Page 24 of Never After Us
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
I rub my forehead.“I never said?—”
“You implied it,” she counters.
I look at Mara.“This is your doing.”
She puts a hand on her hip.“Don’t look at me like that.She’s eight going on forty.”
“Eight going on interrogation officer,” I mutter.
Mila writes something down.
“What are you writing?”I ask.
“Notes,” she responds.“I’m solving you.”
“Please don’t.”
Mara snorts, her eyes lighting again.“Let’s go, Mila.I think he’s had enough for one morning.”
Mila laughs and goes to her mom.There really should be a law against this level of morning joy.
“Well,” Mara says cheerfully, “enjoy your tea.”
“I won’t.”
“You will,” she insists, already backing away toward her open door.
Mila waves.“Bye, Mr.Neighbor.I’ll write a list of follow-up questions for later.”
“No—”
The door closes in my face.
I stand there holding chamomile-lavender tea like an idiot.
Not in silence—in horror.In a faint, unwelcome warmth I refuse to identify.
Then I do the only thing I can do: I drink the fucking tea.
And my chakras, or whatever the hell is inside me, do actually feel ...something.
I’m halfway to pretending none of that just happened when the elevator dings.
The doors glide open, and two movers step out, pushing a mountain of boxes.One holds a clipboard.
“Excuse me,” he says, scanning the hallway.“We’re looking for a Mara O’Shea.Got her delivery.”
I blink.
O’Shea?The last name sounds faintly familiar, but I’m more concerned about all these boxes coming in.What the fuck?That’s more stuff than anyone would use in an entire year.
I look at the closed door across from mine—the one the She-Devil just disappeared into.
The universe doesn’t hate me.
It’s targeting me personally.She’s going to stay here forever if I don’t do something soon.
