Chapter 13
1894 Words
13
Morning arrived and Sam found herself lured to the kitchen by the promising aroma of a deep, dark roast. She hoped it was Melissa, but feared it would be her newest acquaintance, who didn’t seem to understand the purpose of locks, privacy, or personal space.
She stepped through the arch and nodded to herself as she recognised the slender figure seated at the kitchen island.
“Goodmorning, Lilith,” she said sarcastically. “I see you made yourself at home. Again.”
The Nox woman shot her a wide smile, one so dazzling Samantha almost forgot how intrusive her behaviour was. Almost.
With a sigh, she pulled her favourite porcelain cup from the mug tree and snapped it under the coffee machine. While it gurgled and steamed, she turned back to Lilith. “What do you want this time?”
“Are you always this crabby in the morning?”
“I am when someone interrupts my routine,” she sneered back, but the other woman seemed oblivious to her annoyance. Or if she knew, she chose to ignore it.
“Routine is overrated,” Lilith argued. “It also makes you easier to kill, so there’s that.”
“What?” Sam inhaled the comforting smell of her cup of coffee, trying to calm herself down. She was quickly getting enough of Lilith’s ridiculousness.
“A set routine makes it easier for stalkers to ambush you,” Lilith said casually, as if the most normal thing to worry about. “But that might be a lesson for another time, we have a busy day ahead. Let’s go, chop-chop.”
“I’m still drinking my coffee.”
“Ah! That’s why I got you… This.” The other woman grabbed hold of the plastic bag next to her and conjured a metal travel mug from it. “I got it with a green sleeve, your favourite colour.”
Sam glared at her. “How do you know my favourite colour?”
“Just an observation. Here, take it.”
Reluctantly, Sam had no choice but to accept the gift. She had to admit, it was more or less thoughtful, especially since it did come in the right colour, but it was weird… She didn’t know this woman nearly enough for her to be buying her presents.
She examined the mug, spotting the logo on the bottom. “This is an L’Owl!”
“Is it?”
“It is.” Sam’s jaw clicked nervously. She knew how expensive that particular brand of kitchenware was. She had a frying pan that she’d owned for ten years now and it was still good as new. Even with her income and her inheritance, L’Owl was still far out of her price range.
She pushed the mug back across the kitchen island. “I can’t accept this, it’s too much.”
“Oh, it’s not a gift for you, it’s for me,” Lilith explained. “I want to get going and you’re slow. So do me a favour, put your coffee in the mug and let’s go. Chop—“
“Chop,” Sam finished her sentence. “I really wish you would stop saying that.”
“Why?”
“It’s condescending.”
“Hmmm… I don’t see how.” Lilith tapped her chin and shrugged. “No, I can’t see any reason to stop.”
Incorrigible.
Sam shook her head in dismissal. She couldn’t be bothered to argue with someone that clearly wasn’t used to changing her mind. Instead, she gave the travel mug a quick rinse and rehomed her steaming coffee. She paid too much for the expensive coffee beans to let another brew go to waste.
With a satisfying squeak, the rubber lip sealed the two parts of the mug together and a quick shake proved it was waterproof. “Neat. Just let me check on my puppy and then we can go.”
“Ooh, Demon Bite. Is she settling in well?”
“I’ve told you before, that’s not her name,” Sam corrected as she walked through the hallway with Lilith following her on the heel. “But yes, she’s fine. She fell asleep on my lap when I got home last night.”
“Adorable. Does she sleep in the bed with you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because her bed is downstairs.” As Sam approached the study, she could hear the excited scratching of tiny paws against the door. A mere crack was enough for the silver hellhound to come barreling out and jump against her legs, barking for attention.
There was nothing like being greeted by the unconditional love of a dog, Sam noted as she crouched down to hug her. “Hello, little girl.”
“Arf!”
“I’m happy to see you too. Did you sleep well?”
“Arf-arf!”
Nothing compared to the undying excitement of her young puppy and Sam wouldn’t want it any other way. She played with the dog’s ears and scratched her stomach until she glowed blue.
“You’re so cute,” she coed, peppering little kisses on top of the hellhound’s head. “You’re so cute. Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”
“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Lilith interjected. “We really need to get going. We don’t want to miss this appointment.”
“What appointment?”
“You’ll see.”
Sam sighed, but picked up her dog anyway. “Fine.”
“Put that thing away and let’s go.”
“She’s not a thing, she’s a living being,” Sam countered. “I mean… She’s alive, right?”
“Yes.” Lilith studied the silver watch around her wrist and sighed dramatically. “We’re going to be late.”
“Yes, yes.”
Regretfully, Samantha returned the puppy back to her study. When she was a little older, she’d be allowed in the rest of the house, but for now, this was the best place for her. Well, when she was a lot older, she could just go out with Sam wherever she went.
She looked forward to that and from the expectant look in the hellhound’s eyes, so did she.
“I’m sorry I have to leave you again. It’s a good thing Hellhounds can take care of themselves. I’ll be back soon, okay?” She pressed a little kiss on top of her head. “You behave.”
“Arf!”
“Good girl.”
Carefully, making sure she didn’t trap any little paws, Samantha closed the door to the study and turned back to Lilith. “There. Let me just grab my coffee from the kitchen and we can go.”
“Fine, but be quick.”
“Bossy.” She hastened to the kitchen to grab her new travel mug and flick off the lights. Now that she was solely responsible for the bills, she should be more mindful of the electricity and gas.
She caught up with Lilith in the hallway and just as she was ready to go, a strangely familiar sound caught her ears. A turning lock.
Her eyes widened. There was only one other person with keys and she would not take kindly to Lilith’s presence.
Panic flew to her chest. “Oh no. Hide, hide.”
“What?”
“That’s Melissa! Hide! In the kitchen,” Sam barked as she pushed Lilith backwards and raced to the entrance, where she managed to catch Melissa at the front door.
Her wife-ex-wife shot her a surprised smile. “You’re up?”
“Yes,” Sam squeaked, crossing her fingers behind her back that Melissa didn’t need to be in the kitchen.
“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
“Hmm? Wake me?” No, Lilith had done that. “No, no, no. I’ve just… Hmmm… New routine, you know?”
Melissa snorted. “New routine? You? You’re more set in your ways than my grandmother.”
“Yes, but... Routine makes it easier to kidnap you.”
“Really?” Her wife laughed, the amusement wrinkling her eyes. “You never cared about that before. You always said that a reliable routine is the best friend you can have.”
She tried to walk further into the house, but Samantha blocked her. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I came to pick up some of my things,” she replied, pushing further into the hallway, dangerously close to the kitchen. If she took a couple more steps, she’d be able to look through the open arch and see Lilith.
“What things?” Sam asked nervously. “I can help.”
“My dressing gown, lotions and crémes, a towel, just a few things. I can’t stay long, I have yoga.”
“Right. They’re all upstairs, in the bedroom.”
Melissa shot her a strange look. “I know where my stuff is, Sam.”
“Of course. Sorry.”
“What’s up with you today? You’re acting weird.”
“Nothing. Must be my new routine.”
“Sure… Anyway… I’m just going to get what I came for.”
Sam pulled her lips into a fake smile. “Of course.”
As soon as Melissa’s back was turned, she shot a sneaky look at the kitchen, reassured that Lilith was behaving and hadn’t come out. She wasn’t sure why she was so worried about the two meeting, especially since she hadn’t done anything wrong, but she’d been with Melissa for so long, it felt like cheating to even look at another woman.
Mostly, she just didn’t want to explain why there was a beautiful woman sat in the kitchen, in the early morning, or how the two of them met. That was a story that couldn't be retold.
Melissa shook her head, her curls dancing as she ascended the stairs. “I have a moving van booked for the end of the week, they’ll pick up the rest. Are you going to be home?”
“The rest?” Sam shouted after her, her voice echoing in the hallway. When Melissa didn’t answer, she just continued to herself. “What rest? Everything in the stupid house is mine.”
“So, what’s up?” Lilith quipped happily, appearing behind Sam.
“Aaah!” Her shriek of surprise didn’t startle the Nox woman, but she could hear Melissa’s approaching footsteps.
“Quick, get back!” she hissed, pushing Lilith into the kitchen just before her ex’s head appeared over the baluster.
“Did you say something?” Melissa called.
“Hmm? No. Just a spider!” Sam’s cheeks burned hot from all the lying, but she didn’t really have another choice.
When she was certain that her ex had returned to pack more of her stuff, she hurried to the kitchen. With the best glare she could muster, she pinned Lilith in the corner. “Stay put, okay? It’s already bad enough that you’re drinking all my coffee, if Melissa sees you—”
“What if she sees me?” Lilith interrupted. “I thought you two were separated?”
“Separating.” Sam wasn’t sure why the distinction between the two was important, but it felt that way to her. “Separating. Last week, she was still my wife and everything was fine, okay?”
“Okay then.” With a little tongue click, Lilith sat back down. “But let me tell you one thing. If you’re separating now, things weren’t fine last week. You just thought they were.”
Ouch. That stung.
Sam pulled a face that spoke volumes and returned to stand guard in the hallway. Maybe Lilith was right, maybe there was no need to make such a big deal about her being here. After all, it was merely business. She just doubted Melissa would believe her and she wasn’t in the mood for a fight.
“Almost done?” she shouted up.
“Yes!” Stumbling and clattering, Melissa appeared with a couple of her handbags and a wheely suitcase they bought on one of their trips.
“You got everything?” Sam asked. She didn’t really care what Melissa took, as long as she left her whisky alone. Most of the money had gone into the house and the expensive furniture anyway.
Melissa nodded. “Yes, I think so.”
“Alright, off you go.”
“You’re mighty eager to get rid of me,” her ex remarked.
“Yes, well…” Sam yawned fakely. “I don’t think this morning routine is my thing.”
“I could’ve told you that.” Melissa patted her pockets and with a last, inquiring look at Sam, she headed towards the front door. “So are you going to be here when the moving van comes or not? I could use your help with packing.”
“When is it again?”
“This Friday. Oh, wait, I wanted to take my casserole dish.”
Before Sam even realised what happened, Melissa swerved past her and dashed straight to the kitchen. She hurried after her, but there was no way to catch her ex before she found Lilith sitting at the kitchen island like she owned the place.
- Writer
