Deadly Nightmares (The Last Guardian, Book One)

TWENTY

Warning: Mature language, mention of murder, mention of ghosts and horror stuff. 

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One week later

"Okay, baby girls," Carissa said, flopping down on the couch, her navy blue hair, which had been cut to her neck, framing her face prettily. "I have news." 

A bunch of expletives followed a loud horn in a very Scottish accent. 

"Uh, Ellie, you alright?" Carissa asked Aurelia. 

"Aye, I'm alright, there was just some idiot who cannae follow basic traffic rules," she replied. 

"I have news, too," Nainika said, leaning back on the couch while stretching her arms out. "But, you go first."

Carissa cleared her throat. "You remember that guy who was here a week ago on that day?" 

Tamara tilted her head to the side curiously. "Which one? There were three." 

"Uh, well, one is your man, so not him, and the other was your brother. So the one who was left." 

"Prescott," Tamara stated. 

"Yeah, him. So, he's hired me on a big job," she explained. "And I might have to go back to my hometown."

Nainika and I stared at her as silence filled the room, save for the noise of traffic on Aurelia's side. 

"You sure you wanna do this?" Nainika asked, concern lacing her bold voice. "I don't know what had happened, but I can guess it was bad." 

"I'll be fine," she said dismissively, batting a hand. "It was all years ago." 

I gave Nainika an unconvinced glance, got one in return, before curses rained on Aurelia's side again. 

"What happened now?" Tamara asked. 

"I've gotten a letter," she replied, a tinge of disbelief lacing her voice. "I... have gotten a letter."

"So? It must be like bills or something." 

"No, no, the bills are on a different name," she explained. "My neighbors think I'm a distant relative of the guy I killed." 

That made everyone shut up for a few seconds as there were noises on the other side, probably Aurelia tearing into that letter to get to its content like the impatient heathen she was. 

Everyone exploded into questions about that casual comment and they could hear her surprise when she aggressively started shushing her. 

"Hell's bells, haud yer wheeshts, why are you yelling?" she asked. 

"You just said you're impersonating the relative of a person you murdered," Tamara hissed as the other two nodded. 

"Aye. So?" 

"Uh, you don't think something's weird with that statement?" Nainika asked. 

"The man killed too many people and made my life hell. See, your pretty movie stars act in movies which depict that revenge is pointless and it's not worth it and all that, but my situation was so different that I felt fucking glorious when I killed the guy. But, after all, I was born as a poor abandoned orphan and I wasn't just going to walk away after that. Life has taught me some skills and I am not going to let it go to waste." 

"Oh. It's a personal vendetta," Carissa concluded. 

If Tamara had learned anything about Aurelia over the past months, she knew that if she had a grudge, someone had wronged her in the worst way imaginable. For all the casual and uncaring attitude she had, she was kinder than most, and did not get angry unnecessarily.