#FreakshowFriday

Chapter 2: Gutter Dog

August 27, 2023

Stella Carrera lives in West Morales, some twenty minutes from Jamie's place. By the time Nathan parks his car in front of Stella's house, it's around six A.M., still dark outside and way earlier than what most people would consider an acceptable time to visit their sibling. But Jamie simply tends to be on a different page than most people. In a whole different library, in fact.

An extradimensional library.

"Again, thanks for coming with me tonight, Nate, and for bringing me here." Jamie unbuckles her seat belt. Pauses. Frowns. "Shit, I can't offer you anything to drink now. I was going to, but..."

"It's fine." Nathan shrugs. "I'll live. We'll just have drinks some other time."

Jamie doesn't look convinced, mulling over this proposal for a few seconds before she lights up, an idea apparently dawning on her. "You still have a couple hours before your shift starts, right? So why don't you come inside with me? I'm sure Stella has coffee or tea or anything else we'd like to have."

Nathan does have time, but...

"You're inviting me into someone else's house for coffee. At six on a Sunday morning."

It's Jamie's turn to shrug. "Stella still owes me like thousands of dollars, so I reckon I can visit whenever I want, with whoever I want."

Oh, what the hell. She has a point and Stella deserves it. Anyone callous enough to try and swindle their younger sister out of their hard-earned money can't count on much sympathy from Nathan. On top of that, he doesn't have anything better to do, he's thirsty and he wants to see how this goes down. How will Stella react to their arrival and what even is it that's so important she wanted to talk to Jamie in person?

Nathan knows all of this is technically none of his business, but he can't deny his inner gossip girl wants all the juicy details. So if Jamie's serious about this, he's in.

"Alright," he says, unbuckling his own seat belt. "I think I still have an hour to spare."

"Awesome!" Jamie looks very pleased with this development as they make their way to Stella's modest suburban home together. She rings the doorbell, the sound so grating in Nathan's ears that, for a second there, he almost does feel sorry for Stella.

Almost.

They wait; the door in front of them doesn't budge. They stand there staring at it for two minutes at the very least and Nathan wonders if Stella managed to sleep through that horrid noise or if she's just ignoring her visitors, stubbornly staying in bed while willing them to leave. But then, just when Nathan's beginning to think this was a waste of time, the door swings open.

Nathan has met Stella Carrera only once, at Jamie's twenty-fourth birthday party a month and a half ago; he doesn't like parties much, but had stopped by briefly because he knew Jamie would appreciate it and made the woman's acquaintance there. Their conversation had been short, unremarkable, and, overall, a little like pulling teeth.

If Stella's looks now are anything to go by, any conversation they'll be having today won't be all that different.

The woman stands in her doorway in a haze of sleepy confusion she hasn't entirely shaken off yet, sporting an impressive just rolled out of bed look. Her long, dark brown hair is a tangled mess and the old sweatpants and t-shirt she's wearing seem hastily slipped into more than anything. Crossing her arms, she gives off exasperation in waves. Nathan almost feels a little intimidated, but that's also in part because he remembers Stella makes a living as a pathologist's assistant, and anyone who can perform an autopsy, in his humble opinion, is a little scary.