Page 71 of The HalloQueen

Sighing she shook her head, “okay, I’ll take that as a no. She said you guys had a fight and you left her at home upset and never called to work it out.”

Fury roiled in me and I stood up, feeling more energized now that the harvesting had started to settle in me, “I called her. I must have called and texted her five times on Monday. She hasn’t reached out at all.”

“Well…maybe she isn’t ready to talk to you yet,” Trae contributed with a helpful yet sarcastic tone.

“Has she told you such?” I glared at him.

“Naw, man, I haven’t seen her- only Shannon has.”

Shannon pulled herself up onto a barstool, her generous hips spilling over the sides of the seat, and signaled to the bartender to bring her another tequila, “She’s staying with her moms while she heals - she hasn’t even been into work yet. Whoever it was shattered her fucking elbow to the point she needed surgery. She almost bled out. Not what I was expecting to hear when I called Sybil, that’s her Mama, called me about the launch Tuesday morning.”

Yusuf spoke up from my other side, “Wait, Sybil Williams is her mother? The literature professor at Salem?”

She nodded and threw her shot back, “Well she was, she retired earlier this year. Her memory is going which is why Bels moved back here.”

“But you’re sure, Sybil Williams?”

Shannon furrowed her brow, “Yeah…”

“Is she related to Deirdra Williams?”

“Yus, what’s going on?” I looked at him, searching his wide eyes for answers but Shannon made a hissing noise around her lime, bringing my attention back to her.

“Yeah, those are her moms. Did you have Sybil at Salem?”

“Uh,” Yusuf hesitated, “Yes, I’d just been looking for her regarding a research project but hadn’t been able to connect with her.” He clawed his nails into my bicep and I glared at him.

“Is she safe? Can I help?” I would get on my knees and beg if it got me back in Bels’ good graces. Groveling was on my to-do list after all.

“I think if she wanted to see you she would have found a way to get a hold of you, man. Maybe you should just back off - she said you were coming on really strong,” Trae said, running his hands over Shannon’s pear-shaped torso.

“Shush, be kind!” Shannon scolded him, “I swear, sometimes I think you are too protective of her.” Moving her attention to me, she pulled out her phone and text me an address, “This is her moms’ address. She doesn’t like flowers. Get her a Raven plant and take her a coffee - pumpkin spice latte. Do. Not. Push. Her. The more you push the more she’ll retreat. Got it?”

“A Raven plant?” I asked.

“Yeah they’re called a Zz or something like that, just google it. It’s a big black houseplant. She loves them and kills them regularly so she always wants another one.”

I barked a laugh, “She kills Ravens?”

With a shrug, she looked at me quizically, “Just the plants, not the birds. Oh! Did she tell you we saw a giant Raven over the bar district last week? It was insane. Closest I’ve ever seen one fly to me.”

“No way,” Yus drawled, “a Raven? Around here? What are the chances of that?”

“Oh, black sweet potato vines also make her happy.”

Trae chuckled, “Why do you know her favorite plants if she can’t keep them alive?”

She shrugged, “Girls know this stuff. Jake sent me flowers once and she went on a giant rant about how sending someone flowers was stupid because they’d just whither and die. She said men should be smart enough to only send plants.”

A thought occurred to me, “Shannon, what about Tim? Is he at her moms’? Should I go over and take care of him?”

“Do you have a key? I don’t know who’s taking care of the cat.”

“Okay, well at the very least I’ll go ask her if I need to check on him…I wouldn’t want anything to happen to the little guy.”

“You like that stupid cat? Damn thing always hissed and clawed at me,” Trae grumbled and Shannon’s head whipped in his direction.

“And when have you been around Bels’ cat?”

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