She looks at me with a hint of something in her eyes. I wish I knew what it was.
Not too much later, we’re pulling into Tanya’s driveway.
It gets a little easier to walk into Tanya’s house every time. It doesn’t feel so much like I’m trespassing, more like I’m house-sitting. I only sometimes have to remind myself that she’s not coming back to take over the job.
Taking a deep breath, I look to Dani for direction. “Okay, so did you have a thought about what our clue means?”
“Yes.” She holds her chin up high. “Well, kinda.”
I wince. “You had me in the first half.”
“No, no, hear me out. I was thinking that Tanya isn’t from here. She was born and raised in South Carolina, so what if the home she’s talking about isn’t this one?”
I always forget about South Carolina being Tanya’s home state. She never talked about her childhood much. Any stories she shared about her parents always seemed as if they existed in a vacuum, removed from any one place.
“That makes sense. So, what are we doing here?”
“Well, we don’t know where she lived in South Carolina. I think it was somewhere close to Columbia, but I’m not sure. And we know Victor’s ass ain’t gonna help. So, there’s gotta be something here that’s gonna lead us to that home.”
I nod in understanding. “Okay, then. I’ll take downstairs, you take upstairs?”
I don’t want to admit defeat, but at a certain point Victor has to take pity and give us something, right?
The urge to put us out of our misery and call him grows stronger with every minute, but I won’t do it. I can hear Tanya in the back of my mind giving me shit for giving up.“That kind of attitude is why you could never beat me at chess.”
I need some air. I step outside, letting the brisk breeze bite my bare arms. If not somewhere in this house, where is Tanya trying to lead us? The note from Daria’s champagne bottle said,You can always go home.Is home referring to a person rather than a place? An odd sensation prickles my feet, catching my attention. When I look down, I realize I haven’t put my shoes back on before stepping out here. The welcome mat scratches the pads of my feet through my socks.
Welcome mat.
The fucking mat literally says “Welcome home.” It never crossed my mind to check. I’m both relieved and irritated when I lift the mat and find a storage locker key.
I race back inside to show Dani what I found, and she finds a receipt for a storage unit at a place close to the house.
“One eighteen, here it is,” Dani yells as we pull up to the outside unit with the number that matches our key. “I’m telling you right now, if this isn’t the right place, I’m beating Victor’s ass.”
Her words make me choke on air. “Now, why are you threatening that man?” I ask once I’m able to stop coughing.
“Well, I can’t beat Tanya’s ass, now can I?” She slaps the back of her hand. “But she’ll get it too whenever I arrive to the upper room.” She looks up to the sky as if daring Tanya to do something about it.
“You keep playing. Me and Daria tried to tell you that lady was strong.”
She balks at me. “And see? Now whenever I get up there, I gotta body-slam her all because you talk too much.” She looks up to the sky again. “I’m sorry in advance, Tanya.”
“Don’t come crying to my corner of heaven when she knocks your soul back down to your body and you gotta float all the way back up again,” I say with my hands up.
Her eyes fall into tiny slits. I can’t lie, it’s adorable. “Get out of the car, Micah.”
“As you wish, Storm.” I take a sick pleasure from seeing how the nickname riles her up, but the name is so fitting. Dani is an alluring thunderstorm. She’s indestructible and fragile at the same time, and the contradiction of that creates this electricity she can’t control. I’m willing to let that storm consume me.
I join her at the door to the unit and slide the key in the lock. We each let out a tiny breath when we hear the unmistakable click.
“Victor’s ass lives to see another day,” Dani murmurs.
“Tanya’s is still in danger?” I needle.
“It will be if you keep running your mouth.”
I once again zip my lips shut, but before I can throw out the imaginary key, she pretends to snatch it from my hands and trample it with her foot. Message received. I try not to smile as I pull up to the unit’s gate.
