Bitter Revenge

Chapter 15

(Stella King's POV)

When I ripped my gaze from Calvin, I saw her looking at us with such a tightness in her gaze I thought I'd suffocate. She looked like a mess, her hair sticking out in oily black spikes, the right side of her face had the imprint of her pillow on it, and she was hunched as if she were carrying the world on her shoulders. "Did you just wake up?" I joked, making Calvin look at her too. She just walked over to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of coca cola. "Actually yes. That was a good and energizing nap." I could hear the sarcasm in her voice, making the anger I'd contained strain in the bottle.

"You didn't go to work? And what are you doing here?" Calvin asked, raising a brow at her. I immediately tried to think of an excuse, until Fiona spoke first. "No, I wasn't feeling well. I woke up with a huge migraine and a sore throat, and Stella is helping me financially. At least until I get on my feet." Believable, her raspy voice was worse due to her sleepiness, and could easily pass off as a sore throat. And I could only hope he ate up her second lie, which he didn't seem to care much about. I almost sighed in relief, until she turned to me. I could see she was also containing some anger, making her eyes tense. It only got worse when Calvin opened his mouth. "Well babe, I actually gotta bounce. Work starts in a few, I'll see you tomorrow." He winked at me while I just silently waved at him. Too early for pet names but whatever.

When my eyes returned to Fiona, a vein was sticking out of her forehead and her eyebrow was twitching. "What?" I shrugged, getting up and leaning against the kitchen counter to better see her. "'Babe'? You're dating that guy?" I could hear the sneer in her tone, making my anger strain harder in the bottle. "Dating? No. But seeing each other? Yes. That's why I got home later than usual, we were out eating." My eyes dug into her reaction, trying to understand why she didn't like him. Jaw clench, eyebrow twitch, looking away. She's annoyed? What is with her? "But that's hardly any of your business. Now for the topic at hand, I need to somehow get you into Bunny's Burrow with me."

Her head spun so quickly at me I was afraid it'd spin off her head. "You- what?! You want to get me to work in Bunny's Burrow?!" She set the glass down, facing me completely. "Yes and no. You don't need to actually work, but I need you there. If I know Calvin, he's going to come visit sometimes. And you can't just... not be there all the time." Her jaw dropped, but I had no idea what she was thinking. She makes me uneasy. She's strange, and I can't understand her. "So what? I'm gonna go with you every morning and be your assistant? I did not sign up for this! Besides, how the hell are you going to convince your boss that I'd be a better assistant than the one you already have?"

A damn good question, but I'll figure it out. I shrugged, and the topic died there. I watched her cook from afar, trying to analyze her exterior. She's in her pajamas still, a tank top and soft shorts that end above her knees. I saw a couple scars peeking out of the tank top, a specifically thick one reaching the nape of her neck. She couldn't have possibly gotten that recently, it would've healed. Did she get that prior to her transformation? If so, why? Was she a criminal even before she was a vampire? Ugh, I wish I could squeeze the answers out of her. But unfortunately for me, I haven't practiced animo magic. Mind magic, that allows witches to see into others brains, alter memories, even control others. It's too complicated for me to understand.

"You gonna sit there all day or eat?" She waved her hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my daze. I turned and saw spaghetti with garlic bread on the table, making my stomach rumble despite not being that hungry. "Oh sorry. So, do I get my fact for the day?" I sat down and she sat in front of me, sinking her teeth into a blood bag. Turns out, they sell it on the black market, lucky me I suppose. She looked pensive, probably thinking of another small, insignificant fact to throw at me. "Hm. Well, here's something completely new. I can smell if people are good or bad." She finished the rest of her blood bag and watched me closely, watching my reaction.

"I'm sorry, you can- what?" I smiled, positive I'd heard her wrong. "I can smell good and bad people. Like, good aromas surrounding people mean that person is good. While foul aromas that cling to people mean they're bad." My smile never faltered, mostly out of... shock? Confusion? Fascination? I don't even know. "Can you prove this?" She just shrugged, grinning at my reaction. "I can smell that you're good, if that makes you feel better. I think that's why I'm relaxed around you, because I know you wouldn't hurt me unless provoked. But that guy? He smells like hell in a garbage can, it makes my nostrils hurt." She growled, and I just looked at her weird. Is this true? Can she smell such an abstract thing from people?

"Well, I told my fact for the day. I'm gonna go shower. Are we doing something today?" She stood up and stretched, looking down at me now. "My boss is most likely still working. Dress well, I'm going to invite her for dinner at a nice, fancy restaurant and convince her to hire you." She pouted a little, putting her hands to her hips and leaning on one leg. "But that means I'll have to work under you. I don't know if my pride can take it." She dramatically placed her hand on her forehead, brushing back her dark strands. I just giggled, rolling my eyes a bit. "Yeah well, what matters is keeping up the illusion. This is a confidential matter, no one can know you're here." I hoped she wouldn't question it.

She thankfully didn't and left to shower, while I cleaned up the dirty plates. I then called my boss and surprisingly, she was all for the interview. I decided to wear a cute white floral dress with knee high boots and a fur coat. The middle of December was not holding back on the cold, it's starting to reach the 50 degrees! While here, I'd bought a pretty decent wardrobe for Fiona. And with that, she knocked on my room and I opened the door wide for her. She decided on a white button down tucked into slacks, ankle high black combat boots, suspenders that hung on her legs, and a dark gray blazer. "I was thinking a vest would look better, but I don't have one.." She trailed off towards the end, asking an invisible question. "Unfortunately, I'm not big on vests so I don't own any. But you look great like that, so just keep it like that."