SUNNYVALE

(21) THE DADDY OF THE UNDERWORLD

Sam bursts into the room where the girls - Crystal, Megan, Tobin, Tierna and Abby - were having a drink after an intense thought.

Per usual, Sam doesn't wait long to get straight to the point:

"I think Christen is kinda the daddy of the underworld" she announces, as everyone else look at her in shock and disbelief. Understanding that they did not get her point, she clears it up: "She's like a hot Satan, you guys! Think about it: weird episodes, delusions, memory loss, and all that just when the shadows started showing up in Sunnyvale? This can't be a coincidence..."

Tobin bursts into laughter.

"I'm sorry, but, did you just call her 'daddy of the underworld'?" the brunette asks, laughing her ass off.

But Sam doesn't laugh.

"Sam, we don't know that: I mean, it could also be Abby since she disappeared for a few days..." Crystal points out, her eyebrows raised. 

"But Christen doesn't have a grandma that complained to the police about shadows thirty years ago..." Tierna drops the piece of information she and Abby just found out, confident. 

All eyes turn to her. 

Visibly, Abby is quite annoyed that the brunette took the initiative to talk about their newly found lead just yet - she might have rather it staying between the two of them until they actually asked Christen for permission to go and see her grandmother. Catching Abby's sudden angry face, Tierna looks down at her hands, beating herself up in the inside of her head. 

After a moment, Crystal speaks out:

"Well, spit it out you two" she orders, especially looking at Abby.

Abby's presence - or, in other words, the presence of an Eastsider in The Circle, as well as in Westsiders' ranks - was not really understood nor accepted by everyone around his table. Even Tobin, who was quite annoyed with this whole town being torn in two, was quite unhappy about Abby's newly emerged friendship with her sister.

Although everybody wanted to just beat her up, they didn't. Instead, they heard Tierna explaining what they found at the library.

Sighing, Crystal aggressively asks to Abby:

"I don't get it: what's in it for you, Dahlkemper? Do you have a crush on Baby T or somethin'?"

There is a pretty awkward silence, during which both Tierna and Abby blush - for no apparent reason, right ? - before becoming quiet. Tobin has murderous eyes toward her sister's new friend, obviously sensing something shady, while the rest of the girls just look away or straight at Abby.

After a few seconds, Abby's response is harsh and probably not all true:

"No, I do not have a romantic connection whatsoever with Tierna, if it can reassure all of you" she declares, staring especially at Tobin with a look full of hatred. As the girls look down, ashamed of their behaviors (except Tobin), the blonde goes on: "The thing is, I can hear those voices and feel those earthquakes, too, and I really want to understand why, because it scares the shit outta me."

Crystal holds Tobin back from making a sassy comment, before saying for everybody else to hear:

"Seems like a good enough reason for me, so instead of hating on Abby, we should really start thinking about the hella WTF situation we're in, okay?"

Everybody nod - everybody but Tobin, who seems angry at the blonde. Tierna, in the middle of all this, just sighs: this is going to be complicated.

***

Her head hurting like hell, Crystal walks out of The Circle and, on her way home from a very interesting yet confusing discussion with her friends - with questions like: What happened when I touched Lynn's body? Why did I touch it in the first place? What are those voices? Will it happen if I touch someone who's alive? - she takes a look at her phone.

Rolling her eyes, she reads messages from a rather angry Kelley:

From: Kelley {4:56 PM}: Where are you??? the meeting's about to start

From: Kelley {5:10 PM} : Are you fucking serious??? those clients are very important for the future of our business, you should be here already!!!

From: Kelley {5:15 PM} : C'mon Crys, you better have a hella good reason to have missed this, especially now that Mapi León is onto this client as well - get your shit together!!!

Rolling her eyes again, she reads Julie's text:

From: Julie {5:47 PM}: Hi, I hope everything's okay to your end - don't mind Kelley, she'll get over it, and we'll find other clients. xoxo

Obviously Julie's the reasonable one in this fucking business, the dark-haired thinks to herself, quite annoyed. Lately, she's had more important issue that their dumb drug business idea in mind, and she totally forgot today's meeting. Feeling her headache getting worse, the girl just runs toward her parents' house, until she sees someone from afar, visibly waiting for her.

Once she realises she actually knows the person, she closes her eyes: why won't people just let me fucking be? she asks herself, before saying out loud:

"Now's really not a good time, Shelina"

The grey-eyed just stares at her, confused.

"Listen, Crystal, I'm just worried about you - although it is a concept I absolutely cannot for the life of me understand - and I feel that, lately, you haven't been yourself: you've been distant, cold, pretty serious, and... scared? I don't know what's going on in your life, but I'd want you to talk to me, please."

Crystal frowns. 

"What is it with you, honestly?" the girl immediately reacts, going back to her comfy shell, as she's always done. As Shelina seems quite surprised by this angry reaction, the dark-haired continues: "You shouldn't even be here: we're not friends, we're nothing, and honestly I just-"

"Got it" the Canadian coldly says, annoyed. She then shrugs, and adds: "If you're gonna continue being an ice-cold bitch who doesn't want to let anyone in during her life, then so be it: just go and buy yourselves a hundred cats already, because they're the only company you're ever gonna get if you keep on being a straight-up bitch."

With that said, she turns around and walks away in the night.