“I wouldn’t feel even the tiniest bit of guilt.”
“Well, I would.” And I would. Yeah, I’m mad and I hate them, but I wouldn’t want to kill them. “Promise me you won’t kill them.”
“Fuck no.” Brendan laughs.
“I’m serious.”
“Fine. I promiseIwon’t kill them.” Something about that isn’t sitting right. Would he hire somebody? “You hungry? How about I fry up some bacon and eggs?”
“That sounds good.” There’s no way he could hire someone to kill them, right?
He moves to stand, and then he notices S’mores. “Where’d you get her?”
“A friend?”
Brendan gives me an assessing look before tugging on S’mores’s ear and going into the house. “Okay.”
I grab her and follow Brendan. There’s no way I’m staying outside now.
“Other than the nightmare, were you okay home alone?”
He puts some strawberries on a cutting board, and he hands me a knife so I slice them up.
“I was nervous when you first left, and I didn’t want to electrocute myself, so I got the package and went out where I fell asleep. Otherwise, I was okay?”
“Electrocute?”
“Tasers don’t belong in the shower,” I say sternly, and Brendan laughs.
“What was in the package?” I hold up S’mores, and Brendan frowns. “Do you really know who she’s from or is it some kind of crazy internet stalker thing? Cause I’ve seen your socials recently, and I’m glad you stopped looking.”
“I know who she’s from,” I reassure him.
“Okay. Who?”
“I already told you, a friend.”
“Vera?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Jesus Bren, I have more than one friend.” I’m offended.
“Sorry.” He ruffles my hair.
“What’s your schedule like today?”
“I need to head downtown and check on a patient.”
“Can we stop and see Vera?”
“Or you can go see her yourself.”
“I’m not ready. Not after that dream.”
He nods and puts some scrambled eggs on my plate. “Let’s eat, and then we’ll get ready to go.”
