Page 3 of His Obsession

“Hmm,” I say, looking up at her. “Pass.”

“Ms. Hart. You must sign it or…”

“Or what, Carol?” I ask. “Are you going to evict me?”

“Well, no,” she says. “But I can issue a fine.”

“I’m sure I can manage,” I laugh.

“Acting like this won’t earn you an invitation to any neighborhood function, you know,” she says with a frown. “No one will want to involve themselves with someone so…”

“Trashy?” I ask. I step a little closer and fear hides in her eyes. “Baby, I grew up in foster homes that had everything from meth labs to pedophiles. You don’t have the slightest clue what trashy is. The next time you want to interact with me, maybe try taking that stick out of your ass and be nice to me. I am a kind and caring person, but all you people have done is treat me like I am an outsider.”

“Ms. Carol, are you already harassing the new neighbor?” Laura asks as she walks over.

“Not at all,” I say. “We were just chatting.”

“I was just telling Elise about the end of summer cookout,” Carol says. Her tone is vastly different with Laura, and it only further strengthens my belief that everyone here is fake.

“Ah, yes. You must come, Elise. It is a lot of fun,” Laura says.

“Well, you two have a wonderful evening. It’s just about my bedtime,” Carol says. When she walks away, Laura shakes her head.

“She’s harmless,” Laura says. “Annoying, but harmless.”

“She’s been up my ass since I moved in,” I say. “Someone sent her over to my house this morning saying I had the music too loud, so I blared it all day.”

“Yeah, I thought that was funny,” Laura says. “Carol… Not so much.”

“I don’t mean to come across like a bitch. I have just spent my entire life being pushed around. I promised myself I wouldn’t keep doing that when I moved here,” I explain.

“Well, just be careful about making too many waves. Everyone is nice, but they all have their limits,” she says vaguely.

“Why? Someone going to burn my house down or something?” I ask, only half-joking.

“No,” Laura laughs.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask, and she nods. “What’s up with Lucian?”

“What do you mean?” she asks.

“Is he one of the ones that have a limit? He’s not my biggest fan. Not after this morning, at least.”

“Lucian owns nearly all of Maple Falls. It’s been in his family for generations,” she says.

“Ah,” I say. “Anything I should know living next to him?”

“Hello, ladies,” Lucian says from behind me.

“Hey,” Laura says to him. I turn so that I can see him and he has that same damn smirk on his face. “Carol invited Elise to the end of summer cookout tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Lucian says. “Will you be joining us, Elise?”

“I’m not even sure where it is,” I say honestly. “I was not given any details.” Really, I only think Carol mentioned it because it was better than explaining what I was actually saying to her.

“Well, it will be at my house,” Lucian says. “Everyone should be here by seven.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I say, forcing a smile.

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