Bitter Revenge

Chapter 13

We'd gotten into a routine in the past 4 days. I wake up at 5 a.m. to make her breakfast while she showers and gets ready. She goes to work while I clean up the house a bit, I can't stand living in a clutter. She gets home at around 4 p.m. on average and by then I have lunch ready. She eats and I usually tell her my fact for the day, obviously keeping it as superficial as possible. These 4 days were different from last week however, she seemed to relax more. She doesn't seem as stressed and desperate, which in turn made me a little more relaxed. I still don't have my phone, and I really want to call Cris, but there's no way that would be allowed. "I'm home!" She announced as I finished up the rice and beans I had been preparing. "Welcome back, Strawberry. I'm finishing up now so take a seat and wait up." But instead, she peered over my shoulder at the food.

"You'd make a good housewife, you know that?" She clearly meant it as a joke, but I immediately remembered my mother. She tried to mold me in a way that would make for the ideal little servant. I whipped around so quickly I almost knocked over the food. "Never call me that! I'm more than some meek servant! I do all of this for the pure reason that I can't leave! Coexisting with you is better than being chained up to the wall like some animal!" I growled, causing her to buckle and tense for a fight. I immediately felt my chest constrict at the thought that I'd made her feel unsafe and sighed, stupid matehood. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. But I don't take back what I said. Don't call me that." I muttered, then served the food on her plate and placed it on the table, sitting down in front of her.

She was tense the whole time, ready for me to attack. The silence was heavy, the serenity we had created gone. Until she spoke up. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I would upset you. But um... Is that how you felt? Like an animal?" I scratched the back of my neck, letting my head fall. "Not really. You treated me too fairly for me to have felt like an animal." I stretched out my limbs, a little tired from being stuck here so long. "I'm glad. So what's my fact for the day?" She finished up eating and washed all the dirty dishes. Hmm, what else is superficial and not personal? "Well, I usually like to go out for walks. They're relaxing." Which typically ends in someone's death and my hunger disappearing but, you know, not always. She turned to me with an adorable pout, making me start to burst out laughing. "I get it. I keep you stuck here. Do you wanna try going for a walk? And if I get suspicious of you, I will perform a binding spell." She warned, but my eyes lit up at the thought of getting out.

The air was still cool from winter, but it made me feel that much better. People walked about, minding their own business. Being outside again felt amazing. I was too grateful to be let out to even think about running away from her. I have a theory as to her situation, but I'm not sure if it's true. I think she was ordered to hold me captive to gain my trust and later kill me. It would explain why she keeps me at arm's length. But I hope to spin it so she ends up not wanting to kill me, but that might be difficult with my attitude. Either way, I'm watching my back and her. "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before. You should really smile more." She sliced into my thoughts, reminding me that I need to keep my eye on her. I chuckled, tucking my hands in my jacket. "Smiling is nothing more than a reaction to serotonin and dopamine. I don't frequently experience it so I feel that smiling when not necessary would look silly on me. I know people fake smiles a lot, but I see no reason for me to do that. I may be a serial killer in your eyes but I'm at least true to my feelings."

She looked shocked at my response, the wind blowing a bit harder causing her hair to dance around her shoulders. In that moment, it looked like a fire was dancing on her head, as she stared at me blankly processing what I said. Something about this felt so familiar, as if I've lived this before. As if I once watched beautiful hair dance around someone else's shoulders and thought about how beautiful it looked. Time ceased to exist, it was just the two of us surrounded by the cold winter air. A pounding in my ears got faster. A bonfire ignited in my stomach, and spread through my limbs. A rush passed through my brain, until the perfect bubble was rudely popped.

"Holy hell, Stella? I haven't seen you since graduation." A man, probably around 6 foot 3 inches, 220 pounds, wrapped his grisly arm around her shoulders. I immediately got cold, the bonfire being put out by a blizzard. Who the hell is that guy? "Holy crap! Calvin?! I didn't even recognize you! You look nothing like you used to!" She laughed, even as he scowled. I could see it in his eyes, the way they held a frigid sharpness towards her. This is no friend, he's a threat.

I growled, gaining their attention. He turned to look at me, seeming annoyed by my existence. "Who's your friend? The guy looks barely over 12." I scrunched my nose in distaste, an action Stella immediately recognized. "Guy? Don't be dumb. This is my friend Quinn, we work together in Bunny's Burrow." I was taken aback by her misguidance. She lied, and it sounded so true. Her heart beat was loud though, I could hear the nervousness of her actions beating in her chest. She gave me a little look, so I played along begrudgingly. "Hey there. Am I to assume you two are friends?" Because the way he looks at you, is the same way a cat stares at a mouse. He immediately got uneasy as I spoke, he could tell I was as dominant as him. Predator recognize predator.

"Oh yeah. Calvin and I go way back to school. Come on, let's catch up." She pulled him along behind her, and I followed behind him. Watching closely, stalking my prey if you will. They spoke easily, back and forth with no tension. Clearly, he could disguise how pointedly he looked at her while she wasn't looking. I don't trust him. Not for a second. And unfortunately for me, she invited him in to talk more. I wanted to go to my room and forget about this guy, but I doubt Stella would be safe. So I did the only thing I could do, I played nice. Calvin saw through my façade, and I saw through his. The only blind one was Stella, who seemed to be enjoying the seemingly easy conversation. What does this guy want from her?