Enemy Beloved

24 | for one day, for two days, forever...

★

V A U G H N

"No, Mom, we're fine." I rub my forehead as I hear Mom's frantic voice over the phone. Ever since she heard that we got mugged, she has been freaking out. "We were robbed and all but we're still fine."

"But how did this happen?" she asks worriedly. "I thought you were smart enough to not stop your car on an empty road. Times are rough, sweetie."

I feel the inclination to tell her that it was not my fault at all. If it wasn't for Claire, I would have been sleeping in my bed right now instead of being dressed in borrowed clothes from a hotel's staff.

But then again, I would have missed the chance to bury my face between her legs. Turns out, everything does happen for good.

"It was a mistake. I told Jake to trace the car. We should be getting our stuff back soon."

"Come back home soon," Mom sighs. "The event went smoothly but all my plans to introduce Claire as a Jackson went downhill. We need to throw a party for her to welcome her to our family. I'll ask Rose to make the preparations."

"Do whatever you want, Mum," I mutter, taking a glance at the bathroom door where Claire is still showering. It's been an hour and the only time she opened the door was to take the shirt and pants I handed to her. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, honey."

I cut the call and place the spare phone on the bedside table. The bathroom door opens and Claire walks out, dressed in nothing but the long, white shirt. It is a man's shirt and the sleeves are too long for her hands. I watch her amusedly as she tries to button the cuffs at the wrists. A white towel covers her wet hair over her head, making her look cute.

"Anything wrong, wifey?" I lean on the headboard and put an arm behind my head to get a relaxed view of her.

I am glad she left the dress pants in the bathroom. Her naked legs are more therapeutic for my eyes.

"This shirt is too big," she complains. "Didn't they have women's clothes?"

"Be happy with what you get, Claire. Beggars can't be choosers."

She looks up at me and her eyebrows weave together. She shrugs, pretending to ignore me, and turns to walk over to the mirror attached to the closet but stops halfway, an ashen-like expression getting on her face.

"Oh my God!" she exclaims with a different pitch than when she screamed the same thing in the shower when I was eating her.

"What happened?" I pull myself up from the bed to look at the object which has her attention when the ugly object lifts itself from the floor and starts to fly.

A cockroach.

"Ahhh!" Claire screams as the insect flies over her head. She jumps on the bed, running towards me. Her towel drops to the floor as the cockroach scares the living shit out of her.

She throws herself at me, grabbing me tightly by the shoulders as she looks for the insect which has settled itself on a wall near the windows.

"Vaughn, kill it!" She presses on my shoulder. "How did it even get here?"

I stare at the big cockroach, my mind flashing back to the woods.

"I think it was in my shoe," I say in a low voice, my attention completely enveloped by the ugly creature that has attacked our room.

"Kill it, then! I don't like cockroaches," Claire repeats, squeezing my shoulder.

"Why should I do it?" I ask, baffled. "I don't like them either."