in the dark and climbed into bed. I didn’t want to dwell on what I’d lost so I surrendered myself to sleep.
Cole climbed into bed a couple of hours later. He caressed my shoulders and back until I was fully awake. It was time to pay the rent. I turned toward him and let him explore my body. I even reciprocated, but there was no emotion. This was, after all, just a business transaction. Afterward, I turned back to the wall and fell asleep.
-Keira-
Picking Up the Pieces
The next morning I climbed over Cole’s sleeping form. Sunlight seeped around the edges of the old grey blanket that covered the bedroom window but streamed full force into the living room. I squinted in the sudden brilliance and noticed that Chrissy had already left.
I stumbled into the bathroom and splashed some water on my face. Cold. Jolted fully awake, I ran my fingers through my tangled mess of hair. Green eyes stared back at me from the wavy mirror. This was my world: cold, tangled and distorted. I shook my head. A previous boarder, maybe Chrissy, had left some perfumed soap. It helped make the cold shower bearable.
While I showered, I thought about recent events. When he’d realized who I was, Guy had said that Scott worried about me and wanted me to be safe and happy. I believed that was true. It sounded like my brother. For a little while, I’d thought maybe Guy wanted that for me too, and maybe he did. That didn’t mean…a melody came to mind, and I sang a few lyrics:
But it wouldn’t be make-believe,
If you believed in me.
Wake up, Keira. Guy made it clear. He wants a working relationship, nothing more. And I knew there was absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it still hurt. We had talked about trust, not love. I’d never before believed in love anyway, so nothing had really changed. The locket being destroyed the same night that Guy pushed me away, well that was just a stinking coincidence.
Scott trusted him, and Guy could trust me. I would never betray him or the Resistance. That truth remained. I felt that in a couple of weeks, I’d be able to move past these new emotions and approach him about another job. I could still pick up bounties on the side. I could do both, take out the Bad and help the Good.
I turned off the water, wrapped myself in a thin light blue towel and returned to the darkness of the bedroom. I rummaged around in Cole’s closet until I found a clean pair of jeans and a plain black T-shirt. Both were too big, so I tightened the jeans with a belt and rolled the cuffs. Then I tucked in the shirt and put on my heels. Back in the living room, I picked up an old baseball cap I’d seen the night before. I twisted up my hair and tucked it under the cap.
My stomach grumbled so I hurried to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. I could tell the electricity had been off for at least a couple of hours. Inside was a six-pack of warm beer, a half stick of butter, some outdated eggs and half a loaf of bread. I tossed out the eggs and settled my stomach with a slice of bread and butter.
The golden sun and bright blue sky lifted my spirits. I had nowhere pressing to be, and I wouldn’t be able to look for work for a little while. I needed to lay low to give Elaine Ramsey time to believe she had accomplished her goal. Certainly, people had died in that explosion. Let Mrs. Ramsey believe one of the corpses was mine. The Gov wouldn’t spend too much time identifying the bodies, or what was left of them, not in that part of town.
At a second hand clothing store, I found a couple pairs of fitted jeans, black and dark blue, and a few stylish tops to wear with them. I also purchased a light spring jacket, a pair of comfortable sandals and a trendy black pack in which to carry my items while I was living on the run.
Next, I stopped by a drugstore and bought some personal items to add to my pack as well as a pair of scissors. In a public restroom, I cut my long hair short. I’d ask April to fix the back when I next saw her. Then I put on my new shoes and shoved