Page 87 of Pity Present

Vampira

The event doesn’t end for several more days.

Me

I’ve had enough.

Vampira

I’ll be the one to decide that, Blake. If I’m not pleased, you’re going back.

I hate when people feel like they need to have the last word, so I leave her message on unread. Passive aggressive? Most definitely. But I’m not going to give Gillian the satisfaction of knowing that she won.

I don’t want to run into Molly until she’s calmed down, which is why I’m pacing in my room like a caged animal. As such, the knock on my door takes me by surprise. The only person it could be is Molly, and knowing the mood I left her in, if I open it, I might be on the receiving end of a hot pot of coffee.

I let her knock again before I hear a voice that isn’t hers. “Open the door!” It’s Ellen.

Opening the door, I snap, “What now? Are you going to set my room on fire?”

She pushes me into my room before following. “Don’t be a drama queen, Blake.”

“A drama queen?” Stabbing a pointer finger in her direction, I practically yell, “You don’t even know me, lady.”

She rolls her eyes. “Settle down. I’m on your side.”

“If tonight was you being on my side, remind me to never make an enemy of you.”

She strides across the carpet and sits down at the table. “I’ve got no beef with you, Blake. In fact, Gillian thinks you’re great. She says you’re the perfect addition to the paper.”

“Gillian thinks I’m a gigantic pain in the butt,” I tell her.

“I’m sure you are. But that doesn’t mean you’re not also good at your job.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here to help. I think you and my sister might just be a good match.”

Sitting on the chair across from hers, I tell her, “I don’t think your helping is a good idea.”

“Why? I know everything about Molly. If anyone can get past her defenses, it’s me.”

“She’s never going to forgive me for lying to her,” I say. “And honestly, I don’t blame her. I have not been on the up and up, and that was the main reason I’d decided I wasn’t going to flirt with anyone here.”

“Yet, you clearly broke that rule,” she needlessly tells me.

“Your sister is hard to ignore.”

“My sister,” she replies, “is a catch. But she’s also been hurt badly, and she doesn’t know how to come back from that.”

“And I made that even harder for her. Which is not what I wanted to do.”

Ellen waves off my comment. “Molly is just gun shy. She should have gotten right back on the horse after that idiot Kyle, but she second-guessed herself and then she lost herself. All she needs is some time to realize that you were just doing your job. I’ll work on her.”

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” I tell her. “I can’t stay here knowing how much I’ve hurt her.”

“She’ll be happy to hear that. She wanted to leave, but this way we can stay and have some sister time.”

I was kind of hoping Ellen would tell me to stay and she’d help me work things out now, but she knows her sister better than I do. If Molly needs space, I’ll give it to her. “I’ll check out at ten, if you want to make sure she doesn’t see me.”

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