Stepmother

03 | A Tough Dinner

NEARLY THE ENTIRE DAY, Dana and Jim remained cooped up in her bedroom— if anything, it was more that she was keeping him hostage.

Save for the occasional trips to the bathroom, they didn't step out. It was surprising how Jocelyn didn't bother them either. Not a single knock, and no shouts for their names.

Dana's phone was being bombarded with messages from her two best friends. A few days ago, they had planned on meeting up at a coffee shop today, but Dana had to cancel just now. The two friends, Maddie and Aisha, nagged her currently, asking her if everything's alright.

"What?" She snapped at Jim standing right before her, his index finger poking her thigh repeatedly to catch her attention.

"I'm hungry." He said, placing a palm against his tummy for emphasis. The game console on his other hand had clearly died out because of used up batteries.

Dana's own stomach grumbled at the mention of hunger and Jim made a face. Now that she realized, they hadn't really eaten anything— especially Dana, who lost her appetite after waking up and coming across a dissected squirrel.

"Fine." She said as she stood up and threw her phone onto her bed. "Come with me, and don't make a sound."

The bedroom's door cracked open, and Dana slipped her head out to inspect the deadly silent surroundings of the house. She glanced down to see her brother doing the same, and she couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Dana! Jim! Dinner's ready!"

Dana flinched violently. The woman's voice gave her the creeps. And just in their luck, Jocelyn decided to call on them when they had planned on sneaking to the kitchen for food.

"Coming!" Jim responded, before he groaned a small 'ouch' when Dana pinched his upper arm.

"Are you dumb?" She whisper-yelled. There was no going back now, Jocelyn knew they were exiting the room. With a defeated sigh, Dana stepped out and treaded towards the dining room, with Jim following her.

"I made burgers, I don't know if you guys like them." Jocelyn said bashfully as she set down the platter laden with countless of them. She chuckled at the small cheer from Jim, taking it as approval. He plopped down on a seat and grabbed one, wasting no time to begin munching.

Dana had to admit, they looked very appetizing. Before she knew it, she too was taking a seat and snatching one for herself.

Her heart rate picked up in excitement when the doorbell rang all of a sudden. The thought that it could be her father came to mind, and she was about to head for the door when Jocelyn gestured for her to remain where she was.

"I'll go check who it is, you kids keep eating."

Dana peered out of the dining room's doorway even after Jocelyn disappeared. She waited and waited and waited, until she heard her stepmother's voice and footsteps approaching.

"Aisha? Maddie?"

The girl sat dumbfounded, her eyes following the two movements of her friends as they walked in, each grabbing a seat. Maddie even ruffled Jim's hair lovingly as a greeting, and Aisha slapped her hand against his as a high-five.

No doubt it was refreshing to see them, but for them to show up when there was the crazy woman around concerned Dana.

"You okay? You never miss out on the opportunity to go get coffee. We thought you got killed or something." Maddie joked to Dana, clearly distracted by the food sitting on the table. Jocelyn placed two plates in front of them with a burger on top each, and they both responded with a 'thank you'. It was convenient how they were Dana's neighbors, so the distance between their homes consisted of a couple strides.

The level of closeness between Dana and the two was one of family. They could show up at any Jime unannounced, and vice versa.

"Ah no, she's in good hands." Jocelyn said kindly, before she sat down as well. Dana couldn't stop herself from snorting out loud, catching both Aisha and Maddie's attention. Upon noticing this, Jocelyn diverted the attention onto herself.

"How rude of me, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Jocelyn, Jim and Dana's stepmother."

"Aha! I knew he had to be fucking arou—"

Aisha jumped up in her chair when Dana's foot connected with hers. Hard. Aisha cleared her throat, offering Maddie and Dana a glare, who glared back. Maddie had taken a step further and was covering both of Jim's ears using her palms.

Jocelyn only found that amusing and let out a boisterous laugh. She continued to chortle, even after the humor in the atmosphere died down. Her eyes teared up and the laugh became high pitched, making the three girls exchange looks of skepticism.

Dana's stomach growled again. She picked up her own burger and bit into it. Her features contorted into an expression of displeasure when her teeth pulled away at the patty with great difficulty. She gave up eventually and looked at the others who were either doing the same, or chewing on their bite for far too long.

"What did you put in this?" Dana asked bluntly, her eyebrows furrowed. She had cooked with beef several times— made burgers too, and they were never this tough to eat.

"Human meat."

Maddie and Aisha let out a few snickers, with Jim laughing along even though he didn't understand. Jocelyn watched smugly.

But Dana, she didn't giggle. She had a feeling the woman wasn't joking about it.

When Jocelyn side-eyed her, a corner of her lip lifting, the notion got confirmed and a retch rode up to Dana's throat.