The Body #3: Rogue and Euphemia

Chapter 25 (Rogue): I Could Live With It

***TW for reference to violent death and gun threats***

I was working at the office -- the real one, not the one we went to when we had to cause physical harm to someone -- when my phone rang. Euphemia. Every time I saw her name light up my phone, something inside me lit up as well.

"How's my lady?" I asked her when I answered.

"Good!" she said. "Listen, I know you wanted to talk tonight about something, but could we put that on the backburner for a bit? Temporarily? I just got off the phone with Dayton and she asked if she and her man could come over to see both of us tonight."

There was a certain giddiness in Effie's voice that she explained in her next sentence. 

"I don't know why, Rogue, she didn't say anything specifically, but I think she has some big news. Like, sparkly diamond kind of big news!"

"Not a problem," I said easily. "What we need to talk about can wait, and I'm looking forward to seeing Dayton."

I hadn't seen Dayton since I'd gone over to her place to break the news about Bat to her. I'd kept to very high-level details, figuring if she wanted specifics, I could give a bit more if pressed. When I'd headed over to Dayton's, I'd gone over by myself because I didn't want Effie to have to hear it or relive it at all.

"I just wanted to let you know before you heard it through the grapevine that Bat's dead. He had an accident."

With a gun shot to the face. Potato, po-tah-to.

"Hold on before you say anymore," Dayton said, holding up a hand to me. "I'm trying to summon a fuck to give." 

After a minute, she shook her head. 

"Nope. Not even one to spare on that fucker, Rogue. I'm good with what you told me, recognizing that, just like an iceberg, you've only told me the tip of the story and there's a whole lot more to it buried beneath the water."

Well, that had gone better than expected.

"You sure you're OK, Dayton?" I asked her, needing to make absolutely sure. 

"I know what you're getting at Rogue, and yeah, he and I had a thing for a while, we had some really good times, but he kind of killed all those warm fuzzy feelings when he pressed a gun to my head, threatened to kill me and then fucked a club whore right next to me after he told me to pack my shit and get out. So, no, I have to say it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy."

"OK, Dayton, but if you ever need to talk..."

"I won't, Rogue. I appreciate you coming to tell me, but when I say that man was in my rearview, I mean he was so far in my past that he wasn't even a speck in the mirror. And I won't be talking about it to anyone ever again because I simply don't care. Maybe it's wrong of me to not give a damn, but I feel like the world's a little safer now that the psycho's suffered a fatal accident. Do you want some more coffee?"

I'd told Effie only that I'd broken the news about Bat to Dayton, she was fine with it and didn't want to discuss it. Euphemia had seemed relieved that it wasn't anything she'd need to talk about with Dayton, and the two of them, as far as I knew, never discussed the matter.

Now, I was over at Effie's who was buzzing around her kitchen in excitement. Tonight she was making spicy beef taco bowls, Mexican fiesta rice and cheesy black bean quesadillas.

"How many people are coming over tonight?" I teased her. "Because you have enough to feed twenty."

"Well, I don't know what he eats, so I had to have some options," she said, handing me the napkins and silverware to put on the table. Everything was ready to Effie's satisfaction when the doorbell rang ten minutes later and she flew to the door.