Page 12 of Widow

Chapter 3

Like every morning after, I awoke feeling a little disoriented. It felt like I had run a marathon, but I knew I hadn’t. Not that I would know what running a marathon felt like.

I swiped at my phone to turn off my alarm. I had a shift in a few hours but wished I would have taken Christmas off just so I could stay in bed all day.

I stretched under the covers and tried to remember back to everything that happened the night before. I remembered the man at the bar. Actually, I remembered all the men at the bar. In particular, though, I remembered the married man.

It was hard to get the image of his wide eyes and mouth twisted in an 'oh shit' grimace out of my brain.

A surge of guilt ran through me. Was my life worth the lives of one man a month? Were they worth killing? I know I had no control over it, but still, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could have done more to stop it from happening.

The first time they had overtaken me, I had definitely thought about ending my life. I had the means necessary, but then what? The spiders would just move on to someone else. What if they moved on to a kid?

I dragged myself out of bed. I was still wearing what I had the night before. I didn’t even remember coming into the apartment. I must have passed out shortly after getting out of the refrigerator.

Jesus.Had that really all happened last night? Now three people knew what I was, and they hadn’t even killed me. If I’d been them, I would’ve killed me.

I pulled the sheets off the bed and stripped off my clothes. While I appreciated being left in my clothes, now I would have to throw away my bedding too.

I took the longest, hottest shower possible until I couldn't stand the tickling under my skin. After getting ready, I grabbed a bag I kept under the sink and shoved my sheets and clothes inside, double knotting the end.

I shuffled down the hall to the kitchen and flipped on my coffee maker. The morning wouldn’t be the same without it. The spluttering of the machine started to work magic on my brain that was still a bit foggy, even after a shower.

I pulled a coffee cup out of the cabinet as my brain continued to wake up. The green-eyed one, Ric, had brought me inside the condo. It had been really dark, but his pet monkey had lit the way.

I rubbed my eyebrows and thought. My memory was fucking with me. A light-up monkey? Weirder things had happened. Like spiders living inside of me.

I poured the steaming liquid into my cup and added a splash of creamer. I thought I had been losing my mind before, but now I was sure of it.

I pulled a box of strawberry Pop-Tarts out and put two in the toaster. They were my guilty pleasure.

I stared at the toaster as it heated up, the red coils slowly cooking the toaster pastry. What if I went to a sauna? Would the spiders leave me then? Or maybe one of those cryotherapy places.

Anything was worth a shot. I couldn’t live like this forever.

The toaster cycle ended, and the Pop-Tarts popped up, causing me to jump right along with them. I grabbed a paper towel and went with them and my cup into the living room. I stopped in my tracks.

Ric was asleep on my couch. I hadn't seen him when I walked through the living room to the kitchen, but the back of the sofa would have hidden him from my view. I didn’t see Picard anywhere, but he had to be close. Just as the thought crossed my mind, his tiny head peeked out from a duffel bag by the side of the island.

What the hell? He’d brought a bag with him? Did he really think he was staying for a while?

I put my cup of coffee and breakfast on the island and squatted down next to the bag. I gave Picard a quick pet with my finger. He shut his eyes and made a vibrating sound in his throat, kind of like a cat.

I pulled the zipper on the bag open and looked inside. Picard made a kind of clucking noise, like he was admonishing me for snooping, and jumped down onto the floor. Yes, I was snooping. He had probably snooped a lot last night. It was all par for the course.

There were clothes and toiletries. A roll of cash, which was quite suspicious. And a tennis ball. That was it.

Picard started squeaking and moving his arms around. It was almost like he was telling me off for looking in the bag.

“Picard! What are you bitching about? It’s too early for all that racket.” I heard Ric shift on the couch as Picard continued squeaking. “Let the pretty lady go through my bag all she wants. If she wants to look at my underwear, let her. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“You can understand him?” I stood up, grabbed one of my Pop-Tarts, and took a bite out of it. Sugar filled my mouth, and I stifled a moan.

“Yes, although sometimes I wish I couldn’t. He spent centuries having no one, so now he’s making up for lost time.” He sat up on the couch, rubbing his face.

His hair was standing up all over the place, but the disheveled look really looked good on him. Why did men always look so much sexier when they woke up? I probably looked like something the cat dragged in.

“What are you eating? That smells delicious.” Ric's eyes fell to the pastry in my hand. He licked his lips, and my eyes immediately went to them. His lips were plump and kissable. Not that I was thinking about kissing him.

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