Page 93 of Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal
My expression turns to irritation. “Who the fuck was it, Storee?”
She clicks around, saying, “No, nope, not them.” And then finally she clicks on my name and starts laughing. “Oh, I typed it up to you and just didn’t press Send. Isn’t that funny?”
I stare at her, sweat now pooling in my armpits from the stressful emotional roller coaster she just sent me on. “Yeah, fucking hysterical.”
“Well, anyway, take a gander at that, and let me know if you have any questions.” She twiddles her fingers at me. “See you later.”
When she shuts the door, I drag my hand down my face and then lean against the wood. I should have picked someone else to help me. I really should have.
“I’m dreaming... of a white... Christmas,” I sing as I tap my foot, waiting for a text from Storee.
God, this is boring.
I’m too afraid to move, too afraid to touch anything, too afraid to not be ready since I’ve been catatonic ever since she left, and I fear I might lose my mind soon.
If only Cole were here.
If only he knew.
If only?—
Beep.
I nearly jump out of my pants as I retrieve my phone and look at the text from Storee.
Storee:The package has been secured.
I stare down at the text.
We didn’t talk about a text about a package being secured. Does that mean she and Betty are on their way?
I scroll through the script, looking for any indication that there will be a package secured, but when I come up short, panic starts to set in.
Was that supposed to be the emoji text?
She made it quite clear that it would be an emoji. That she wouldn’t say anything, but she’d just send a random emoji, which was when I needed to turn everything on.
So is thepackage securedthe new emoji?
Should I flip the switch?
This is why we should have done another run-through, because now I’m panicking.
I don’t know what to do.
Now—
Knock, knock.
I whip around to look at the front door.
She’s here?
Holy fuck, she’s here.
What?
There was no emoji!
