I heard a cupboard creak as it closed downstairs and jolted awake, and then sighed when I remembered the guest downstairs. Rubbing my eyes with a hand, I mentally chided myself for not having made dinner and left it somewhere visible for Riley, she was probably hungry.
Squinting at my clock it showed 3:02 am. Running the math in my head, that was about when the pain medication would have worn off.
I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and stretched, letting out a yawn, slipping on a sweater from the foot of my bed and grabbing my glasses from the nightstand.
My laptop was closed across the room, earlier no useful information had come up about Riley, not enough information to find her anywhere. But her name hadn't been anywhere in the town's records as a resident, which made me wonder why she was here, was she visiting? I wouldn't know until I knew more about her.
Scurvy, who'd been sleeping at the foot of my bed yawned, raised his head to look at me and then stood and stretched to follow me wherever I was off to.
As I approached the steps I heard loud chewing, and was a little grossed out, but that was nothing compared to the scene I came across when I reached the bottom of the stairs and locked eyes with a frozen Riley. Her outline was barely visible in the dark of the kitchen holding pieces of raw beef in her hands and juice rolling down her chin and covering her hands. Her eyes were big and reflective in the dark but she had her gaze locked on me.
The way she was haunched over the cutting board of meat chunk looked wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It just looked so animalistic.
A moment of awkward silence while we stared at each other in the dark, and then Riley swallowed and blinked.
"Sorry for uh, raiding your fridge" she said as she put down a chunk of meat.
"Are you eating raw beef chunks" I asked, deadpan.
Riley looked down at the cutting board and then back up at me "I, um-"
"You're gonna get so sick from that" I paused "I have so many questions as to why, did anyone ever teach you to cook meat before you eat it"
"I won't get sick from it" she said, certain, and shoved another piece into her mouth.
My stomach turned, "How can you be so certain"
"My stomach acidity is much higher than yours" she said, speaking with her mouth full.
"Wouldn't you just have heartburn constantly?" I stepped into the kitchen and leaned back against the counter. Scurvy who'd been quiet until now, I noticed scampered over to Riley and sat in front of her patiently, tail waging and unwavering attention on what she was eating.
"Not if my stomach was adapted to it correctly" she said chewing on another piece. She paused and looked over at Scurvy beside her, and then waved me off "It's a medical condition, mutation or something, like lactose intolerance."
I looked at her, mystified and immensely grossed out.
