Page 25 of Grim

“Sure, we can do that, but you gotta finish your breakfast first.”

That’s all it took to get her to dive into her pancakes. As soon as we all finished eating, Skid helped me clean up the kitchen while Luna piddled with her sippy cup. She was still in her PJs, so I took her back to the room where we’d slept and got her dressed for the day. It didn’t look like we were going anywhere, so I put on her play clothes and headed to the living room to find Skid.

When we walked in, he was flipping through the channels. “What was the name of the movie?”

“Encanto.”

“That’s right.”

Skid searched for the movie while Luna and I got settled on the sofa. Luna was all smiles when she saw her favorite movie pop up on the screen. She settled back, and it wasn’t long before both she and Skid were wrapped up in the show. I, on the other hand, was restless and couldn’t get into the movie. I was usually working at this time and felt like I needed to be doing something.

I glanced around the room, and I couldn’t help but notice that everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. Grim had a really nice place—much nicer than any place I’d ever stayed, but it needed some TLC. I had nothing better to do, so I turned to Skid and asked, “Any idea where he keeps the cleaning supplies?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say he didn’t have any.”

“Really?”

“Grim’s not the cleaning type.”

“I see. Well, that’s too bad. I was going to try and tidy up a bit to thank him for letting us stay.”

“Ah, man.” He sighed. “Guess that means you want me to make a run, huh?”

“Would you mind?

“After the movie?” I gave him a pleading look, and he quickly recanted, “Okay, I’ll go now.”

Like a kid who’d just lost his lollipop, he got up with a pout and started towards the door. He was just about to walk out when I remembered that Christmas was just a day away, so I shouted, “Hey, Skid! Hold up.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Just give me a second.” I rushed into the room where we’d slept and grabbed my wallet from one of the bags. I took what little cash I had and carried it to Skid. “Do you think you could grab a little Christmas tree and maybe some lights?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” He glanced down at the small wad of cash I had in my hand and said, “Keep your money, doll. I’ll get it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Thanks, Skid.”

“No problem.”

He walked out, and I was pleased to see that Luna didn’t seem to mind his absence. I knew he wouldn’t be gone long, so I used the opportunity to do a little snooping. I slipped down the hall and went into the master bedroom and found a nice-sized room with a king-sized bed and a nice dresser.

I stuck my head into the master bath, and it was equally as nice. It was also in great need of a good cleaning. I went and checked the other rooms, and like the one where Luna and I had slept, there was a bed, a few pieces of furniture, and an assortment of unopened boxes—all of which were dusty and had a weird smell.

I was going to have my work cut out for me, but it was something that would keep me busy until Grim came back. The thought made my chest tighten. At the moment, Luna and I were relatively safe. We were staying at a nice place in a nice neighborhood with no gunshots going off in the middle of the night, and Skid had been nothing but sweet to us both.

But that all could change at any moment. Grim could return and sell us both off to the highest bidder, kill us, or kick us out onto the streets. I hated being so vulnerable, but I had done it to myself. I should’ve gone on to college and tried to make something of myself instead of relying on Jeremy to fix everything. It was a mistake, and sadly, there was little I could do to fix it.

I had just made my way back into the living room to check on Luna when Skid came charging into the house with an arm full of cleaning supplies and a Christmas tree. He’d even bought lights and ornaments. “Wow! Did you buy out the store?”

“I came close.” He walked over and dropped everything on the counter. “I figured I’d save myself a second trip.”

“Smart idea.”

Skid grabbed the tree and ornaments, “Hey, kiddo. Look what I got!”

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