Awry

44

Later that week, Scarlet and Laura sat on the couch together watching an old movie. Laura had been especially worried about Scarlet lately, always asking where she was going and what she was doing.

And sometimes, just sometimes, Scarlet swore Laura was looking at her eyes. But that made no sense. How would Laura know? And if Laura did know, why wouldn’t she tell Scarlet?

Maybe for the same reason she didn’t tell me she knew about Tristan? Or her weapon fetish?

Scarlet was so confused. She didn’t know what to think of her guardian’s secrecy. But she also didn’t want to jump to any conclusions. Laura had been great since Scarlet’s breakup with Gabriel. She’d taken Scarlet out to dinner and movies and distracted her as best she could.

Scarlet and Gabriel had almost every class together, so Scarlet couldn’t help but see him all day, and their conversations had been clipped and limited.

They didn’t hate each other. Not at all. They just didn’t know how to act around one another. Scarlet ran a hand through her hair and looked around the room.

Piles of folded, clean laundry were stacked up around the couch, making cloth towers in the living room. If there was one thing both Laura and Scarlet were bad at, it was putting laundry away.

The movie came to an end and Scarlet looked over at her guardian, who was sound asleep with her head on the arm of the couch. Her red hair fanned out against the pale fabric of the sofa, looking soft and flawless as it settled on top of a short tower of Laura’s clean shirts.

Scarlet turned the TV off and gathered a few piles of clothes from the floor. She tiptoed upstairs and dropped her own laundry off in her room, before walking into Laura’s room to do the same. Her joints burned as she moved and Scarlet winced. That had been happening a lot, lately. Maybe Scarlet needed to take up yoga or something.

She set the clothes on Laura’s bed and turned to leave Laura’s room, when something caught her eye.

Peeking out from the double doors of Laura’s closet, was a suitcase. The same suitcase Laura had been so weird about when she’d come home from Europe.

Scarlet stared at the closet, twitching her lips.

She never invaded Laura’s privacy.

In fact, she’d only been in Laura’s room one other time and that was when Laura first showed Scarlet the house two years ago.

She had no business being in Laura’s private space, let alone looking inside her luggage.

No business at all.

Nagging curiosity poked at Scarlet as she stared at the suitcase. Were the Bluestone weapons in there? Was that what Laura was hiding?

A minute passed.

Scarlet scolded herself as she made her way over to the suitcase.

It was wrong. So wrong.

But did that stop Scarlet? Nope.

She looked behind her to make sure Laura hadn’t followed her upstairs, then eased the closet door open and knelt beside the suitcase.

Slowly unzipping it, Scarlet felt her nerves begin to jump. She didn’t know what to think of Laura carting around a collection of knives.

Lifting the flap of the unzipped suitcase, Scarlet blinked.

Not knives.

Inside, carefully tucked into black casing so as not to be jostled, was a single yellow flower, roots and all.

What the…?

Footsteps on the stairs had Scarlet quickly shutting the flap and zipping the suitcase back up. With her heart pounding, Scarlet stepped out of Laura’s room and tried to act casual as Laura reached the top of the stairs.

Laura’s sleepy eyes roamed over Scarlet. “What are you doing?”

“Just putting your laundry on your bed.” Scarlet smiled, hoping her lie sounded convincing. She faked a yawn. “I’m sleepy. Good night.” Scarlet walked to her bedroom door and let herself in, Laura’s eyes on her the whole time.

Once inside her bedroom, Scarlet closed the door behind her and allowed her heart to beat at the full force it wanted to.

Her head spun as she stared ahead at nothing in particular. What was so important about that yellow flower?

What the hell was going on?