Chapter 14 #2
“But you saw him even after that.” There was a line that Carol hadn’t wanted to cross before, but now she was about to leap over it blindly and damn the consequences. “His shirt is upstairs. I saw it with my own eyes. I’d say he was more than just a customer here.”
Lorelei’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Just how the hell do you know that? Have you been in my apartment?”
“My apartment, actually,” Carol reminded her. “It’s my name on the lease, and I was being nice enough to let you stay there. So maybe now you’d like to tell me what really happened.”
She ran a hand casually through her hair. “You know, it really isn’t any of your business what I do with my personal life.”
At another time, Carol might have agreed with her. Not now. “Oh, I think it is. You’re not just having random flings. This isn’t just you being young and stupid, is it?” She was stronger now. The shock and disbelief had faded, and the anger flooded her body. Carol took a step toward Lorelei.
She held her ground and lifted her chin. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No?” Carol took another step, furious because she knew she was right.
It was all laid out for her, but she’d refused to see the reality of it.
She hadn’t wanted to, but now she couldn’t avoid it.
“What about Toby, the one from Sumner Heating and Air? Why did he leave his keys up there? That seems like the sort of thing a person would need.”
Lorelei’s hands balled into fists. A shimmer of iridescence passed over her skin, making Carol blink. What the hell was that? Maybe she forgot to take her blood pressure meds.
“Stay the fuck out of my space,” Lorelei hissed. “Whatever you want to think about how our arrangement works, you have no right to go through my things.”
“I didn’t need to when you left them all sitting right out where they could be seen,” Carol pointed out.
“And it wouldn’t be a problem for you at all if you didn’t have something to hide.
Toby is Wendy’s brother, you know. She was concerned about him and the way he was obsessing over you.
I demand you tell me what you know about Nick and Toby.
For that matter, you’d better spill the whole thing.
What are you doing here? Why are you staying?
And what really happened the night of the fire? ”
She hadn’t even meant to say that last part. It wasn’t until it came out that Carol realized she was questioning the events of that evening. Maybe she wouldn’t have questioned them at all if everything else about Lorelei hadn’t been so suspicious.
“I don’t owe you any explanations,” Lorelei snapped. She whirled away from Carol, heading toward the kitchen and probably the back door.
“I think you do.” Carol dared to reach out and grab her arm, just enough to turn her back around.
And when she faced her, tears trailed from Lorelei’s eyes.
“C’mon, Carol. You know how tough it is to be a woman in the world.
Men are so horrible, so manipulative. It’s just like those men who tied me up and tried to burn me alive, and for what?
They don’t need a reason, but everyone wants to blame me for it, like I did something wrong by being a victim.
I thought everyone would be a little more understanding in this day and age, but I guess not. ”
Carol’s heart was already hardened against her, and she didn’t buy the crocodile tears. “You can knock off that tired old act. So you were jilted. Some men suck. We all know that. It doesn’t mean you can use it as an excuse.”
“But I—”
“No,” Carol insisted. “Anyone else who’d gone through that would be spending most of the day huddled in a corner, especially if any strange men came around. You’re doing the opposite: running straight toward anything with three legs like they’re on sale during double coupon day.”
“Listen, lady.” Lorelei lurched toward her. Something shimmered just under her skin once again. “You don’t know what you’re getting into. You want to be all nice and lovey-dovey and act like everyone should get along, but sometimes, the world just isn’t that way. Okay?”
How dare this girl try to tell Carol what the world was like!
“This isn’t exactly my first rodeo. I’m nice to people because I choose to be, often whether they deserve it or not.
You can’t control the world, but you can control your own life.
If you don’t like it, then you can fuck off.
But first, you’re going to tell me what’s really going on. ”
Barney charged in from the kitchen, shoving his little body against the swinging door. He skittered a wide circle around Lorelei and came around to stand next to Carol. He let out one firm bark, backing her up.
Lorelei shot a look of disgust at Barney before her eyes flicked back to Carol. “I’m warning you.”
“You don’t scare me.” She meant it. There was uncertainty within her, but definitely not fear.
She’d been through too much shit in her life to be afraid of an impetuous young woman who thought she could use others to her own advantage, whatever that advantage may be.
“Lorelei, I did everything I could to save you from that fire. I put a roof over your head and gave you a place to work on your music without concern about getting chased off street corners. I made sure you were slated to play during the Plaza Party. Most of all, I’ve defended you against other people in this town, people who I respect and admire, people who weren’t so sure about you.
If I’ve done all of that, then at the very least, you can tell me what the hell is going on!
” Her voice rose a bit with each sentence as the exasperation built within her.
Carol was at the absolute end of her rope.
“Fine.” Lorelei lowered her chin, but she kept her eyes steadily on Carol. “Just remember that I warned you. I did my best to spare you because you were kind to me. Just like everyone else, though, you turned on me. I don’t forget things like that, Carol.”
Lorelei rolled her shoulders backward, and two huge wings burst from her shoulder blades. One of them smacked into a small chalkboard on the wall and sent it crashing to the ground.
Carol backed up, but the counter was behind her. She bumped against it, her eyes transfixed by the scene before her. She gaped, looking for a scream or words or something, but nothing emerged from her throat.
Barney barked incessantly.
Lorelei spread her arms and her skin rippled.
This wasn’t just a trick of the light this time.
It shivered as if something was trying to get out from underneath it.
Suddenly, thousands of shimmering scales burst out of her skin.
Her nails twisted into long, thick talons.
The blue of her eyes deepened and spread until there was no white left, only the cerulean of the sea.
She opened her mouth, showcasing a row of long, thin fangs.
This was no longer Lorelei who stood in the bakery, but some terrifying amalgamation of a bird, something aquatic, and a trace of the human Carol had come to know.
Filling her lungs, Lorelei emitted a scream that shattered the air.
The high-pitched shriek echoed in Carol’s skull and rippled through her blood.
It was as thick as water in the air around her, and Carol felt it could drown her just as easily.
The sound made her weak, but she knew she had to get away.
Summoning the last bit of energy she could find within her, Carol snagged Barney’s collar and tried to get around the counter.
Her muscles were heavy as concrete. She’d have a chance if she could just get to the door, but it was so far away.
It was a nightmare, the kind where you couldn’t run, and it was happening in real life.
Her enemy knew it. Lorelei’s face was completely transformed now.
This creature wasn’t the girl that Carol had tried to help.
Its brilliant blue eyes were focused on her, and it stepped forward on long legs.
Its head tipped to the side and it blinked, like a bird studying its prey, but its mouth stretched in a hideous grin.
It knew just as Carol did that she couldn’t get away.
Even Barney had finally ceased his barking. He shivered at Carol’s side, fearful but resolute to protect the human he loved so much.
The creature stretched its fingers, flexing its talons, and leaped forward.
Its wings spread, but it landed on Carol with the full force of its weight.
The two of them hurtled backward over the counter.
The tile floor slammed into Carol’s back, and the supplies next to the cash register rained down around them.
Its talons dug into her shoulders, piercing and crushing.
Carol felt stabs of agony moving through her body, but she couldn’t even moan.
All the air had left her lungs. She looked up into the face of the monster that held her down, shuddering at the feel of the clammy skin against hers.
She realized this was the last thing those other men saw.
With the shock of clarity that came with facing her own death, Carol knew exactly what Lorelei had done to Nick and Toby and possibly others.
She understood that the young singer wasn’t the victim.
She was the attacker, and she wasn’t going to stop.
Carol was going to die. She couldn’t change that, but she damn sure wasn’t going to go out as a helpless victim.
She swept her hand through the debris that surrounded them, and her fingers closed on a ballpoint pen.
With every ounce of energy she could summon, Carol buried it in the monster’s eye.
It stabbed deep into the azure sphere, sending a gush of blood spilling down Carol’s wrist. It wouldn’t save her, but it was still worth it.