Chapter 4
"It was you," he accused after he stormed into the kitchen. Mattie’s eyebrows rose in a façade of genuine surprise. “I should’ve known you would tell mother. You couldn’t just keep your mouth shut for once and let me tell her in due time. You had to go and ruin everything and be mommy’s little pet.”
He spat the last words at her and was gratified to see her wince after all of the pain she had brought down on both him and Carmilla. She looked toward the door and a back to him quickly, “William, this isn’t the time. Mother will be back soon.”
“Did you ever think what would happen? That her reaction would be less than positive as it always is. Carmilla was right. You have no care for the two of us. You’ve climbed over us for years trying to be the best. You have that now; don’t you think you could just stop? Let us pick ourselves up and bandage up the bruises before you trample us again.”
“William -”
“Why do you call me that? She’s the only one who ever calls me that.”
“It’s only what I’m used to. I’m around her so often.” She seemed to be pleading with him and her eyes kept flickering towards the door, “I didn’t realize she would care.”
His eyes widened in disbelief and his mouth parted as he searched for the words to combat the stupidity, “Not care? She exploded when she found out Carmilla’s major. She scoffs at the concept of philosophy and almost took Carmilla’s head off at the thought. You really thought, another one of her children stepping away from the family business was going to go over well.”
“Philosophy is an entirely different career than going through medical school. You would be secure. Make a great deal of money. Have a valid and good reputation. It was all she cares about. I thought for sure that she would approve and congratulate you.”
“Does medical school sound like business school to you, Mattie? There are no exceptions when it comes to mother.” Will set his hands on the counter, his knuckles turning white. Mattie glanced, making a look as if she was nervous he would break the counter into pieces.
“I didn’t know.”
“You’re around her all of the time. Did you tell her about Carmilla too?”
Mattie’s face became puzzled and her usual air of confidence faltered, “What about Carmilla?”
Will smiled, though it was more of an off-putting grimace, “At least we know things can slip by little miss perfect.”
“William,” Mattie began to reprimand, “I understand that Carmilla has planted these ideas into your -”
He cut her off, “I may have been young but I was there. I remember. So don’t blame all of this on Carmilla. And now that mother knows she has graduated from university, she is going to start putting so much pressure on Millie. You know how much she already exerts on your little sister and you’re just going to stand by. If she doesn’t run away now; I can’t see an escape,” he looked her up and down, “We have you as example.”
She reached out her hand as if for comfort, but pulled it back. It was a gesture out of character for both of them. “I swear I did not know. I can only imagine that with a change in finances, JP made Mother aware. It’s all I can think of. I’ll talk to her. See if I can fix –”
Will’s eyes narrowed in defiance, “You’ve done enough already.”
He had always held out some hope that Carmilla had been wrong; that there was some redemption in his eldest sister that has escaped her in her years of youth. But seeing her like this, paired up with his mother, working so closely and never failing to bring some sort of wrath down upon them, all of that wishful hope drifted away. She was a minion; some sort of perverse form of what he imagined a sister to be. He had been disillusioned for so long and coming to was like breathing in a ton of water. The action of taking a breath was a relief, only to be instantly filled with pain as his lungs expanded, filled with the unknown substance.
With the rattling of the door handle, he split from the room, not wanting to come face to face with the woman who filled his existence with horrors. He had received a few emails from Silas University inquiring about his major change; a change he had no memory of and only through a series of searches and inquiries had he found that it was his mother who had put in for said change. He was stuck between throwing the beautiful future he had thought up for himself right down the toilet or being rebuked harshly for his lack of obedience. He was wavering in this unknown area and was not sure how long he could last or even how long the university would put up with him floating in-between majors. He needed Carmilla. She knew what to say; how to speak to him; what to do to make things seem better than they were. And she always did it with blatant honesty, refusing to keep the truth from him. She knew he did that enough to himself; he had lived a lie about Mattie for years upon years.
But in the case of Carmilla, she was nowhere to be found. Mattie had come to him, begging his help. He knew exactly what had happened. She had been out of the seclusion; she had stopped closing herself off but with one word from her mother, she came crashing down, all of her walls built themselves back up until she could not even find herself. He thought that she was with Laura. Laura had pulled her out the last time and maybe she was not so far gone that she was not able to get herself to Laura’s in time. He had taken a small dose of that energy and used it inward on himself for the first time. It was terrible. While it seemed to fuel Carmilla’s rage, it only drained him of all vigor until he lay lifeless on his bed, trying to figure out what this gained him. He finally came to the answer and it was nothing. By giving up, he lost the fight. Carmilla’s uncaring ironically forced her to fight harder.
She had not contacted him, which was usual but as Laura had neither, he safely assumed, more to calm his own worries that she was indeed staying with her girlfriend. Anywhere was better than their house but Will couldn’t leave. He lived with the Zeta’s but his mother’s presence in the house acted as a lock on his life. He was stuck until she left and it seemed like she was here to stay for longer than she had ever before. At least Mattie had alluded to that when she spoke to him; he had never returned a word but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hear her.
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She couldn’t breath and clawed at the fingers wrapped around her throat but to no avail. Her head smashed into the wall behind her and she was dazed; her confusion only added to by the lack of oxygen to her brain. Tears left her eyes as her lungs struggled against the constriction to her airways. Without air, her scrabbling arms soon lacked the energy they needed and it was no use trying to break out from her captor.
Her mother’s eyes were wild and spittle flew from her lips as she yelled at the fading presence of the girl she called daughter. Carmilla could do little to keep her focus and soon the lack of breath was dragging her under; pulling her into a dark space. She reached out to pull it closer. Her relief from the misery was just out of reach as her mother suddenly dropped her and she fell to the floor in a heap. The voice entered her ears as is from another end of the house, “You have been expected for you entire life, to join me and Mattie once this frivolous act we have allowed you to be entertained with was over. That time has come and yet you have done your best to trick me. The game is over, Carmilla. You would do well to remember that.”
he scene flashed involuntarily across her vision as she stumbled down the deserted alleyway. Her lip was bleeding and she could not see well out of her swollen left eye. Her hand held onto her side where she could only logically assume that she had busted a rib. Each time her mother’s face appeared she blundered even more, eventually falling into one side of the brick wall that sheltered the alley from the rest of the street. Only a little light could be seen from a streetlamp that wasn’t entirely hidden from view but headlights were almost nonexistent and she was shielded by darkness. She felt like a cat licking at its wounds after a fight, which was not a bad reflection of the actual situation. Her first instinct was always to find more pain to fight the original source of pain. Once it added up, it eventually numbed and turned into a self-punishment. It was masochistic. It was self-deprecating. That’s exactly how she liked it.
There had been no way she had fallen asleep against the hard, garbage covered filth that was the ground underneath her but her hand unconsciously scrapped across the glass from the broken whiskey bottle she had dropped earlier and her body shuddered to a more awake state. Exhaustion and alcohol filled every vein, removing any sense of strength or willpower she would need to pick herself up and get home. Home. With one word, silent tears streamed down her face as the image of the most extraordinary woman she had ever met filled her mind, blocking out the bad memories. It was too much beauty and love for her callused soul to take and it burst into pieces, signaling the end to the latest intermittent reign of apathy.
The shattered glass of her phone bit into her hands and ear as she held it up to talk, “Kirsch?”
They didn’t talk about it. His truck pulled to a stop on the street and she could faintly hear him calling, “Carmilla? Carmilla, where are you?”
Her cracking voice sounded inaudible in response but he must have been able to hear her because warm, strong, safe arms lifted her from the ground, supporting her as her legs wobbled. He helped her into the front seat of the truck, doing more of the lifting than she was. She sunk into the seat, letting her head rest against the headrest, grateful for the small comfort of a cushioned car seat.
Kirsch climbed in the driver’s side and started up the truck, heading out on the familiar road they both knew, without asking her where she wanted to go. She looked over at the respectable man whom she had referred to as an imbecile and meathead in the past. Her views of the overzealous Zeta had flipped and she now saw an intuitive, caring giant who knew how to comfort without speaking or touching. His simple presence calmed the atmosphere that was buzzing around her. She suddenly realized that Kirsch was the only person that was worthy or even good for Laura. And when there should have been pain at her own shortcomings, she found peace knowing that Laura would always have someone safe to put her trust in when she herself…
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“Laura! She’s back!” There was not even a second thought as Laura dashed from the room, coming to a stop at the top of the narrow, wooden stairs. The haggard creature was slowly climbing, head hung low and behind her, Will was standing with hands on both sides of the doorway, warily watching his sister. For the last day, Laura had been sitting on the girl’s bed, crying, and trying to reach her but to no avail and here she had just shown up and the rage in Laura’s heart was stronger than it had ever been. The first few days Carmilla had been absent, Laura thought that her family obligations were not allowing her to be in contact. When that went on for over a week, Laura got in touch with Will who also had no idea where his sister was. For two days of Carmilla’s disappearance, Laura had granted her space because she was known to be flighty and run away to figure things out for herself but halfway through the third day when she did not answer Laura’s calls, the girl began to become frantic. Her brother had not heard from her either and he was a mess. By the fourth day, they had both run out of options and had nowhere to turn. And now here she was, standing in front of Laura, bruised and bloodied, head cocked to the side in confusion. Words boiled forth from Laura’s mouth, “Carmilla Karnstein! How dare you!? You left me sitting here for days worrying about what happ…”
Her back slammed against the outside wall of Carmilla’s room, sending a breath of air from her lungs and stopping her mid sentence. There was a distant surprised, “Oh!,” which Laura assumed came from Will but any concern she may have had left her when Carmilla pulled on her bottom lip with her teeth. Slim fingers found their way behind the red and black flannel shirt and underneath the black tank top that Laura was wearing to grab at her lower back. Neither article of clothing belonged to her; she had stayed at the house and needed a change of clothes and had found them after rummaging through Carmilla’s dresser. Not only were they clean, but they smelled like Carmilla; a mixture of books, the night, and a very vague scent of old whiskey. It was calming amidst her panic but now, with Carmilla’s breath mingling with hers, the real thing could never compare.
Only now, it was mixed with iron and sweat. Laura felt the slickness of the blood rub against her face as Carmilla hungrily sucked on her lips. Laura’s mind was caught between anger, worry, and now desire and all of them mixed together created a new emotion that raged through Laura’s entire body, causing her to retaliate against Carmilla with venom.
Laura pushed against Carmilla’s stomach with enough force to make her stumble backward though it could have been due to her faded state. It seemed to take Carmilla by surprise but when Laura came at her, removing the flannel before pushing her up against the opposite wall, her eyes turned from shock to dilated and excited. She bit her lip, smirking at Laura as if daring her to go farther but Laura was not in the mood for games; she wanted pure revenge. The amount of injury that Carmilla had already obtained from her absence was irrelevant to Laura who only wanted to mark her and make her understand the level of anxiety that had been building up inside of her.
Laura twisted Carmilla’s hands in her grip and then held them to the wall above Carmilla’s head, her nails biting into the skin causing Carmilla to hiss as Laura’s lips attached to her neck. She started out simply landing sloppy open mouth kisses to bloodstained skin, leaving a glistening trail as she went. But, Carmilla began to struggle against her hold, close to breaking it and Laura’s teeth came out, nipping the skin, causing a surprise exhale of air from deep within Carmilla’s throat. Laura soothed the bites with her tongue before sucking on the skin, worrying bruises onto the pale surface.
Carmilla’s chest began to arch into Laura’s body and she smiled against Carmilla’s neck before releasing her hands and grabbing onto Carmilla’s hips, shoving them up against the wall. The hands found her hair, pulling her head towards needy and wanting lips faster than she expected. Carmilla’s lips were urgent, her tongue darting around Laura’s mouth as if the taste kept her alive. Laura was not entirely ready to give up her control but for a few moments, she let Carmilla get her way. But when Carmilla started to walk her backwards she threw her weight forward, causing Carmilla to crash into the wall once more. Laura’s words came out fast and breathy as she fought to say them between kisses, “I’m so…mad at…you. Did you ever think…you just dis…a…ppeared.”
“I’m sor…”
“Don’t,” Laura spat back regaining control of Carmilla’s hands and forcing them to her sides. The black sports bra that Carmilla was wearing inhibited Laura’s want to tear her clothes off but as her fingers scratched against the spandex, Carmilla seemed to get the idea and helped her remove it. Laura violently threw it to the side before running her hands up from the top of Carmilla’s shorts, over her stomach, and up underneath her breasts where she hesitated for just a moment before continuing upwards, moving over the swell of her breasts and up to Carmilla’s neck where they grabbed ahold. Carmilla’s eyes shot wide but she didn’t speak; she held Laura’s blazing gaze. “Bed. Now.”
Even though Carmilla knew how this night was going to go, she still could not entirely refrain from her usual seductive self and as she walked to her room, her hips swayed enticingly and Laura could not help but watch. Once she reached the door, she turned, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, one eyebrow raised. Laura began to walk towards her as she continued backing up towards the bed. The flannel had already been discarded and flung to the side. Laura ripped the tank top up and over her head before dropping it to the floor. She reach her hand out and pushed against Carmilla’s sternum, sending her falling backwards onto the bed, her arms dropping first to catch her fall. “Ah, I se…”
“Shut up,” Laura growled, stepping out of the sweatpants she had dropped to the floor and leaning against the edge of the bed, standing in-between Carmilla’s outspread legs. She placed her hands on Carmilla’s knees before running them up and with them, the spandex rode up until her hands passed by the shorts and came to rest on the hipbones that jutted out above the material. Laura bent at the waist, touching her lips to the skin right underneath Carmilla’s bellybutton where she left a deep red mark. She began to pull down on the fabric and Carmilla lifted her hips so that the shorts could be removed easier. Laura tossed them off to the side and climbed onto the bed, situating herself on Carmilla’s abdomen before grabbing Carmilla’s hands and holding them out to the side.
“Cupcake, I…”
“I said shut up.” Carmilla could not make a show of pretending to zip her lips like her eyes told she wanted to, so instead she settled for a nod but Laura had stopped paying attention, returning her lips to the side of Carmilla’s neck. To brace herself, Laura had let go of Carmilla’s hands, which may have been a mistake. She felt fingers running up her sides, barely brushing against skin and leaving broken trails of heat wherever they lay down. Laura tried to ignore them but they slid down her back and grasped at her butt, pulling down, connecting her to Carmilla, hip to hip. She growled into Carmilla’s ears, “Don’t touch.”
Hands disappeared instantly and an almost indistinguishable moan escaped from Carmilla’s tightly closed lips as Laura nipped at her ear. Her lips moved down Carmilla’s neck yet again and her hands ran over Carmilla’ breasts before her lips replaced them, sucking harder than necessary on the erect nipples as Carmilla arched her chest up, a breathy moan released with the movement.
Nipping at Carmilla’s breasts, Laura could feel the phantom energy as Carmilla resisted the urge to close the distance between them by lifting her hips. Laura returned her lips to Carmilla’s, pressing hard against them. The force of the kiss cracked something inside of her and all of a sudden, tears were streaming down her face and all of the energy left her body as she collapsed against Carmilla’s naked chest. Her great desire for revenge against her girlfriend for running away left her body as quickly as it had been aroused. The thousands of knots built up by strings of tension running through her body all relaxed at once and her body sagged with the loss of tautness. She folded in against Carmilla and grabbed ahold of her body, hoping that if she held on tightly, the girl would never leave again. Against her earlier command of “don’t touch” Carmilla’s arms folded around her and Laura breathed deeply, grateful. Her sobbing made it hard for her to talk, and her voice came out scratchy and harsh, “You...you can’t just leave…you can’t…”
Carmilla squeezed her harder, pulling their bodies even closer. There was not space between their skin. Their body heat quickly becoming one heat that enveloped them both. Carmilla ran her hand lovingly through Laura’s hair and kissed her head. Laura felt a wetness drop onto her forehead that she knew did not belong to her and with a tilt of her head, she saw the Carmilla’s was crying too. Though she was silent, she could not stop the tears, which fell of their own accord. Her eyes were dark, no sign of gold, but shining with the wetness of tears. With a fresh mind, Laura was now taking into account the immense injuries that Carmilla had attained. The skin around her left eye was swollen and tinged a gross yellow color that looked tender. Her jaw was deeply bruised and cuts were scattered her and there across her cheeks. There were red finger marks around her neck that looked like a bruise in the process of healing. Laura winced at the sight, afraid to continue her search, knowing that the marks would cover every inch of Carmilla’s body.
Laura shut her eyes so tight she could see stars, “Stay.”
Carmilla squeezed her again as a response. Laura wanted her to promise. She wanted to hear Carmilla say the words that would stop her from ever leaving again. But deep down Laura knew that if they were uttered, they would be a lie.
She couldn’t feel her arm and when she tried to move it, it felt like a thousand needles were pricking her skin. She groaned with the effort of removing it from under Carmilla’s body but as she did so, her fingers slid across ridges she had never noticed before. She pulled her arm all the way out and pushed herself up on the bed, looking quizzically at her sleeping girlfriend. Carmilla’s hair was knotted and splayed all around her head. The arm that had been laying over Laura had slid off when she sat up. Her chest was still bare and as Laura’s eyes raked over her body, she gasped.
Carmilla’s abdomen was almost entirely covered in harsh blue marks. Whenever there was a break from bruising, a cut appeared. Some were fresh; blood smeared across her stomach. Her legs were not as bad; a bruise here and there. The worst was still the handprint around her neck as if she had been strangled. It made Laura shiver just thinking about how it could have possibly occurred.
“Cupcake, staring isn’t going to fix it.” Carmilla’s morning voice was sexier than should be allowed. The deep, scratchy voice just coming out of sleep always caught Laura red-handed. But this time, Laura was more concerned with what the bumps were on Carmilla’s back. “Can you sit up for a sec?”
Carmilla pushed herself up on her elbows ,which was enough for Laura to examine her back. Crisscrossed across the skin were scars. Some were small and almost invisible and others were big and fairly prominent, raised from the skin. Her fingers traced them and Carmilla shivered under her touch. They were old though, she could tell that much. “Why have I never noticed these?”
Carmilla shrugged away from her, standing up from the bed, “I try not to show them off.”
Laura slid her knees out from underneath her and fell onto her butt, “But I’ve seen you without a shirt on before. They aren’t that easy to miss.”
Without saying a word, Carmilla picked up the flannel shirt that Laura had been wearing for the past few days and put it on, covering up the scars from the past. Laura pushed herself off the bed, grabbing Carmilla by the bottom of the shirt. The girl twisted to face her. “You never said anything to me.”
“What was I supposed to say?” Carmilla asked bluntly. Her voice was level but something was missing. Sincerity.
“You were just supposed to tell me.”
“Some things are better left unsaid,” was Carmilla’s reply. She pried Laura’s fingers from the shirt and left the room, shutting herself in the bathroom. Laura stood in the middle of the room, her arms still outstretched as if holding on. But Carmilla was already gone.
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“Jenny!” she called, lifting a plate over the dozens of heads in line at the counter. She maneuvered her way through the best she could, zigzagging between the tables, smiling at the customers as they smiled up at her, and yelling for the girl in the back, “Jenny!”
A short girl with short brown hair came clambering out of the backroom and at the sight of the amount of people her eyes widened and a flabbergasted look crossed her face. Perry sighed loudly as she pushed through the swinging counter door and set the tray on the counter. “What have you been doing?”
Jenny was working on ringing up the first woman in line, “I’m sorry. I was arranging trays in the back and then the oven went off. I was trying to do a million things at once.”
There was sweat lining the girl’s forehead and Perry could tell she was straining to get everything done on time. Perry knew exactly how she felt for she was feeling the same way and had been. Business had been booming since they opened their doors; not a day had passed with even a little bit of a reprieve. They were slammed and never had enough help despite the help needed sign outside of the window. In some ways it was good as Perry was not sure they were making enough to pay more people and keep the shop running. It took a lot more than she had expected coming into it and they had had to cut back in order to avoid going over budget. Perry gave Jenny a pitying look and Jenny returned it, “We really need more help.”
The girl had repeated exactly the thoughts in Perry’s head. She checked her watch as she called over the next customer to the second register. Lafontaine should be coming in soon. With their help, they might make it through the evening without something exploding. “Did you get the stuff out of the oven?”
“Yeah, but its just sitting back there,” Jenny explained, reaching down under the counter and pulling out the pastries for the order. She packaged them in the little blue boxes and stuck a sticker on the top that read, “The Cookie Jar,” with a dancing cookie that had become the store’s little mascot. Jenny smiled at the woman warmly, “Have a good holiday.”
The woman nodded and bustled out quickly most likely off to pick up other packages before the stores closed in the city. Perry reached under the counter to pull out a raspberry croissant for the man in front of her only to find they were out. “Jenny, leave it to me for now. We need to restock up here.”
Jenny ran into the back room and above the noise out front, Perry could hear her scrambling around, stacking trays to bring to the front. “Next!”
They were almost to the end of the line when Lafontaine appeared out of the back, tying an apron around their waist and setting a light kiss against Perry’s temple. “You have terrible timing.”
Lafontaine took a look around to see the line diminish, “Or maybe I have impeccable timing.”
“Can you take over the register? I need to start on the stuff for tomorrow.”
Lafontaine pulled the apron tight, “Whatever you need.”
As she went to walk through the back, Jenny almost tumbled over her, but Perry caught her arm and the calamity of the fresh cookies spilling all over the floor was prevented. She looked around the disaster of a kitchen and noticed a tray of burnt cookies sitting next to the sink. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. They really needed more help. There were never enough people to take care of customers and make sure to pull trays out of the oven in time.
The night before, Perry had been looking over the finances and though they had only been open for a month or so they were doing very well, just not well enough to have more staff throughout the day. It was a constant headache for herself and for Lafontaine by extension. She knew the staff felt the strain as well as was apparent in Jenny’s stressed behavior. Hopefully after the holidays, they would be well off to hire.
After close, Lafontaine came slumping into the kitchen, throwing the now dirty rag they had used to wipe off the tables into the sink, “Perr, I know you need help, but I’m not sure I can always do this.”
Perry frowned as they leaned, exhausted, across one of the counters, rubbing their face as they tried to wake themselves up. She knew it was unfair to expect Lafontaine to come home after they had been at work all day and work some more, especially in such a high-stress environment.
“…I mean I’m not saying I can’t do it sometimes but it’s really draining me. We are coming up on a huge deadline in the lab and I’m already run ragged as it is. You know I’d like to help but -”
Perry strolled over and took Lafontaine’s hand in her own, smiling at them. They smiled back; they always did. “It’s alright. Just go upstairs. I’ll finish up down here.”
“Are you sure?”
Perry waved her hand around, “There’s not much to finish anyway. Don’t wait up.”
“I’m not sure I could,” they responded before digging their bag out from the cupboard and pushing the door on the right side of the kitchen that led to the steps up to their apartment. Perry went back to stacking the trays in the oven and setting the timer for the morning. Lafontaine had already taken care of the front of the shop so Perry stuck her hands in the steaming dishwater and began scrubbing out mixing bowls and used utensils. The dishwasher was already full and running but there were leftovers so she was forced to do it by hand. The monotonous scrubbing gave her some time to think though and she was thinking about Christmas and what she should get for Lafontaine. Every single year she was stumped but every single year she ended up figuring it out at the last minute. This year though, with working at the bakery until the evening of Christmas Eve, she wasn’t even sure what their plans for the holidays would entail. Their apartment above the bakery was not big enough to have a gathering. Kirsch and Danny had not reached out as they had for Thanksgiving. Laura had been MIA since a couple days after Thanksgiving. Lafontaine had not mentioned Will in a while. It seemed like Lafontaine and herself might be alone for the holidays which would not be altogether terrible; Perry was just used to large gatherings. A change might be just what she needed.
She pulled her hands out of the water as it drained; they had turned red from the scalding heat. She wiped down the counters and wiped out the sink before storing her apron and flicking off the light in the kitchen. The only lights still on were from the oven timer and the temperature of the cooler and freezer. The back door was bolted and with one last glance up front to make sure everything was in order, Perry made her way up the stairs and opened the door to her apartment. It was quiet and she heard the door click in as the lock slid into place. She turned lights off as she went until the only light left on was the bedside lamp that Lafontaine had left on for her. Lafontaine themself was already passed out under the covers, the stress and exhaustion from earlier no longer showing itself.
Perry grabbed her neatly folded pajamas from the drawer and laid them out on the bed. She flicked off the lamp and quickly undressed to redress for bed. Slipping under the covers, she turned toward the center of the bed to face Lafontaine’s back. Her body relaxed into the sheets and she could feel the muscles aching and a headache relieving. Lafontaine and the employees were not the only one’s feeling the toll of the bakery’s lack of staff, Perry was definitely not exempt and her body was protesting. She put it out of her mind. Ignore the pains. The bakery is more important.
“I’m calling Will.” They said it with a tone of defiance as if Will was expected to always check in with them. Perry eyed them over the paper she was reading that was a list of numbers detailing the previous days sales report. She looked back to the paper but there was only silence in the kitchen. “What do you think, Perr? Should I call him?”
Lafontaine was leaning over her shoulder but staring intently at their phone, their thumb hovering over the call button next to Will’s name. “I don’t know why it’s such a big deal but its not going to hurt anything if you call him.”
They fell haphazardly into the other kitchen chair, “But do you think something’s wrong? Why haven’t we heard from him?”
“We haven’t heard from Laura either,” Perry commented.
Lafontaine waved off her remark, “We all know that’s because she’s wrapped up somewhere with Carmilla doing who knows what.”
“I think -” Perry started but Lafontaine cut her off, “We all know what, Perr. It was an expression.”
Perry smiled, “Then maybe he’s busy with finals.”
“Even so, we used to talk multiple times a week. We’d get together. It’s been radio silence since Thanksgiving and I don’t like it. Did I do something?”
Perry set the paper down and placed her hand on top of Lafontaine’s, rubbing it slightly. Lafontaine’s gaze moved to the point of contact. “You did nothing. Sometimes things come up. I’m sure he’ll call when he can. But, if you really want to call, go ahead.”
Lafontaine stood up suddenly, “Yeah, I’m gonna call.”
The same conversation happened three more times before Perry took the phone and dialed for them, forcing them to make the call. They scrabbled to get the phone to their ear just in time to hear Will’s, “Ello?” on the other end.
“That’s it?”
Perry of course could only hear one side of the conversation but her face contorted in confusion, then worry, then fear, following the examples of Lafontaine’s expression.
“Well it would have been nice…okay Will sure…I get it but…we’re friends though, you should let me…what…oh my god…is everything…okay…do you need any-…well if you do…actually why don’t we…okay I’ll wait…you better…I hope everything’s okay, Will. I’ll talk to you soon.” Lafontaine’s face had gone white and they were moving very slowly as they put away their phone.
“What is it?” Perry urgently questioned.
“Laura’s been holed up at the Karnstein’s house for the past few days. Carmilla was missing. She just showed up a few nights ago. That’s why Will’s been absent. He’s been looking for his sister.”
“That answers our question about Laura too,” Perry added.
“Whatever happened it doesn’t sound good and I can only expect it has something to do with Lilita.”
“Their sister is there too.”
“I feel like we should do something.”
Perry got up from her chair to comfort Lafontaine. She set a hand on their shoulder, allowing for them to make the choice to hug her, which they did. “We can’t do anything unless they need us for something. We don’t want to barge in on their lives.”
“Laura seems –”
“She’s Carmilla’s girlfriend. That comes with the territory.”
Lafontaine pushed back so they could look Perry in the face, “Will is my friend.”
“I know it hurts to just sit and wait but if that’s what he asked then that’s what you have to do.”
They grabbed their bag from the chair, “I need to go to the lab.”
It was two hours before they actually had to be there but Perry noticed that whenever they wanted to think or were stressed out, the lab is where they went. It was their safe space; a way they could clear their mind. Perry kissed Lafontaine goodbye, “I’ll see you later today, then.”
Lafontaine managed a smile, “Don’t get too strung out now,” before they dashed through the door.