Page 45 of Touch Her and Die

She pointed to her sink.

“Leftovers. Those are all veggies and stuff that I didn’t eat, so they go to the birds and the pigs.”

The air smelled of coffee, and I turned towards the coffee pot. I liked her better and better.

“Okay. Well, you go feed your little farm, can I have that?”

She smiled at me. Her yellow dress seemed way too happy this time of morning.

“Sure. Help yourself. Parks said that you are to be given whatever you want. You must really have done something to him. He’s never brought a girl to meet me. Not even when I wasn’t on house arrest.”

I pulled open cabinet after cabinet. None of them were more worn than the other. In fact, they all looked freshly painted.

“Oh, the third one to your—”

I opened up the cupboard and pulled a mug out and read it.

“Be a good human?”

She snorted.

“Yeah. It’s like the mug I use when I would rather use it to hit someone over the head. What can I say? Mostly my daddy dearest.”

The muscles in my cheek twitched.

“Oh, perfect. Since I want to punch Parks in the fucking face. Again.”

I heard her say something under her breath and turned to see a chicken poking its head through the doggy door.

“I am not living with a chicken in the house.”

She shrugged. “Gertie won’t stay long. She kind of forgets what’s happened, anyway. Look.” And Emilee tossed Gertie a strawberry.

Gertie pecked at it several times before grabbing it and running out the door.

“Odd,” I said.

Emilee stood up and pushed in her chair.

“You have no idea how boring it gets waiting for someone to come visit. Well, dump a body or two.”

The cup was warm to the touch, and I walked to the fridge.

“Is there creamer?” I asked

Emilee nodded. “Uh, yes. Only serial killers like black coffee.”

I thought about it.

“That’s fair.”

She eyed me. “Parks told me you have some skills, I don’t get serial killer vibes though. This proves I was right.”

I poured myself a lot of creamer waiting for the coffee to turn tan, and then took a sip.

“I wouldn’t paint me as some kind of, uh. Well. I just wouldn’t.”

She strolled over the sink and put a dish inside it.