Page 79 of Of Blood and Smoke

She snarled, “Get that away from me you cunt.”

Shocked, I took one step back. “What’s your problem?”

Christina shoved her chair back. “You have zero qualifications for this job. Maybe you should go back to washing dishes and wearing hash browns.”

“Excuse me? I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t do the job. All I want to know is if you saw anyone near my desk.”

“You prance around here like you’re better than anyone and sit at your desk drinking coffee all day, lookin’ all pretty and batting your eyes at the boys. You’re only here because you’repretty. Go away and go fuck up some more files.”

I did not “fuck up” any files. If anything, the opposite was true.

“What is wrong with you? We have to work together so let’s not do this, okay?”

As I turned to leave, she stood up. “What’s wrong with me?What’s wrong with me? Before you showed up, I was Josiah’s favorite,” she spat, “and now he won’t even look at me. Not since you got here.”

I didn’t know what to say, stunned by her hatred and vitriol. Finally, I said, “You’ve seen him without his glasses?”

That pissed her off even further. She began stalking toward me slowly. “Unlike you, I listened to him. I obeyed the rules. Rules you can’t seem to follow.”

My arms were crossed against my chest, and I lowered them, holding a hand up toward her, the other still clutching my coffee. “I’m just gonna go back to my desk.”

A twinge of jealousy crept through me; I’d had no idea there’d been anything between the two of them. I knew it was unreasonable to be upset, so I shoved the feeling away.

“Hang on—what were you talking about with your coffee?” Christina asked, her lips twitching. “Did you drink some yet?”

Her mood had instantly changed to a mild excitement, and it caught me off guard. I lifted the lid and held the cup out. She took another step closer and moved to grab it, squealing.

Next thing I knew, I was wearing the coffee. Hot liquid splattered my blouse and started to run down my pants, the heat of the beverage stinging my belly along the way.

“Why?” I looked up at her, my mouth gaping.

“Why are you just standing there? Go away. Nobody wants you here,” she yelled at me.

“What did you do to my coffee, Christina? What did you put in it?” I stood my ground, letting the beverage set into my clothing.

Christina threw out her arms, pushing me back. I stumbled on my heels but remained upright. “Really?” I looked at her, dumbfounded.

“Really, bitch.” She swung around, grabbing her bottle of tomato juice and began marching toward my desk. I ran after her, grasping her arm as she unscrewed the lid. It seemed to happen in slow motion, the arch of slimy juice hitting my laptop. There was nothing I could do. She was acting completely insane, and I didn’t know if I should laugh, cry, or scream.

Christina reached over and dug her nails into my fingers before she gripped my other arm and spun me around. “Let go of me,” I growled, trying to regain my balance as I twirled on my heels.

She did, but then went for my hair instead. I felt my hair ripping out at the roots as she dug into my scalp and then she circled the twist I’d arranged my hair into this morning. My hands shot up trying to break the contact.

“He should’ve let you die,” she growled. “You fucking parasite.”

The whole situation felt unreal to me, it was like I was back in middle school and there was a fight in the cafeteria. Her words angered me; I was no parasite—I worked my ass off, always had.

Christina had clearly had a problem with me since shortly after we met, but I had no idea it ran this deep or that she wasthis psychotic. I’d never pictured her trying to rip my hair out from the roots like she was right now.

She gripped me tighter, and the pain from her shaking my head was blinding. My fingers scratched her as I desperately tried to break free.

Where was everyone? No one had come to see what the commotion was about, and I then realized we’d been relatively quiet, other than a few screeches from Christina.

I’d started to yell for help just when she drove her knee into my stomach. My breath shot out of my lungs as I doubled over and suddenly my hair was free. The roots of my hair screamed with relief and my eyes began to water. But then, she swung her arm and grabbed my now-loosened hairdo, and the side of head slammed against the desk.

My vision went black. I literally saw stars just as I heard someone roar her name. Next thing I knew, there was a loud, dull thud and my eyes cleared. Christina rolled onto the floor, landing several feet away from me.

Josiah bent his knees and carefully helped me stand up. “What happened?” He snapped angrily, his head turning to Christina’s motionless form across the room. Micha moved into view and went over to her, rolling her over so she was flat on her back.

---