
mind empty, expression stony, all to keep from breaking. Though
Merri suspected Sage had been coming to Michael's a lot over the past few
weeks while the others weren't present, it was the first time she'd seen
her there since before Hayden's death. Clearly Sage didn't want to
talk to or be around anyone, but for Michael, oddly. After
everything, she seemed to trust him now too. Merri wasn't surprised
really--he was easily the only one around them that wouldn't force her to
talk, to confront Hayden's death and deal with it. He let her be,
asking only what was necessary and nothing more. Perhaps it was
simply because he didn't care, but it was lack of expectation from him
that seemed to put Sage at ease, and was the reason Merri trusted him as
well.
Genevieve was another story entirely, however. Though
Merri couldn't say for certain if Michael particularly liked anyone or
not, he really didn't like Gen. He would never tell her why though,
and months ago, when they first met, they seemed to have made a deal not
to press for details where the other was concerned.
Still, she
couldn't help but be curious.
"Don't I get a book?" Gen sulked,
interrupting Merri's silent musings while Sage dropped what she was doing
to retrieve the book.
Michael handed her the final book.
"There isn't much there," he said. "Needless to say, most accounts
of witches in history haven't been favourable, and many didn't survive the
centuries."
Gen frowned a little as this, staring at the book
without opening it. Merri immediately got the sense that something
was wrong, not just in her body language and expression, but in a strange
haze that surrounded her suddenly.
"Are you okay?" Merri asked
with concern.
"Yeah...no...I don't know," Gen said, shaking her
head. "But this," she tapped the cover of the book, "looks really
familiar to me. I think I'm deja vu-ing or something."
"Take
them home and read them, but I will need them back," he said.
"But
if it's about me, I want to keep it," Gen immediately objected, until
Michael fixed her with an angry look, and she dropped her gaze quickly.
"I don't trust you not to lose it."
"He sounds like my
mom, you know," Gen whispered as Michael walked away.
"You
probably
would lose it," Sage pointed out.
"Whatever."
Merri closed her book, deciding to wait until later to view it,
self-conscious suddenly. It seemed, to her, to be very personal
things, these books and talks of past lives. Gen saw the situation
differently, however, and openly went through hers, looking at the pages
with cautious interest.
Sage stared at her book with distance in
her eyes--detached almost--as if the book meant nothing. Maybe it
did--maybe she only looked at it because Michael told her to.
"Why
was I always a chick?" Gen said suddenly. Both Merri and Sage looked
at her.
"What are you talking about?" Sage asked.
Gen
pointed at her book. "I was always a chick. In like all my
lives here. That's weird, isn't it? I always figured people
got reincarnated as both."
Sage's brows pulled into a frown.
"Me too."
"Mer?"
Merri found the other two looking at her
then, and so she opened her book again. Sure enough, from what she
saw, all records referred to her as being a woman. Though Meredith
immediately thought to ask Michael about it later--after the others had
gone--Genevieve beat her to it.
"Michael!" she shouted. "Why
are we all girls?"
"There are these things called 'x
chromosomes,'" he said as he returned to the kitchen. "Maybe you
should retake science."
"No, I mean it says in all our other lives
we were girls," Gen said with a glare, as if he should know what she spoke
about. "Why?"
"I don't know."
"Isn't that weird?"
"Probably."
"But what about other people? Do they
always get to be reincarnated as the same gender?"
"No."
"Why us?"
"I don't know," he repeated, annoyed.
"What about The Immortal? Was she always a she?"
"Since she's
immortal, I'd have to venture yes."
"Good point."
Merri studied him in silence for a moment. She couldn't
determine if he was telling the truth or not. She could never tell
with him. Strangely, the thing about Michael was that he required a
certain level of blind trust--either you believed him or you didn't, and
nothing in his expression or actions would help make that decision for
you.
And right now, she wasn't sure she believed him, but he was
unlikely to say more with the others around, so Merri kept her mouth shut
on the matter.
A cell phone rang from within Genevieve's messenger
bag, playing a vaguely familiar midi, and Gen bolted to get it.
"Hello?" she said as she answered. Merri watched her
friend's face light up. "Hi!" She met Meredith's eyes and
mouthed the name "Peyton."
Now that's something I didn't
see... "No, it's okay, I can talk..." Gen
sent a quick glance to Michael, perhaps wondering if he'd disagree.
Surprisingly, he didn't say anything, and she quickly slipped off toward
the back of the house, chatting away.
"Can I go now?" Sage asked,
slamming the book shut.
Michael nodded, and Sage went straight for
her boxing gloves once more.
Merri's gaze strayed to the old
spellbook resting in Gen's spot. "I can't believe you got that
book."
Michael sat across from her and grabbed the book, sliding
it along the table until it was in front of him.
"I'm a little
surprised myself."
"She did give you a hard time then?"
"A
bit." He opened the cover and scanned the pages within, not meeting
her gaze. Generally, Merri wouldn't think much of it, but this time
a warning seemed to prickle the hairs on the back of her neck, and she
felt the need to press for more.
"Michael?"
"Hmm?"
"How did you get that book?" Moments passed between them,
nothing said, no sounds in the room but that of Sage striking the punching
bag, and Gen still speaking on the phone.
Michael closed the book
at last, meeting her gaze. "I told her what Genevieve did."
"What Gen did?"
"That day at the farmhouse. When
she...removed your attackers."
Jesus Christ...that was the last
thing she expected him to do. No one was supposed to know about
that--he'd made that very clear, to her at least. Now he was
breaking his own rules? For some book? When he hadn't even
told Gen herself what it was she did?
"You're serious?" Merri
whispered. "Do you really think that was wise?"
"I didn't
have a choice--"
"You could have lied--"
"That wasn't
working," he interrupted firmly, gaze boring into hers. "I tried."
"Then I doubt you were trying hard enough. We both know
you're damn good at lying." She raised a brow, daring him to
contradict her.
"There's a difference between lying and not
explaining all the facts."
"Yes, I'm aware you seem to think those
aren't the same thing."
"They're not, and if this is about The
Immortal--"
"I'm still pissed at that, but it's not what I'm
referring to."
"Look," he said in a low voice, leaning forward,
keeping his eyes locked with hers. "I didn't want to tell her, but I
ran out of options. Anyone in the area with the slightest bit of
power felt what happened that day--Krysta among them. She didn't
believe Genevieve to be a witch, and I didn't have any other way to
convince her."
"You couldn't have had her do a spell right there
or anything?"
Michael rolled his eyes. "Right, that would have
made me look like an even bigger liar. The stupid girl can barely
put out a candle most of the time."
"But this witch believed she
was capable of ripping holes in dimensions?"
"Apparently--I got
the book, didn't I?"
Merri sighed and leaned back in her chair,
folding her arms over her chest. "That seems too easy."
"I
agree, but I wasn't going to argue with her when she then offered to sell
the book for double the price, in case she changed her mind. And if
it turns out she didn't really believe me, no harm done."
"What do
you know about her?"
"Exactly what I told you before."
Now
that she didn't believe. Michael never would have told anyone about
what Gen did at the farmhouse based on the little information he had on
Krysta...
But though she studied him, she couldn't pick up
anything on him that suggested he was lying. Much like a traditional
lie detector test, she could only really tell if somehow the person she
studied had some sort of emotional response to the lie. Michael
might as well have been a sociopath--she couldn't get anything from him.
"Are you done?" he asked with a half smile, no doubt able to guess
she had been trying to read him.
"It's not doing me any good," she
replied, knowing there was no sense in hiding it. "Now, if you could
get that woman here, maybe I can see if she's lying about something, and
put everyone's mind at ease."
"I'm sure she's harmless."
"Really?" she said with scepticism to her voice. "Gen didn't
seem to think so."
"Gen's an idiot."
"No, she's not.
You should trust her instincts."
He shook his head. "You, I
would trust. Her, of course not. She saw a lit candle in
Krysta's bathroom and decided she was a Satanist--I'm surprised she's able
to leave the house without being made to wear a helmet."
"Fine,
but
I trust Gen. So listen to
me right now when I say don't trust Krysta.
Michael..."
Footsteps skipping on the hardwood interrupted her,
and she turned to see Gen approaching.
"Whoa, you guys look pretty
conspiratorial," she said as she flopped back down on her seat.
"Whatcha talking about?"
"Nothing," Michael said, giving Meredith
a pointed look. She tried to warn him with a glare that the
conversation was far from over, but he waved her off and stood.
"I've got work to do."
"Seriously," Gen whispered as Michael left
for the loft. "What was that all about?"
"Trying to get
Thad's phone number," Merri quickly lied, feeling a moment of relief wash
over her as Gen accepted the explanation with a grin.
"Cool.
Let me know how that works out for you."
"Will do."
"You know, I'm glad he's suddenly so not concerned
about people being out to get us and all, and that’s he’s comfortable with
us walking home at night," Gen complained, shivering a little as she
glanced around nervously.
"You just wanted a ride home 'cause
you're lazy," Sage replied.
"A little, but that's not the point."
The three girls had left Michael's around nine-thirty. To
Merri's surprise, Sage had stayed with them, walking their old route,
which saw Meredith home first. Whether or not anyone was still out
there after them was irrelevant--the fact remained that they all felt
safer together.
"So I was thinking we should do something
nice for Peyton or something," Gen suggested, trying to be casual about
it. "You know, 'cause she's new and all. It's probably weird
for her and stuff."
"Who the hell is Peyton?" Sage asked.
"New girl at school," Merri said.
"
Cute new girl at school," Gen
clarified. "Maybe we could go out to a club or something? Or
have a little 'Welcome to Newhaven' party?"
"I'll leave the
planning to you," Merri said. They rounded a corner and several
familiar buildings came into view. "This is me."
"You sure
you don't need us to go up to the door with you?" Gen offered. "That
skanky witch lives right over there--she might try to kill you or
something."
"I'm fine," Merri assured her with a grin. "I'll
see you tomorrow." She walked toward the towering apartment complex
to her right, moving at a slightly slower speed, listing and waiting for
Gen and Sage's conversation to resume and their footsteps to sound on the
pavement.
She neared the building and glanced over her shoulder to
see her two friends fading from view. Satisfied they weren't looking
back, Merri picked up the pace and slipped around the side of the
apartment building, then down the next street.
As she travelled
the next several blocks, the buildings got progressively uglier and
older. Worn and forgotten. Fewer streetlamps worked, more
garbage and broken glass littered the sidewalk, crunching under her
feet. Yet strangely, she felt herself relax. She dropped her
guard just a little, fished some cigarettes from her bag and lit one,
taking a nice, deep drag. She was at home here--she blended
in. No one gave her any notice, thankfully.
Cigarette held
lightly between her lips, she slid her keys from her back pocket, and
approached the door to her building. She hardly saw a point in the
landlord having a security door to enter the building; a guy put his foot
through the bottom glass a month ago, and though some boards were nailed
over the hole, someone usually broke those once or twice a week.
Still, she wasn't strong enough to break the wood herself, so she slid the
key in the lock, turned it a few times until the latch finally gave, and
opened the door.
Upstairs, the neighbours were shouting at one
another again, stomping back and forth. The light above Merri
flickered a few times, and she glanced up, wondering if it would finally
give out. The bulb held on, however, so she went to the mailbox to
see about her mail.
The unit of mailboxes was nearly out of the
wall, held in place by several pieces of electrical tape. Of course,
much like the security door, no one bothered to fix that either. She
didn't even want to think about where her rent money went.
She
opened the beat up mailbox door to find nothing waited for her inside--not
even junk mail. Empty.
Strange... Something was up. Not
that she received a lot of mail, usually...but this time she was expecting
something. Something important.
But then mail was frequently
delivered to the wrong apartments, as if the postal worker couldn't wait
to be out of the building, and merely dispensed letters and bills
indiscriminately. And if that was the case this time...
Heidi. That goddamn bitch. There were few
people she trusted less than that cunt of a superintendent and her
husband, Stu. If mail was "mysteriously" misdelivered, she'd
know...or possibly be responsible for the disappearance herself.
Merri strode down the hall, past most of the first floor
apartments, to the ninth door, near the stairwell. She hammered her
fist on the door several times and waited. Within the apartment, she
heard Heidi's small grandson crying, his crack whore mother probably
having left him there while she was partying. Sad to say, the baby
would probably be better off in an alley than with Heidi.
She
pounded on the door again, even past the point when she heard Heidi on the
other side, cursing and shouting, "I'll be there in a damn second!" Only
when the door opened did Merri stop knocking, then she leaned in the
doorway when confronted by Heidi.
Middle-aged, middle height, and
below middle intelligence, Heidi Harper planted her hands on her tiny hips
and scrunched up her face of wrinkles that made her look ten years older
than she actually was.
"What?"
Merri took a long drag from
her cigarette, then blew the smoke out, blasting Heidi's face. "I
think you have something of mine."
"I don't know what you're
talking about," Heidi barked, but a flicker of her eyes to the side told a
different story. She was lying, and after spending the day with
someone like Michael, Meredith found it a relief to see her abilities were
indeed still in working order.
"I was expecting a letter
today. You got it by mistake."
"I didn't get anything of
yours!" Heidi moved to close the door, but Merri caught the door and
pushed it back.
"I think you should check," she said, levelling
Heidi with a cool gaze.
"I think you should back off!" Heidi
challenged.
"Who's at the door?" called a man from within.
Merri shuddered a little inside--Stu was home too. He'd taken a
liking to her back when she first moved in, and though the suggestive
stare of a man in his forties was creepy, it was far from the worst of her
problems. And in this instance, his disturbing affection for her
could be used to her advantage, if need be.
"No one," Heidi shot
back, giving Merri a glare. She already had it in her head that her
husband was having an affair with the young tenant, as well as half of
everyone else on the block.
"Go and check," Meredith warned in a
low voice.
"I don't have it!"
Merri took what was left of
her cigarette and slowly put it out on the Harpers’ front door, twisting
the butt into the wood, all the while keeping her eyes locked on Heidi's.
"Hey Stu," Merri called in a bright voice. "Can you help me
with something?"
Heidi swore under her breath, but Merri only
smiled as Stuart Harper jumped to his feet and ran to the door.
"What seems to be the problem?" he asked, flashing a grin of
crooked yellow teeth and blatantly looking her up and down like only a man
unaware of his own repulsiveness can.
"I was expecting a letter,
and I think it got delivered in with your stuff by mistake...do you think
you can check for me?"
"Of course, sweetie," he said, and returned
to the living room. Heidi stood frozen in place, glowering at
Meredith, body rigid as she waited for her husband's return.
"Yep,
yep, here it is," Stu called, returning a few moments later with a beat up
envelope. He held it out for her, and noticeably took a moment to
touch her fingertips.
Merri did what she could to avoid cringing
and offered another smile. "Thanks Stu. Later, Heidi."
Glad to be away from the pair of them, Merri quickly turned and
bolted for the stairs, hearing the couple close their door and immediately
begin arguing. Had she cared to, she probably could have heard the
conversation easily, but Merri stopped her ears to it and continued to her
apartment.
Two flights of stairs later, and she was at the door to
her place. Again, she wasn't sure a lock on the door was all that
useful, but then she didn't really have anything to steal. One look
around her one room apartment and sparse furnishings, and any potential
robbers would move on to the next place.
She dropped her backpack
inside the door, flipped on the light, then went straight for the couch,
letter in hand. Sitting down, she looked the envelope over for a
moment. Merri recognized the writing on the front, with a fake name
and address in Montreal listed. Beside it was a yellow sticker from
Canada Post, forwarding the letter to her. Best way to cover her
tracks, or so she thought.
She tore through the side and slid out
the folded paper and stack of twenties. At least Heidi hadn't had a
chance to open the letter yet, or November's rent money would have been
long gone. Putting the cash aside, she looked over the brief letter.
B.
Kind of short this
month. Jay got fired from Burger King but he gave a
bit.
I covered the rest so I own his ass now,
lol. Hope you're well.
Miss you.
Lexie
Merri read the letter
once more, then tucked it back in the envelope. Stowing the cash in
her back pocket temporarily, Merri stood and slipped Lexie's letter with
the stack of others she kept in a kitchen cupboard drawer. They
rarely said anything different--little updates about her, Jay, and
sometimes Danni. Always mentioning how they miss her. Never
asking if she'd ever be home, though.
They knew better.
With a sigh, Meredith curled up on the couch and flipped on the
old seventeen-inch TV that sat on the floor, staring at it without really
watching.
Miss you too, Lex.
