Eating lunch at her desk, she watched freezing rain blur the windows into boring, smudgy grey vistas. Sharp-sounding rain pattered against the windows, which was a nice sound, but she wished it wasn’t winter so she could be outside, eating her cold grilled chicken on Godwin’s bench. She sighed for at least the millionth time that day. The days where they didn’t meet up lately were painful.
It was only Tuesday, they weren’t going to meet up again until tomorrow. What Godwin did do when they didn’t meet up? She missed him, her heart constantly with him when he wasn’t around.
She thought about texting him, but worried she would come off as too clingy. She texted Josh instead.
What’s up?
She ate a few slices of apple while she waited for his response, flipping through the daily news. Instead of Josh’s text, she got one from Olivia. She came in today! She said hi to me! OMJesus!
Seneca chuckled. Ask her on a date, or at least if she’d like to meet up after work sometime. Don’t make it seem like a date if you think she doesn’t like girls.
She got a picture as she was typing and it loaded by the time she hit send. A blurry pictures, taken from across the coffee shop filled her screen, a blond girl with head tucked into a large book. She’s so cute! was the caption.
Laughing to herself, she sent back a smiley face, then returned to her mundane work. Half an hour later she was interrupted by the vibration of her phone on her desk. She checked her message, another from Olivia.
Goddamnit! She’s with a GUY! Do you think they are dating?
Rolling her eyes, she typed in a response. I have no idea. How would I know, I’m not there. Maybe just friends?
Her phone vibrated before she sent her message. Maybe they are just friends?
Smiling, she replied maybe. Go ask her.
Shut up with your words! was Olivia’s immediate response.
Work was actually kind of interesting today and she fell back into it quickly, losing herself to editing a high school American history textbook. The vibration of her phone made her jump, and she looked at her message with half attention, still actively working on her copy.
She had to do a double-take. The third time her heart fell to the floor. It wasn’t from Olivia, as she had expected. It was from Josh. There was no text, just a picture of his motorcycle. A picture of his motorcycle with a plush, blue satin ribbon tied in a neat, obnoxious bow to the handlebar.
Her heart seized up. Chip was a psychopath. She had a restraining order, so now he was after Josh.
She was in the stairwell before she knew it, her phone dialing.
“Hey,” Josh answered after the first ring.
“Oh my god, Josh, what the eff?!” she exclaimed, cringing as her voice echoed through the stairwell.
“It seems that your last boyfriend isn’t really the kind of guy to just move on…” he said half-jokingly.
“It’s not funny, Josh! Where are you? Did you tell Godwin? Oh, geez, don’t tell Godwin. Please tell me you haven’t told him,” she whispered harshly.
“I didn’t, I only sent that text to you. I thought about sending it to Godwin, too, but…I’m not sure how he would deal with it. He is a demon…”
“I know. Josh, don’t ride your bike today. What if he messed with it, cut the brake fluid or something like they do in movies?” she pleaded.
“Seneca, I built this bike with my own hands. I would know if he did something like that. I’ll be fine. Also, it’s freezing rain today, I’m taking the bus. I just came down to cover it up and found the bow. I just…well, I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to see what you thought. Should I call the cops?”
She bit the inside of her cheek. “I dunno…I don’t think they will help you, not until he does something to do you. Then it’s too late. It’s not illegal to be a creep, unfortunately. Are you working today?”
“Yeah, I was heading out soon. He seems to know a lot about me, Seneca. It’s kinda creeping me out. I mean, it’s not like my bike is the only one in this garage…” he said. There was some background noise, as if he were holding the phone with his shoulder against his head.
“Are you still going?”.
He snorted. “Ah, yeah, bills to pay and all that. I’m working til close, I get off at nine,” he said, sounding distracted.
“What’s going on? Is someone there with you?” she asked, her heart pressing uncomfortably close to her throat.
“No, I mean, yeah, but it’s just my neighbor. I’ve gotta go, Seneca.”
“Josh, please, be careful. I think…I am going to tell Godwin, just to have him check it out. Do you want me to wait until after I get out of work? I’ve only got an hour left,” she asked, her mind flying in different directions. How was Chip this crazy? How did she not see it before?
“Okay, do what you think’s best. I’ll be careful, Seneca. I promise, I can handle myself. If anything even seems fishy I’ll call the cops.” He sounded confident, and she wondered if he was putting on a front for her, or if he really wasn’t as worried as she was.
“Okay, sure. Josh, please text me when you get to work, you know, so I know you got there?” she begged.
“I will, Seneca. Gotta go, talk to you soon. Be careful yourself, Seneca,” he said before hanging up.
She nearly called Godwin right there but someone burst into the stairwell as she was poised to hit send. Instead, she tucked her phone away and returned to her desk.
She couldn’t focus. Her mind kept going to all of the horrible things Chip was probably doing right now. He knew where Josh lived. He knew where she lived.
She wondered if he knew anything about Godwin.
A quick Google search on Chip’s name didn’t turn up anything suspicious. It couldn’t have been possible she was the reason he had snapped, she wasn’t that great. But, if it wasn’t her, what had made him snap? She needed to talk to someone about it, it was driving her crazy.
Chip tied a blue ribbon to my friend Josh’s bike. She sent the text to Olivia, forwarding the picture from Josh.
Josh? Olivia replied almost instantly. Who’s that?
You remember, dated him briefly in college? We reconnected recently, Chip must have seen us together. It was agony waiting for her to respond.
I dunno, I guess. You went through men back then. Why’d Chip mess with Josh? Is there something you haven’t told me?
Seneca sighed, drawing a glare from Christian in the cubicle across from her. She smiled apologetically, then made a face at him once he turned back to his work. She couldn’t tell Olivia about her real relationship with Josh. She bit her cheek as she considered how to respond.
Fortunately, Olivia let it go. I guess it doesn’t matter why. He’s cray-cray. You shouldn’t go home alone! Is Godwin picking you up from work?”
Oh god, what if Chip was waiting for her downstairs, or on her train, in her apartment? A restraining order wouldn’t mean anything if he kidnapped or killed her first.
Please tell me you told Godwin! Olivia texted before she responded.
I was going to call him when I left. I’ll get ahold of him now, or if not, I’ll call Kennedy. I won’t go home alone. I’m scared…
Olivia’s next text reminded her of why they had been friends for so long, and probably would be forever. I’m scared, too, Seneca. I love you, please don’t let that asshat mess with you. Don’t go home, just in case. Spend the night with Godwin or Kennedy or me. Text me every thirty minutes.
She smiled, feeling special and precious. I will. I’ll set a timer.
I mean it, Olivia sent back quickly. I’ll call the cops if you don’t text me at 35 min. Love you.
Love you too, Liv, she replied, meaning it.
She looked up at the clock. How did she still have thirty minutes left? She couldn’t sit still any longer. She saved her progress and filled out a leave slip, begging off due to a headache.
Her hand was on the metal of the revolving exit door when the first panic attack set in. The rain and the wind blew in as the door swung to the outside, and she quickly pushed her way back inside, nearly falling to the ground as soon as she got out.
Clarice looked at her with concern, one hand on her headset as she stood up from behind the half circular desk. “Seneca, are you okay?”
She was on her hands and knees, her lungs refusing to take in whole breaths. “I’m,” she panted, her voice barely coming out, “fine.”
“You don’t look okay, should I call-”
“No, no,” Seneca interrupted her. “I’m fine. I just…I just forgot something is all,” she insisted, trying to sound convincing.
She did not convince Clarice, she could tell. “Are you sure?”
“Thanks, Clarice, I,” she said, panting as she stood up, “I’ll just be a minute. I’m good.” She patted down her clothing, trying not to let the shaking of her hands be visible.
Eyes narrowed, Clarice hesitantly sat back down. “Okay,” she agreed.
It took all the restraint she had not to run at vampire speed across the lobby back to the bank of elevators. She pushed the button to call the elevator and prayed that no one from her office would be on the elevator when it opened.
The dinging sound of the elevator arriving made her breath stutter and her heart skip a beat. No one was on it as she ran inside, slamming her finger into the door close button over and over again until the doors finally slid shut, completely unconvinced that the button actually worked.
She ran off the elevator on the next floor and locked herself in the unisex bathroom. Chip’s crazy was making her crazy. The thought made her laugh, and the way it sounded in the small bathroom made her feel even more crazy. Tears streamed down her face, it had been over a decade since she had been this afraid, and she didn’t like it.
Godwin’s contact was up on her phone but she hesitated, not wanting to show him how weak and vulnerable she really was. She cried so hard her chest hurt, and long enough that two people tried the door. There was no way she was leaving, so she stayed as quiet as possible until they left.
Ashamed, she swiped Godwin’s contact info away and pulled up Kennedy’s instead. The phone rang twice before she answered, sounding distracted.
“Hey, Seneca,” her mother said, her voice grounding her enough that her craziness receded just a little.
“Kennedy,” she sobbed, her tears opening up again.
“Oh, god, Seneca, what’s wrong? Where are you? I’m coming to get you right now. Where are you?” Kennedy demanded.
“I’m fine, n-nothing’s w-w-wrong. I mean, s-stuff’s wrong, but I’m not hurt or anything. Chip is…oh, god, Kennedy. I’m so scared. Can you come get me from work? I don’t want to go home…” she gasped between sobs.
“Oh, Seneca girl, I’m on my way. I can be there in twenty minutes or so. Don’t hang up with me, tell me what’s going on.”
She cried and blubbered to her mother for a few minutes, explaining what had happened and her fears.
“What did Godwin say?”
“Ah…” she trailed off with embarrassment. Her tears had finally subsided, but she was still hiding in the bathroom. “How long til you’re here?”
“Five minutes. You didn’t tell him? Why not? You can’t lie to him, you need to build your relationship off of trust. He’s serious about you, girl.”
Seneca’s heart flipped. Kennedy thought he was serious about her? It deflated almost instantly. “No, he’s probably not, Kennedy. He…I love him but he’s not mine. He’s incubus. He, I don’t think he can love me,” she mumbled, feeling worse by the second. Wiping at her eyes in the mirror, she determined that she could leave the bathroom without being too obvious about her crying.
“Seneca.” Her adopted mother’s tone was laced with skepticism.
“I’m serious, Kennedy,” she insisted, hitting the button for the elevator down. A second later, after it didn’t appear instantaneously, she jogged down the hall, throwing herself into the large fire door of the stairwell. “He tells me all the time that no one can love an incubus. And besides, I’m just vampire, and not even a good one.”
“Listen to yourself, Seneca. You’re both being foolish. When will you stop being so hard on yourself?”
She shook her head in denial, even though Kennedy couldn’t see her. “I’m almost downstairs, I’ll meet you at the front!” she said, then hung up, not wanting to go down that particular rabbit hole conversation with Kennedy.
Stopping at the bottom of the steps, she forwarded Godwin the text from Josh, the picture he had sent, and told him she was with Kennedy. She wondered what he was doing, then kicked herself as her heart clenched. They weren’t exclusive, and he was incubus. He was probably either hunting or feeding right now. How often did he need to feed? Was it like vampires, maybe once or twice a week? Was it daily?
Her jealousy, black and oily, was surprising. She hadn’t felt emotions so strongly since after her real mother…no, she wouldn’t think back on those times.
She forced herself to run from the stairwell and past Clarice, who gave her a questioning look, then out into the rain, not giving herself a moment to pause, to think, to worry. The rain was more like sleet, and the day was as cold as it was dreary. She saw Kennedy’s beat up minivan parked next to the curb half a block away. She was only a little wet when she threw herself into the passenger’s seat.
“Hey, thanks so much, Kennedy,” she said brightly, trying to cover up her previous insecurities by acting normal.
The look on Kennedy’s face said she wasn’t buying it, but she didn’t mention it. Maybe she would let it go? “Where am I taking you?” she asked neutrally, her hands flexing on the steering wheel.
“Are you mad at me? I’m sorry!” Seneca exclaimed, feeling even worse. Her darkness built up inside and she didn’t even bother with her box, she let it fill her. Why couldn’t she do anything right?
“Oh, Seneca, please stop that. I’m mad because you don’t value yourself. I’m mad at that creep who’s doing this to you. I’m not mad at you. I’m just, well it’s been a really long day and I have very little tolerance left. I’m not mad at you. I’m glad you called me,” she insisted though she didn’t appear to feel that way. Seneca knew better than to take Kennedy’s cold demeanor personally, she couldn’t help it that her face didn’t reflect her actual emotions. She sounded tired.
There was a shifting sound, something over metal from the back of the van and Seneca turned to look. Kennedy had dog cages welded into the back of the minivan, the seats lost long ago. At first it appeared that one of the kennels had a dirty mop head pushed into the back corner, at least until it looked at her with eyes full of fear. It looked away from her before their eyes could meet, trying even harder to push into the back corner of the cage.
Her mother sighed heavily, looking back at the pitiful creature. “That poor boy was found taped in a cardboard box wedged into a storm sewer drain. Between him and Chip…I am having a hard time finding faith in humanity today. Let’s go home, we can order in something and you can help me clean that poor baby up.”
Seneca nodded, feeling bad for the poor dog. She heard it shift again after she turned away from it, but they both ignored the dog, hopefully giving it a chance to relax.
They drove in silence through the rain-slowed traffic. “Ah, Seneca?” Kennedy asked after a few minutes. “Your phone is ringing?”
She cringed guiltily, fishing the device from her pocket. It was Godwin. It was the third time he had called her in a row. The phone stopped ringing while she stared at it.
“And you don’t think he likes you,” Kennedy said, glancing quickly at the display.
“I said I didn’t think he loved me. There’s a big difference.” The display died as she continued to stare at it.
“You shouldn’t ignore him. He’s obviously worried,” Kennedy said, the raise in her eyebrow audible.
“I’m not ignoring him, I just, ah…” She couldn’t even come up with a good excuse. Her phone buzzed again, this time it was the timer she set so that Olivia wouldn’t call the cops.
“Him again?”
Seneca snorted. “No, Olivia is making me call her every half hour until I was with you to make sure I made it. I’ll send her a text that I’ve landed and she doesn’t have to worry.”
Kennedy nodded, the corner of her mouth upturned, which was a pretty big smile for her. She sent a quick text to Olivia assuring her she was still fine. Immediately after she hit send, her phone vibrated in her hand, a text from Josh.
Everything okay?
She sighed. I’m fine, with Kennedy. Godwin text you?
He responded faster than she expected. Thank god ur fine. G is flipping out. Call him.
Her heart warmed that Godwin was worried for her, but that feeling was immediately replaced with dread and depression that she let him down and made him worry for her. Wasn’t that the whole point of not calling him in the first place? So she wouldn’t seem all helpless and weak in front of him? So she wouldn’t worry him unnecessarily? So she wouldn’t force him away because of her clinginess?
Kennedy was giving her that look out of the corner of her eye, echoing Josh’s demands without actually knowing it. She sighed heavily. “Is it a good idea to let a demon worry?”
“Fine. Fine!” She cringed at her own response as the dirty mop in the back whimpered piteously.
“Hmm?” Kennedy asked as she pulled into her driveway and shut the van off.
“I’ll call him. Jeez, you’re all so pushy! I’m calling, I’m calling!”
“I don’t see you dialing…” Kennedy called her on it.
“I’m waiting for you to leave the car!”
Kennedy smiled for the first time since she picked her up, but most people wouldn’t have recognized it as a smile. Still, it made Seneca feel better. Her mother nodded once, then leaned over and placed her hand over Seneca’s. “I love you, girl. Take your time, just let me get Duster out of here and you can have some privacy.
“Duster?”
“He looks like one of those old dusters to me,” she replied, shrugging. “You got a better name, then you can name him. I don’t care.”
Seneca smiled weakly, then returned her attention to the phone as Kennedy jumped out of the car and collected the small dog from the back. It trembled visibly in her arms as she ran into the house through the sleet.
Seneca sighed again, dreading the call she was forcing herself to make. If she didn’t call him… Was he worried for her? Was he looking for her? Was he mad at her for ignoring his calls? She hit the call button before she could wimp out again, her heart in her throat. The phone rang once before he picked it up.
“Seneca, where are you? Are you well?” he said, his voice crushing her soul with how worried he sounded. “I do not know if I am operating this device properly, I could not reach you!”
“I’m okay, I’m sorry. I just…I didn’t want to make you worry. I’m just being dumb, I couldn’t, you know, after Josh’s bike, I wasn’t, I got scared and it’s stupid. He wasn’t waiting for me, but I was scared to leave. I called Kennedy and she picked me up. I’m sorry, I know I’m stupid.”
There was silence on the other end and she wondered if she had somehow dropped his call. She checked, but she hadn’t. “Godwin?”
“I am here, Seneca,” he said, his voice tight. “Why did you not call for me? I would have come to escort you home.”
“I can’t, I mean, you’re busy, right? I don’t know what you do when, I mean, I didn’t want to seem needy. I was just being stupid, I wasn’t-”
“Stop.” His tone was firm and commanding and she couldn’t help herself as she followed his direction. Guilt flooded her as she realized she had probably failed Godwin, worried he was disappointed in her. “Good. Where are you now?”
“K-K-Kennedy’s place,” she answered on the verge of tears. She closed her eyes and held her breath, trying to hold back her pathetic neediness.
Godwin sighed. “Cry not, all is well. I am coming for you, do not leave, wait for me. Tell me you will wait for me.” Again, his voice was firm and authoritative.
“I w-won’t leave,” she whispered into the phone, feeling raw. She ran a finger over her collar and it made her feel a little better, gave her strength. “You don’t have to come, I know you’re busy, I’m sorry, I’m just being stupid. I’m sorry.”
“I will not tolerate you referring to yourself as stupid again. Await me, Seneca,” he nearly growled into the phone.
She shivered, feeling bad, yet slightly aroused as his tone flipped a switch inside her. “I won’t go anywhere until you’re here, Godwin,” she insisted.
“Good girl, hansa,” he said, then hung up the phone.
She sat in the car for a few more minutes until she felt slightly less fragile, then ran into the house, trying not to get soaked. The sound of electric clippers came from the back room as Kennedy worked to cut the tangled and matted mats of fur from the poor dog. There was a low-level keening, and she realized it was coming from the small animal. Freya and Freki barked from the other room and she moved to let them outside, though she knew she’d be the one bathing them when they came back inside as muddy messes.
Freya danced happily when Seneca opened the door. Their kennel doors were both open, meaning Kennedy felt they were tame enough to be given space to themselves. Freki was in his, watching her carefully, but he wasn’t the same as before. Though he still didn’t trust her, he wasn’t growling or treating her like a threat. It was an improvement. Freya distracted her, running around her legs in happy circles, forcing her head into Seneca’s hand. She tried to scratch the greyhound’s ears but she was a blur of movement.
“Calm down, girl,” she said with a small snort. “I can’t pet you if you’re all over the place!”
The dog ignored her, frolicking playfully around her. Freya rolled to the ground, then jumped up in her face as she leaned down to pet the animal, licking her face joyfully.
“I missed you, too,” she said, sitting on the floor and relenting to the dog. Freya seemed completely surprised, and she flopped to the floor as well, her head landing in Seneca’s lap. She gave those puppy dog eyes and Seneca couldn’t help but scratch behind her ears.
She sighed heavily. Freki eyed her, then stood up and slowly approached her. He glanced at Freya, then carefully settled down on the floor next to her so that their bodies were touching, not quite near enough for Seneca to pet.
Seneca continued to pet Freya, moving slowly as to not scare off Freki. His head lay on Freya’s back, his eyes locked on Seneca, watching her every movement.
“You dogs have it good now, with Kennedy,” she told them with another sigh. “She’ll find you a good home that will keep you together, somewhere you can run and be loved. Kennedy’s good at collecting strays like us.” Freya snuggled in closer to her leg, pushing her body into Seneca’s hand so that she would pet her in the way she wanted to be petted.
Pain swelled in her chest. She was so grateful to Kennedy, she would never be able to repay her for what she’d done, never in her whole life. Why was she a burden to everyone around her? She laughed through tears that started falling when she wasn’t looking. “Why do I always feel like this, pup?” she asked as she scratched Freya’s ears. “At least we have Kennedy. I don’t know what I’d do without her, you know?”
Freki’s head perked up and Seneca turned slowly, feeling guilty for talking about the woman who was now standing in the doorway. Freki stood up and moved to Kennedy, approaching her but not getting close enough for her to touch him. She smiled weakly at the dog. “Godwin’s here,” she said softly.
Seneca’s stomach flipped, she didn’t expect him so fast, she wasn’t quite ready to face him, and yet here he was. “I…okay,” she said without moving from her seat.
“You need a minute?” Kennedy asked, her face cold, her tone warm. “I told him to wait in the kitchen and he listened, which surprised me.”
She wiped the tears from her face with dog hair-covered hands, then raised then raised the hem of her shirt to wipe the dog hair from her face. One more scratch for Freya, then she lifted the dog’s head gently from her lap. Freya stayed on the ground, rolling onto her back, begging for the petting to continue.
“Come on Freya,” Kennedy called, slapping her thigh. “Freki, let’s go outside for a while.” The dogs surged around her through the door, heading towards the back door to the small yard, yipping gleefully. “You’ll be fine,” she told Seneca, gripping her hand as she moved to follow the dogs out. “You are no one’s burden, girl.” She squeezed her arm then let her go, moving to let the dogs out.
She entered the kitchen as quietly as she could, but Godwin still looked up as if he knew she was coming. He probably did, she didn’t know how his incubus powers worked. He looked so out of place, so big at Kennedy’s small table, dressed in his fancy tailored suit. Today’s was light grey, which reminded her of the weather outside. His trilby was in his hands.
Neither of them said anything as she hesitated in the doorway. He looked her up and down, growing more and more tense. She knew he knew she’d been crying. She must look like a mess.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, feeling the need to fill the silence between them.
“Do not apologize again, hansa. You have no reason for apologies.” He sighed, his eyes dropping to the hat in his lap. He looked up at her, having made a decision. “Say your farewells to your mother, we are leaving.”
“Huh?”
“We are leaving, please procure whatever you wish to take and bid your mother farewell.”
“No, I heard you, I just don’t understand. We are leaving? Like, together? Us? Where?” she asked, feeling terrible for general principles.
“I am taking you home,” he told her matter of factly.
“I can’t!” she exclaimed before she could stop herself, fear rising like bile up her throat. “He could be, I mean, I can’t go back there! I need to move. He knows where I live. I’ll stay here, it’s okay, Kennedy’ll let me crash here a few days.” She looked down, biting the inside of her cheeks, her arms across over her chest protectively.
“You will not ‘crash here’ in Kennedy’s home for a few days, and I would not return you to your apartment. I should not have…regardless,” he said, shaking his head as he dismissed his previous statement. “You will come with me.”
“But-”
He cut her off, standing up abruptly. “No, do not ask me to leave you here. I could not reach you, could not find you by my blood today. I…”
“Where would you take me? Where should I go?” she asked him, studying the patterning on the linoleum floor.
“You will stay with me, in my apartment,” he said as if the answer were obvious.
She was speechless. She could feel his eyes on her and she shifted uncomfortably, feeling so completely less than worthy of the right to stay at his apartment. “I couldn’t impose on you like that,” she whispered, unable to look at him directly. Did he understand the false hope he was giving her? It wasn’t fair.
His face clouded over then quickly morphed into an unreadable mask. “It is nothing, Seneca. Please, tell me you will come with me,” he asked her, as if she was one of the skittish greyhounds.
“I told Kennedy I’d help her with the new dog,” she mumbled.
“Don’t drag me into this!” Kennedy called out gruffly from the other room. “Stop making excuses, Seneca. Just go. Call me tomorrow after work.”
Godwin chuckled, both of them turning towards the sound of her voice. “Come, Seneca,” he told her. “Please?” She was across the kitchen at his side before she even realized she followed his order. “Good girl,” he whispered, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. His fingers brushed against her skin and sent her butterflies swirling.
“I should say bye,” she said, stepping away from his warm, comforting hands. He frowned as she shied from him, his hand dropping back to his side. He nodded and she practically fled from him, running into the mudroom that was also a de facto grooming station. Duster shivered in the bathtub, completely shaved except for his tail, paws and face. Instead of a dust mop, he now looked like a wet, scared, pale, miniature lion.
“Sorry, Kennedy,” she apologized for the millionth time that day. “I guess I’m going to Godwin’s place.”
“Of course you are,” Kennedy said with a nod. “I expected as much when he called you so many times.” She gave Seneca a look that screamed I told you so, but she didn’t say it.
“Ah, oh, well, okay. So, I’m gonna go. Thanks for picking me up.” She shifted uncomfortably, feeling bad in every way.
Kennedy nodded without looking at her, scrubbing soap into the dog’s recently shaved hide. “No problem, Seneca. Anytime, and I mean it. I’ll come get you anytime, anywhere. You’re my daughter.”
Seneca sighed heavily. “Does it bother you that I never called you mom?”
Kennedy looked up at her now. “No, not once. I don’t want to be associated with that woman, not in any way. Seneca, when I found you, you saved me as much as I saved you. You gave me a purpose, a reason to keep on living. I…” she trailed off, staring off into the distance.
“That can’t be true,” Seneca denied.
Kennedy snorted. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you about it, but I was married once.”
Kennedy was married? She had never knew, Kennedy never mentioned it. Seneca felt bad for never asking, for not knowing important information about the woman who saved her life, who raised her like her own, even though she was a street rat, a worthless vampire.
“Yeah, that look on your face. Put it away, Seneca. I never told you, I don’t like talking about it. His name was Greg, he was a cop. Shot in the line of duty, like that should make it better. It was so stupid. He was shot on a routine traffic stop. Pulled over the wrong guy on the wrong day. The man shot Greg before he even rolled down his window all the way. Shot him right in the neck. He died before the ambulance arrived.” Kennedy spoke softly, wiping her eyes harsly to keep from crying. Seneca’s heart twisted in her chest. “That right there, girl, is why I never told you. That look of sympathy, the pity on your face. Your heart breaks so easy, you’re so empathetic. You got your own problems, you don’t need mine, too. Back then, right after he was gone, I don’t remember those days. The first day I remember, I had decided that I had enough. That day, the day where I felt like the world was just too hard to live through, that there was nothing left in it for me, that was the day I found you.”
Now she was crying again. “I’m so sorry, Kennedy,” she sobbed, rushing into the room. She wrapped her arms around Kennedy from behind and squeezed her tightly.
“Hush, girl,” Kennedy replied, her voice thick with emotion. “It’s in the past. I just wanted you to know your worth to me. I need you, girl. Let people love you, and take care of yourself. I don’t need you feeling bad for me, but I do need you.”
She hugged her harder. “I love you, Kennedy. Thank you for everything.”
“Likewise,” Kennedy said gruffly, wiping her face with her sleeve. “Now get going, don’t keep your incubus waiting.”
“You really trust him,” Seneca said with a smile as she wiped her own tears away.
“You love him, and I trust you,” Kennedy replied.
“I dated Chip,” she retorted, feeling the need to remind her.
Kennedy snorted. “You never liked him, you just liked his assets. You love this one. Go on, get!” she said, splashing water at Seneca playfully.
“Thanks again, Kennedy. I’ll call you tomorrow, I promise.”
“Oh, and text Olivia so she doesn’t call the cops!” Kennedy called after her as she returned to Godwin.
Dreadfully Erotic 