Evil with a D

Chapter 2

Image: Monika
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    Stacy jolted awake with a groan the next morning. She stared up at the ceiling with a frown, forgetting for a minute where she as before it all flooded back on her. She placed her hands over her eyes. When the door was thrown open she let out a hiss of surprise and jolted up with a gasp. Her eyes narrowed as her mother pushed a running vacuum into the room.

    "Oh! You're awake." she said as she turned off the vacuum and smiled at Stacy. "It's about time. It's almost noon. You missed breakfast."

    Stacy signed as she slipped off the bed and moved to search for something to wear other than the dress she'd slept in. "Hi mom."

    "What happened last night Stacy?" her mother asked with a frown.

    "Nothing Monika." she muttered as she pulled out a pair of sweats and a shirt.

    "Excuse me?" Monika said with a smile, though her voice was dripping with poison.

    "Nothing Mom. Did you really have to wake me like that?"

    "You were already awake. Do you want something to eat?" she asked as she started to back out the door with the vacuum.

    "Sure." Stacy said, watching her mother leave before she changed. Leaving her dress on the bed she moved down the stairs slowly, preparing herself for facing the smaller woman she called Mom. She paused at the doorway into the living room, smiling as she found her father sitting on his Lazy Boy watching TV. "Morning Dad." she moved over and kissed his cheek lightly. "Don't you have work today?"

    "Nope. I'm retired." he said with a  grin for her.

    Stacy froze and blinked at him. "What? When? And what about the business?" Her father had owned a flooring company for as long as she could remember and it'd been doing really well. If he was retired then he'd had to have sold it.

    "Sold it to Monika's cousin." he said with a  shrug. "Didn't feel like working anymore."

    "Dad, you're only like fifty-six. The business wasn't doing THAT well."

    "If was doing well enough to let me retire. Plus, I'm still partial owner so I'm getting some money from that." he said with a shrug.

    Stacy frowned as she sat on the armrest. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"   

    "You'd have heard if you call." Monika said as she moved to hold out a plate with a sandwich on it.

    "Mom, I was busy. My job took up a lot of time."

    "Took? Why past tense?" she asked as she set a glass of tea on the side table.

    "Well, I sort of....got fired. Then my car broke down. That's how I got here." she said with a small shrug before she dropped onto the couch.

    "Stacy!" Monika gasped out.

    "I'm going to stay here while I get back on my feet. I was thinking I'd get a job at The Drunkard or something."

    Monika stood frowning at her before letting out a sigh. "You know, David owns the tavern now." she said as she left the room. Stacy froze mid-chew and stared after her mother before looking at her Dad. Frank dropped his shoulders and gave a nod to show her her mother was right.

    "He bought it three or so years ago. It looks really nice now." Frank said with a smile.

    Stacy shifted a little, finally swallowing her bite of food. She frowned down at her sandwich before signing out as she set her plate aside. She and David had history. They'd dated for four years, starting junior year of high school before she'd decided to pack up for New York. David had decided he didn't want to go so they'd gone their separate ways. She jumped up and hurried toward the stairs. If she was going to face him then she needed to clean up a little first.