“If I have to.”
“You’re such a bitch, Eliana,” Bea snapped. “Thinking you know everything. You don’t knowanything. You’re sheltered. You don’t know what it takes to survive. You think your life is so perfect, but you don’t even know what your own husband is doing when you’re away.”
Eliana held up a hand and began counting fingers, enjoying the fresh shock that settled on Bea’s face with every finger she flicked up. “Lying, scheming, stealing, fucking the whore next door.” She paused, glancing at Clem. “Am I forgetting anything?”
“Nope,” Clem said, popping thep. “And it sounds like her ride is just on time.”
They all paused, listening as the sound of distant sirens began to draw closer.
“You called thepolice?” Bea screeched, her gaze jumping towards the still-empty street, weighing her options. Eliana could see the moment she made her choice, and yet, she had no time to stop her before Bea turned on the spot and jerked the closest frame out of the bee box she’d been smoking.
Even Eliana, with her rudimentary knowledge on the topic, knew there was no worse course of action. The darkness, the minimal smoke, the roughness, the speed—it was the perfect maelstrom of everything one wasnotsupposed to do when handling bees. There was no saving this situation. Eliana simply laid a hand upon Clem’s shoulder and nudged her back, further from the line of fire as the bees began pouring out in a righteous rage, falling upon Bea as she swung the box she’d brought, screaming into the dark.
“Stop, drop, and roll!” Clem called cheerfully.
“I think that’s for fires,” Eliana whispered.
“Oh.” Clem shrugged. “Whoops.”
Bea turned, tripping over the box she’d dropped. She lost her head covering in the fall, but had no time to search. Instead, she made a run for it, streaking into the street and sprinting past her car as she whipped her arms about her head. It didn’t appear that the bees had even followed her beyond the yard, but she continued running and screaming in a full panic, even after the first police car pulled onto the street, swerving to a stop to avoid running her down. The policeman leapt out of the car, shouting at her to lie down. To calm down.
Instead, she turned and ran in the opposite direction. Still screaming. Still waving.
Eliana watched as the man drew his taser and began his pursuit. They crossed back in front of the house just as Clem cheerfully pulled out her phone to begin recording.
The policeman yelled again for Bea to stop. He warned her twice. And then he pulled the trigger, and Bea hit the ground, skidding chin-first.
“Ass-kicking it is!” Clem cheered, cackling as the man landed on Bea’s back, slapping cuffs on her wrists. More police cars arrived, screeching to a stop around the scene—all of which Clem made sure to record for posterity. They dragged Bea to her feet, and Clem zoomed in gleefully on Bea’s face, picking up all the sting markers in high definition. “Nowthatis beautiful.”
29
THANKSGIVING
Bee-utiful takedown.
What I would PAY to watch that video.
That was glorious.
The turkey was burning. Eliana could smell it wafting down the hall as she hurried to throw her dress on.
She cracked the door open to shout, “Can somebody please check the turkey!”
The chaotic sounds of all the moving bodies in her house were all that answered. Abby, Zoey, Jesse, and Clem were all running around somewhere. Her parents would arrive at any moment, and Milo was planning to join them as well. She’d invited Jesse’s parents, but as was usual—they’d opted to decline.
The smell of charred meat was steadily growing stronger, so Eliana grabbed a butterfly clip to secure herhair and hurried down the hall, zipping up her dress as she went. She could hear the girls bickering in their bedroom, their voices rising, but she didn’t have time to stop and mediate. Then Jesse opened the side door, holding a ladder, and Eliana drew to a stop, momentarily forgetting the turkey crisis.
“Wh–What are you doing?” She asked, dumbfounded.
“Cleaning the gutters!” Jesse answered with a proud smile on his face.
“ . . . Why?”
His smile drooped as he clocked her expression. “Uh . . . we had guests coming, and you said we needed to get the house ready?”
“Did you not hear—you know what? Never mind,“ Eliana shook her head and then continued down the hall. She didn’t have time to deal with whatever side quest he’d concocted. She wasalmostto the kitchen when the doorbell rang.
“Can someonepleasecheck the turkey!” She shouted towards the kitchen, hoping Clem was within hearing distance. Until she opened the door and found Clem on the other side, standing right between her parents, her arms laden with tin-foil wrapped dishes.
