Page 27 of Their Darkest Needs

Unless it’s no longer really her I’m talking to. I need to get rid of it soon, but she’s going to make it difficult for me. I can’t have her going to Mara either and telling her that we are on to her, so I do something I never thought I’d do.

I’m going to make Felix’s special tea to knock Taylor out and forget everything that has happened.

“I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to upset you. Why don’t you get dressed and rest in bed? I’ll go and get you some calming tea and a movie to watch in bed.” She looks at me, confused, and I’m not sure she’s going to fall for it, but then she nods and walks over to the closet to grab her clothes.

I wait until I have her tucked in so I’m sure she’s not leaving the room and go downstairs to make her tea.

Felix once gave me the white powder for a ‘in case of’ scenario, and even though I had never thought I’d actually use it, I still had kept it hidden in an old cooking book. Once she’s out, I’ll check if my phone still works so I can message Felix to get the plan set for tomorrow. I don’t like having Taylor involved but I don’t think it would trust me enough.

I add the powder to the tea and wait until it’s fully dissolved before bringing it back up with a DVD.

I open the door to the room and see her lying there waiting for me. I wish it were for other reasons than this, but once all of this is over, I promise I will love and hold her like a man is supposed to. I will do all I can to wash away the sins I have committed towards her and to be better than I am right now.

I give her the tea and sit next to her, waiting in guilt until she finishes the whole thing and starts falling asleep.

It’s almost midday and she’s still out, but Felix told me that it was normal and not to worry so much, which is easier said than done.

My phone luckily still worked, and Felix and I got a plan together. Everything is set and ready to go. The only thing I didn’t account for was the fact that I had booked an appointment with Adelina for Taylor when she was still in the hospital, and she’s now standing at the front door.Shit.

“What do you mean the session is off, is everything okay?” I hold the door as close as I can hoping that Mara won’t pop up out of nowhere.

“She got sick overnight and I’ve been so tired taking care of her, I forgot to call.” Adelina frowns while rubbing the back of her neck.

“Well, I hope she’s better soon. Else we can just plan a new appointment?” she asks me, and I’m relieved she’s not pushing on the matter. I agree and plan a new date. I can see Felix coming up behind her, confusion on his face.

“What’s going on?” he asks us. His hair is dishevelled like he hasn’t slept the whole evening. He is also holding a plastic bag which I’m guessing contains all the stuff we need to make this work.

“I had forgotten to cancel Taylor's psychology appointment. Thank you for bringing the soup for Taylor.” He stares at me and lets out a sarcastic laugh.

“Yeah, no problem, I love being your maid,” he retorts. If Adelina wasn’t here right now, I would’ve smacked the back of his head for being such a pain in my ass.

“I guess I’ll just g—” Her eyes widen. “Wait who was that?” Adelina steps closer, trying to look into the house. I move in between her and the door, not letting her through.

“I think it’s best if you go. She's sick and needs rest, I’ll see you in three weeks.”

Felix walks past her and I quickly slam the door closed. He goes still, and I follow his line of sight, seeing Mara standing there. Shit did she see her. I really cannot have that added to all of this.

A vile smile plays on Mara’s face, like it knows what it’s doing.

There's a silent pause for a while, and then I can hear Felix clearing his throat; he always does this when he feels uncomfortable. I can understand him, since the last time he had an interaction like this, he lost his sister, his aunt, and almost his wife.

Mara turns away and walks to the living room like we didn’t just have a standoff.

I don’t want to follow it, but I need it out of my house, so I walk after it with Felix. It’s sitting on the couch, eyeing the bagFelix is holding, but not saying anything. Not that it has since it got here. I do think it’s playing us. I mean it was able to talk to her as a ghost, but now that it has an actual body with real vocal cords it can’t speak. I might not be Sherlock, but I’m not that dumb either. So what is it playing at?

Felix doesn’t move away and keeps staring at it like he knows something I don’t yet, or maybe he’s just challenging it? I want to ask him, but then Taylor walks in, still wearing her nightdress. Her hair is slightly messy, which makes me start thinking of the times it was like this because of me. I can feel my pants starting to tighten and I shift trying not to get any attention on it. This is really not the time to be sporting a boner.

“Hi, Felix I didn’t know you were going to be here again,” she says while side-eyeing me. To be fair, if I had told her yesterday, she would have forgotten about it anyway, as it’s a side effect from the tea.

“He just showed up.” I shrug at her, I know it’s not a very good lie, but what else can I say? ‘He came to help me kill your already-dead-friend’? Yeah, that would’ve gone well.

Felix smiles up at her like he doesn’t notice the annoyance in her tone. He’s good at that, ignoring other people's feelings.

“Came to bring a surprise for Ryan,” he says, winking at her. Taylor seems rather annoyed at his display, so I walk in between them before they start going at each other too now, grabbing the bag and Felix’s arm. I drag him into the kitchen.

“What the hell was that?” I whisper-shout at him. He laughs and leans down against the counter.

“Just gracing your wife dearest with my sparkling personality,” he retorts. If I didn’t need his help so badly, I would’ve smacked him for that.Though I can always do it once we're done and I no longer need his help.

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