Merri thought she might be sick as she sat down on the edge of the bed a foot away from Genevieve. Her stomach was in knots. For the past two days, she'd been thinking about telling Gen the truth, but hadn't actually gone so far as to plan what she'd be saying.
Which might have been helpful.
Gen's distant, reserved gaze was fixed on her own. Merri took a deep breath.
"My name
is Belle Merrilee Swanson."
Gen looked as though she was going to snark back, but she didn't say anything.
Taking her friend's silence as encouragement, Merri continued. "As the police said, I'm from Nova Scotia. I have a brother, Jay, who's six years older than me. Our mom raised us and our dad wasn't around much..."
And god, I wish I could skip the whole life story thing. But context was important, so she went on. "My dad died in a drinking and driving accident when I was ten. My mom had an on again, off again relationship with his brother, my Uncle Joe, and they ended up getting married about a year later."
"How very...Hamlet," Gen remarked.
Merri gave her a small smile "I always thought it was more Jerry Springer than anything, but yeah. We were pretty trailer trash as it is. Jay was a petty criminal by the time he was eleven and my brain was fucked up from day one." She gestured to her head. "The visions. Seeing things other people couldn't really messed with me. I repeated second grade 'cause everyone seemed to think I was retarded or something.
"So anyway, Mom and Joe got married and he moved in with his oldest daughter. Lexie was really messed up back then. She's around Jay's age. Heavy drugs, a bit of prostitution..."
Gen's expression had slowly been changing as Merri spoke; there was nothing cool or distant about her now. Concern, not anger, had knitted her brows into a frown.
She's been sheltered, Merri reminded herself. It would probably be best not to go into too many details.
"Lexie left about six months after moving in. She turned out okay, though. Met a really nice guy who helped get her off of drugs and, as far as I know, they're still living together. But Uncle Joe's youngest daughter, from a previous relationship, came to live with us just after Lexie left. Danielle was about four or five at the time. We had a pretty full house for awhile. Then Jay went to jail for possession.
"Uncle Joe was one of those guys who probably never worked a day in his life. He was good looking, charming, and practically lived in front of the television on permanent layoff. Mom worked twelve-hour shifts a lot, so we never saw her.
"Like I said, I had been getting visions and stuff since I was little. I was used to it. And then I got one concerning Danni, about five years ago."
She still remembered the day so clearly. Danni was reading a book from the library. The kid was so smart--always had been. Merri really believed that she had a chance of making it in life.
But the vision changed all that.
"I saw her..." Merri's voice broke a little. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "With her father. I saw him..."
Keep in mind, this is Gen you're talking to. "Hurting her."
A glance up at Genevieve revealed a look of pure horror. The urge to backtrack, to lie, to tell her anything but the truth was huge, but Merri kept going.
"Suddenly, a whole lot made sense. All of Lexie's troubles over the years, when she left home at such a young age... I understood what she'd been through. I tried to talk to her about it, but she was still on drugs at that time and wouldn't admit to anything. I didn't know what to do."
"You couldn't go to the police with just a vision, could you?" Gen guessed.
Merri shook her head. "Especially not with my juvenile record. Everyone knew I was a compulsive liar. My word wouldn't count for anything. And I
knew it. I knew no one would believe me, not even my mom. You have to understand...when I get a vision, it's not just a T.V. screen playing a movie in my head. I'm right
there. I hear things, I
feel things...hell, sometimes I can even smell things. And I know things, as well. I can't describe where the knowledge comes from...it's like I connect with someone at that future moment and, for an instant, I feel and know everything they do. And I knew that he hadn't done anything to Danni yet...so I..."
She desperately didn't want to say this part. She wanted to end it right then and let Gen think she merely killed him and went on the run.
But I already told her this was five years ago...and I have to be honest, no matter what she thinks of me.
Merri detached herself from the memories and her voice lost all of its emotion. "I brought a proposition to him. I told him that I knew what he did to Lexie and what he was going to do to Danni, and I told him that if left her alone, he could have me."
Her eyes dropped closed as she heard Gen gasp. It was easy enough to remove herself from what happened, but she couldn't look at Gen anymore--couldn't bear to see that look of disgust in her eyes.
The details were still so vivid in her head. No matter where she ran, how she dressed, who she pretended to be, she couldn't escape what she had been.
"It probably wasn't a choice most people would make, but they way I grew up...being the Seer...I wasn't like other kids. I was older, I guess. Still stupid, apparently, but I had to protect her. And I just knew no one would believe me, so that's what I suggested. He didn't take me seriously, of course. Denied up and down that he'd done anything, or planned to do anything. And then the next day I came home from school, and he decided to 'inspect' me. He said we had a deal--he'd leave Danni alone--but that I'd better be a virgin. Like the fact that I hadn't turned thirteen yet wasn't enough proof."
She swore she could still feel his hands on her. Merri pulled back, hardened herself, and kept all the memories at a distance. Opening her eyes made it fade to the background of her mind, but she couldn't look at Gen yet, so she stared blankly at the brick wall across the room. She cleared her throat before speaking again, and her voice came out cold and empty.
"He dragged that out for a week. Every day when I got home from school, he'd make me..." She paused. No need to go into any more details--Gen probably got the idea. "And for awhile, I thought that would be it. Then about a week later, while I was asleep, he came into my room, and... And I can't say raped me, because I gave him permission. But I was terrified and that's what it felt like.
"I couldn't sleep in there anymore. I'd stay long enough to see if he was coming or not, then I'd end up in Jay's room for the rest of the night. Even when he got out of jail, Jay didn't come home, so he never knew the difference.
"I had an abortion a year after it started, then I finally went on the pill. I don't know whose it was--I was known as the school slut at that point. The weekend after he first... I just starting fucking anyone at that point. Anything to get the feel of him off of me.
"And that went on for a few years," she said with a sigh. "I wanted to leave...more than anything, I wanted to get out of that house, like Lexie did. But I couldn't leave Danni alone.
"About a year ago, I knew something was wrong. He had less interest in me, probably because I was getting too old for his taste. A few times he dragged me to a card game and handed me to his buddies when he lost. So it was hardly a surprise, last summer, when I was helping Danni with her homework and I..."
Merri closed her eyes, briefly, to force back hot tears that threatened to fall. "It wasn't a future vision this time. I touched her shoulder and I got a flash. He'd started with her. I tried to get her to tell me the truth, but she just went running to her room crying..."
And there was nothing I could do. I failed her. The guilt still haunted her, still kept her up at night. She should have been more vigilant--should have done more to protect Danni.
"I still knew that no one would believe me. They'd believe him. My mom, my friends...everyone. I saw it so clearly--I'd be the one in trouble. There was nothing I could do...I just knew he had to die."
Her gaze trailed to the window. The sky had grown a bit darker than usual that evening due to heavy rain clouds. She remembered so vividly the day she killed him. It was a bright summer afternoon. Sunny. Hot. Normal.
"Mom was working a double shift. I sent Danni to a friend's overnight. I did most of the cooking and cleaning around the house anyway, so I was making Joe his dinner. As usual, he had a couple of beers...so when the antifreeze I slipped into his food hit him, he initially thought he was just drunk and went to bed. I cut the phone lines in the house and flushed his car keys just in case he got out of the house. By the next morning, he was having seizures. Though he was bigger and stronger than me, he couldn't get past me to the door in his condition. It took a few hours, but...eventually, he died. And I watched it happen. Stayed there until the end.
"I called Lexie to take me to the bus station. She figured out something was wrong, but I didn't tell her what. I figured it would be better for Danni if we didn't make a big deal about it anyway--that way she could just forget what had happened to her. Lexie gave me the money she had, which I added to what I'd stolen of Joe's, and made me promise to give her an address in case she and Jay could get together more money." Merri leaned back and sighed. "And eventually I came to Newhaven. I wanted to keep running, but Michael convinced me to stay. And that's the truth about who I am and what I did."
She waited for Gen to leave or give some sound of horror, but when she didn't say anything, Merri chanced a look her way.
Gen had her hand clasped over her mouth and tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry I didn't trust you--"
"Gen, it's okay--"
"No it's not." Gen wiped at her eyes, but didn't stop crying. "I'm sorry."
"You're not..." She looked and looked, but Merri couldn't see any change in her friend's eyes. "You're not, like, disgusted by me or...something like that?"
Gen's eyes widened. "God no! Mer, you spent the last five years being raped. I don't care what kind of deal you made with him--that's not your fault. You were just a kid."
Just a kid... Fuck, she didn't feel like a kid. She didn't remember ever feeling like a kid.
"And after what you went through...I'm sorry I pushed you, I'm sorry I didn't just trust you."
"You didn't know," Merri said quickly. "It's okay. I know none of that stuff would be in the paper. I made Lexie promise not to tell. Even my mom doesn't know. And I didn't want Danni to grow up with that kind of baggage. If I brought up that defense, they'd want to drag Danni into court and make her relive all that...and I don't want her going through that too."
"When you said that...if you had known what Finn would do, you would have stopped him... You meant..."
Merri moved closer and put her hand on Gen's shoulder. "I would have done anything to stop him.
Anything. I'm sorry if that scares you, but it's the truth."
"So no one knows what you went through? All those years...no one knew?"
"Just me, Lexie, and now you. Possibly Jay, but I don't know for sure."
"I won't say anything to anyone."
Merri shrugged and smiled awkwardly. "I don't want you to shout it from the rooftops, but I don't care if you want to give Sage or Michael the abridged version."
"So Michael doesn't know?"
If he does, he never said as much. And when they had spoken fairly openly at the bus station, he didn't indicate he knew any of the details. Merri shook her head. "Not as far as I know."
"He said something, a few days ago when I came here to talk to him about Finn. He said that if he hadn't killed Finn, you definitely would have."
So maybe he does know. She wouldn't put it past him to already know everything there was to know about her, but she figured he would have said something to her about it by now.
And he couldn't possibly know why I killed him.
But then, with Michael's history, he could probably recognize a killer when he saw one. And on the night of the assault, she had been very insistent on them doing something about Finn. Of course, Michael would put two and two together once he heard the police were looking for a murderer.
And he didn't push me. Didn't ask for anything more. She figured she should apologize later for bothering him about his own situation. Curiosity still dominated her thoughts, but it wasn't fair to force confessions out of him--not when he was doing so much for her.
"So..." Gen wiped at her eyes again and forced a smile. "You didn't tell me if you like the stuff I picked out."
Merri gazed around the room again. She did love the furniture--she'd never, in her life, had anything new, let alone nice. The dark oak dresser and armoire were both tall and sturdy, and matched the desk and chair set pushed against the far wall. A thick mattress topped the wrought-iron daybed and was perhaps the most comfortable thing she'd ever sat on. She'd seen four different mix-and-match sheet sets of a high thread count in bold colours that were clearly Genevieve's choice. Half a dozen pillows of varying sizes sat on the floor, ready to be thrown on the bed. Gen had indicated earlier that Michael had a matching curtain set custom ordered to fit the dimensions of the window.
"It's all really overwhelming, actually," Merri said.
"Oh, you didn't see the best part yet." Gen rose from the bed and went to the far side of the room where a pair of boxes sat. She moved aside packing materials and bags to pull out a large, thin box, which she held up to face Merri.
"He bought a fucking laptop?"
Gen nodded and set it on the desk. "When I started saying that I wanted one too, he told me to stop bitching because this was for your job and he'd get it set up on his network. What job?"
"I'll be acting as an 'assistant,' and it sounds like secretarial work. Sorting books and acquiring new ones, answering his emails...I figure I'll know more soon enough."
"So...you'll have access to all of his files?" A smile slowly formed on Gen's face.
"Yeah. I'll keep an eye out for anything of interest."
"He probably knows that, so I doubt he'll give you access to everything."
Merri agreed, but it seemed worth a shot. She didn't feel one hundred percent comfortable with the prospect of betraying his trust, but if it came down to him or Gen and Sage, she'd side with her friends.
"I told you before, you can trust me, Gen," Merri said. "I know I've lied, but I've never kept anything that I thought would hurt anyone. If I learn anything important, I'll come to you with it."
"I believe you. And I'll probably believe anything you tell me for a good long while, so you're free to go to town and make up all kinds of stuff." Gen gestured over her shoulder. "Want to go tell Dad his planned worked, and that we duked it out and decided to be B.F.F.'s again?"
"Maybe we should still argue a bit, so it doesn't go to his head."
Gen rolled her eyes. "Probably too late for that. If his head gets any bigger, I think it'll explode."
Merri felt a bit of weight lift from her shoulders as she followed Genevieve back to the main room of Michael's house. So Gen didn't blame her for the things she'd done. She expected uneasiness, if not outright abhorrence. But Gen had accepted her. She didn't seem to judge her for it all.
An hour later, Merri sat on the couch doing her homework. Sage and Michael were sparing, while Gen had perched herself on a barstool where she read from a spell book.
"Michael, can Merri make a long-distance phone call?" Gen asked out of nowhere.
"Um..." Merri glanced at Michael, then at Gen. "I hadn't planned on making any. Why?"
Gen's gaze, however, was fixed on Michael. "Can she?"
He stopped the punch Sage had just thrown his way and met her eyes. "In theory. Why?"
She held up the small book she had been reading. "The section in this, on cloaking yourself from technology? I think I can do some of them."
"And your point would be...?"
"Merri could phone her family. And if I do a spell from this book, they cops can't trace the call."
Merri slowly stood and dropped her book on the couch. "You're serious?"
Gen nodded. "I wouldn't want to make a habit out of it, 'cause god knows I can screw up at any time, but we can definitely try."
Everyone looked to Michael, waiting for his approval.
"Fine," he said. "You try it
once, carefully, and don't fuck it up."
Gen scurried around the house collecting supplies while Merri took a seat at the breakfast bar and stared at the cordless phone on the wall. She could call her family. Her mom wouldn't want to hear from her, sure, but Jay and Lexie? Maybe even Danni?
She waited nervously while Gen set out a circle of votive candles, the open book, and a tiny clear stone in the centre.
"You're sure this'll work?" Merri asked.
"Um...pretty sure. The only problem, like it says here in the book, is that we probably won't have a whole lot of time. I don't exactly have mad skills to begin with, and," she sent a glance back at Michael, "we aren't using what would be considered quality goods here. I wouldn't push it past a few minutes."
So I'd better make this call count.
Gen took the cordless phone and fixed the tiny stone to the top with a piece of tape. "This book was written a bunch of years ago, back when you could take apart the receiver. You're supposed to put the stone in there to disrupt the signal. I'm hoping that this'll work, though."
"'Hoping?'" Michael pounced on the word as he approached them.
"I'd say I'm confident that it'll work, but that would make me a big ol' liar." The phone ready, Gen set the receiver down in the centre of the circle of candles. She lit the wicks one by one by looking at them, then reached out and touched her index finger to the stone.
The entire sight was eerie to behold. Merri would trust Genevieve with her life, but still...still, she could understand what Michael saw there. Gen's eyes were fixed on the stone as she spoke the words from the book, and something strange flickered through their depths. Something old, something foreign, something...
Terrifying.
Whatever it was, it didn't look like Gen.
As she spoke the last words of the spell, the stone took on an orange hue. Gen handed off the receiver to Merri. "Make it quick."
Merri tried to keep her fingers from shaking as she dialled. Her initial thought was to try calling home, but she had no idea if Jay would be there and she doubted her mom would let her talk to Danni. Lexie seemed like the best bet, and she had wanted to call her cousin for a while to let her know everything was okay.
She pressed the phone to her ear and listened to the ringing on the other line.
Please pick up, Lex...
"Hello?"
Merri breathed out a sigh of relief. "Lex, hi."
Silence passed as seconds ticked by. "Belle?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"You have to hang up--they're still looking for you."
"It's being taken care of. Trust me. I just wanted to let you know I'm okay. The police found where I've been so I don't think you can send letters anymore. But I'm okay. How's Jay?"
"He started another new job. I give him six months before he gets fired again but he's trying real hard."
"And Danni?"
"She's doing good. Top in her class. You want to talk to her?"
"She's with you?"
"Yeah," Lexie said. "I watch her after school and make dinner while your mom is at work. Hold on, she's right here."
There was the sound of the phone being passed to another person and a tiny voice spoke up. "Hello?"
Merri squeezed her eyes shut. "Hey, kiddo. It's Belle. How's school?"
"Belle?"
"Yeah, sweetie, it's me."
"The police said you weren't coming back."
"No, I don't think I can come back. I did something bad, hun, and now I have to stay away."
"Because you killed Dad."
"Yeah...'cause I killed your Dad."
"Lexie said Dad did bad things and that's why."
"Danni, I don't want you to think about that. Not ever. I just want you to forget about everything." She met Gen's eyes and the other girl nodded to the phone.
Time is running out... "I have to go now, Danni. You'll be good for your sister, right? Promise?"
"I promise. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetie."
"Hey," Lexie said as she took the phone again. "Gotta go?"
"Yeah. I don't know when I can call again."
"It's okay. I'm taking care of her. Jay's keeping his ass out of jail. We'll be fine, but we miss you."
"I miss you too."
"Before you go, B... I just want to say I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I wasn't brave enough--"
"It's okay--"
"No, it's not. I should have...I just wish I wasn't so selfish then. That'd I'd done something when you came to me."
"Just keep taking care of Danni and it's all fine with me. I gotta go, though."
"Okay...bye, Belle."
"Bye, Lex." Merri hung up the phone just as the yellow glow faded from the stone. She set the receiver down on the countertop.
"Everything's okay?" Gen asked.
Merri nodded. She blinked back a few tears. "They're fine. That's what matters."
"I wouldn't recommend making a whole lot of calls, but in a little while if you want to talk to them again, we can do that," Gen said with a smile.
"Thanks," Merri said, grateful for the support.
And that kind of support will make it easier to cross one more thing off my to-do list. There was still one person that she felt she had to tell...whether he rejected her or not, Thad had to know.
Gen and Sage went home around seven, which was a few hours earlier than usual, but Michael had said he was going out and didn't want teen girls to overrun his house in his absence.
Alone at last, Merri thought as she looked around the empty house. It seemed strange not hearing voices and music through the walls, and not encountering any large bugs scurrying across the floor. So this was her home, at least temporarily.
Also foreign was that feeling of not having to run. She could stay put for awhile. Not have to look over her shoulder. Not cringe in fear every time it felt like her stack of cards was about to fall.
Merri figured Gen would tell Sage a few things on the way home, but she didn't expect Sage would have a problem with the information. Gen was the one she'd been worried about, but she'd accepted her.
For once, Merri actually felt safe.
Still, dread pooled deep in her stomach. Gen and Sage weren't the only people she cared about...
And this is a conversation I have to have now, before I talk myself out of it.
She pulled out her cell phone and dialled Thad's number.
"Hey there, hottie," he said as he answered. "What's up?"
Merri smiled at the sound of his voice. "Resting after a busy couple of days."
"Ooh, do tell."
"I moved to a new place."
"Far away?"
"No, it's somewhere you've been."
"Is it the empty apartment down the hall? 'Cause if so, that would be awesome."
"No..." She couldn't do this over the phone--she had to see him. "Thad, can you do me a favour?"
"Anything. You know that."
"I know you've got class tomorrow morning, but...could you come over to Michael's?"
"Uh oh. Is he going to beat me up?"
"No. I just need to talk to you."
His voice took on a serious tone. "What's going on, Merri?"
"I have some things I have to tell you. And you're probably not going to want to hear it, but I still need you to listen. Will you come over?"
"I'll be there in an hour."
Ninety minutes after hanging up the phone, Thad had been at Michael's for over half an hour listening to Merri speak. They sat on her bed in her new room, the overhead light off but the desk lamp on, leaving the space only dimly lit. Merri sat cross-legged and facing Thad, her arms wrapped around her torso for support while she spoke.
Though she'd said most of the same things to Gen earlier, it was that much harder repeating it to him. Much like she had with Gen, she didn't look at him--didn't want to read his expression. Best to just say everything and then see how he felt.
"And the police tracked me to Newhaven," she said once she finished the part about watching Joe die and going on the run. "Between the things Gen and Michael are doing, I should be safe now. It made more sense, at least for the time being, to have me stay here since Michael has extra rooms, and it's a hell of a lot nicer than my actual apartment, which I made sure you never saw. And that is just about everything I've been keeping from you."
Her body tensed and still she didn't look at him. She expected to feel the mattress shift as he stood to leave, the bedroom door open and close, then his footsteps fade into the distance as he left for good.
Instead, she felt his fingers slid over her hand.
"And here I thought you were going to tell me you were having an affair with Michael."
Merri glanced up sharply to see Thad giving her a sad, half smile. "You're not going."
"You thought I would?"
She nodded. "After the things I've done..."
"He deserved it."
That was easy enough for someone who hadn't been there at the time to say, but no matter what Joe had done, his death had been awful. He suffered. She'd made sure of it. She could have slashed his throat in his sleep and been done with it, but no, she had to find something painful. Something horrible. And she'd stood there in the house all day watching him die.
And I'd do it again tomorrow if I could.
"But the other things I've done..." She gave a little shiver, though the room was a comfortable temperature. Her eyes locked with his. "I've been with a lot of guys. Often men. It wasn't always consensual, but frequently was so I can't say it wasn't my fault."
"Hey..." He reached out and cupped her face, thumb grazing her cheek. "You
survived. That's what matters."
She let out a deep breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in and inadvertently let out a sob at the same time. His arms went around her and she let herself cry--really cry--for the first time in years.
"It's okay," he whispered, hand going through her hair. "There's nothing you could say or do that would make me love you any less."
She pulled back and gazed up at him. "What?"
Thad sighed. "Yeah. I said it." He trailed his fingers down her arm, and then clasped her hand in his. "I love you, Merri."
Loved. She wasn't sure she ever remembered being loved--not really. There was never parental love. Never sibling love. Her family hadn't ever really been around, and for those that had--even Lexie and Danni--she'd kept herself distanced from them. And she didn't connect with her friends, didn't connect with her boyfriends.
"Quit looking so surprised," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Jeez, I gave you a book of love poems for Valentine's Day. Don't tell me you didn't actually read it. And for someone who's supposed to be the Seer and all perceptive and stuff, you're a real dummy sometimes."
She hugged him tightly and closed her eyes. "Will you stay here tonight?"
"Hmm, and miss
Feminist Approaches to Medieval Writing in the morning? Let me take several minutes to really, deeply consider that. Yes, I'll stay."
Though the daybed was meant for one person rather than two, they both stretched out and made due with the limited space. Merri rested in his arms, both of them still fully clothed, and closed her eyes to rest.
"I think I love you too," she said softly. It felt strange to say such words--to hear her own voice speak them--but it was the truth.
He folded his fingers over hers and she heard his voice next to her ear. "So you'll keep Michael from beating me up tomorrow morning? 'Cause he doesn't seem to like me, so that seems like a definite possibility."
Merri laughed. "Don't worry, you're safe with me."
*~*~*
"So, you've got a date with Janine?" Levi said with a smile.
"It's not necessarily a date-date," Gen said quickly. "It could end up being a group thing. Or it could be a horrible joke." She grinned. "But I like to think it's a date-date."
"Who would have guessed that tattoo would help you pick up chicks?"
"I know, eh? Apparently, I could have gotten her attention ages ago if I'd just dressed up like Magenta and got some body art."
They stepped out of the school Friday afternoon together. Levi had offered her a ride home, and she'd decided to skip out on Michael's in favour of some quality time lounging around Levi's house instead.
"So you're going to
On the Map?" he asked. "Even with all the unsolved murders?"
"Well, thus far it's only been the unsolved murders of
guys, so I think I'm safe, unless I suddenly got uber butch..."
Shit, the murders. Gen nearly stopped mid-step. Days ago, she'd been so focused on figuring that out, but then the things with Merri took over and she completely forgot.
And, whether the victims are guys or not, there's no way I'm putting my possible-date in danger. They had to figure out what was going on.
"Lev..." She turned to her friend. "I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to have to cancel. I just remembered this...thing I have to do."
"Thing?"
"Yeah."
Why don't I have a bunch of excuses already made up for situations like this? "I have to go Merri's. About this class thing."
Sorta true.
Levi shrugged. "If you have to. I'll see you tomorrow night at the club, though? Just in case it turns out to not be a date-date, but a group friend thing."
"Yes, please! I could use the moral support." Gen backed up in a hurry, hoping Levi would be too busy getting to his car to realize she wasn't headed in the direction of the apartment where he thought Merri lived. "I'll call you tomorrow."
"Later, Genny."
I can't believe I let a bunch of unsolved murders slip from my head, she thought as she swiftly walked to Michael's house. Michael had been right--there was no way the group of them were ready to play detective and solve murders if they could so easily get distracted.
Gen burst through the door at Michael's to find Sage and Merri had arrived several minutes ahead of her.
"Okay, we really gotta sort out this serial killer thing," she said. Though she pushed the door closed behind her, it didn't quite catch and lay ajar a few inches. Gen walked toward Michael, who stood in the kitchen.
"I thought we had this conversation a few times," he said coolly. "You're not looking into this thing."
"Except with all of the stuff that happened, we haven't had a chance to sit down and talk about all the new things I learned!"
"Which would be?"
Gen paused. Dammit, she probably should have collected her thoughts before she started talking.
Michael rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, lots of new information."
"No, really! Uh...the new girl! Warren said something about the new girl."
"Except I already explained that," Merri pointed out. "I did tell him I'd meet him out there."
"Oh. Right. Well, there's still the matter of something supernatural going on there. Finn got all wiggy and said he was hearing music. And I got wicked creeped out, like I felt something there."
"Your evidence so far then is the word of a man who roofied and assaulted you, and the fact that you got 'wicked creeped out'?" Michael asked.
"Stop making me sound stupid!"
"I'm not--you're accomplishing that quite well on your own."
"My visions," Merri said. "From what I've seen, I gotta agree with Gen. There's something less natural and more super about the whole thing."
"So we head there tonight while armed," Sage said. She moved to the weapons cabinet and opened it, her dark gaze trailing over the swords and guns. "We investigate. We've got a witch, a warrior, a seer, and Michael. Why, exactly, should we be afraid of anything out there?"
"Okay, I gotta ask..."
Genevieve's heart seized at the sound of a familiar voice behind her. Everyone turned to see Levi standing in the open doorway staring at them.
His eyes swept around the room, then settled on Genevieve's. "What the hell is going on?"
