Page 2 of Chains
“Hey.”I tried to keep my voice steady, but it wavered.“I’m so sorry to bother you, but I’m having a bit of an emergency.”
“Oh no, Ellie!What kind of emergency?Are you all right?”Carrie sounded distressed.She was such a sweet person I had no doubt she genuinely was distressed.
“I… um… may have accidentally created a biohazard in my apartment and gotten evicted?”I laughed, the sound hollow and desperate.“I need to be out by eight tonight, and I have nowhere to go, and I have my cats, and --” My voice broke, tears threatening.
There was a muffled commotion in the background.I could hear Carrie talking and other people responding, but it was like she had her hand over the speaker or something.I closed my eyes, bracing for rejection.
“Drop me a pin and we’ll get over there.”Carrie sounded determined and, I thought, authoritative?Like she was the one giving the orders and everyone else was doing her bidding.So, I did as she instructed.“We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Relief flooded through me so fast I nearly dropped the phone.“We?”My voice came out a squeak.I knew Carrie’s man was a member of a local motorcycle club called Kiss of Death.Which I kind of liked the sound of, but it was still a motorcycle club.Honestly, though, I kind of thought the guys I’d met at the coffee shop were much safer than some of the people living in this building.
“Oh yeah!The girls are gonna get you a room ready while Hannah and I come get you.We’re bringing Knuckles and Hawk.We’ll get you packed up and out of there in no time.”
“I don’t want to cause anyone any trouble, Carrie.It’s bad enough I’m asking you guys for a place to stay.”
“Nonsense!We all want to help!”There was some more racket in the background, then Carrie was back.“We’re bringing boxes and some big contractor bags.Anything you want to keep that’s soiled or smells too bad we can put in there and wash later.Be on the lookout for a blue Bronco.”
After I ended the call, I started piling things I wanted to keep in a pile, separate pile from the things I thought were too soiled or stank too badly to salvage.I headed downstairs a couple minutes before they were supposed to arrive.Several of my neighbors gave me the side-eye as I walked past.I couldn’t blame them.The stink really was that bad.
I looked around at my meager possessions.Thrift-store furniture, my handcrafted Halloween decorations, my collection of spell books that had clearly failed me pretty much summed up everything I owned other than clothes.I didn’t even own a car.The realization that I could fit my entire life, other than my cats, into a few bags was both depressing and oddly liberating.
Salem meowed softly from his carrier, his green eyes watching me with what seemed like sympathy.I walked over and stuck my finger through the grate, letting him rub his head against it.
“Looks like we’re starting over again, babies,” I whispered to the cat as he rubbed against me.“Who needs that jerky jerkface anyway, right?”
Salem looked unimpressed.
I had eight hours to pack up.I doubted it would take much longer than it would for Carrie to get here.Oh well.I was about to meet some new people.Make some new friends.With any luck, I’d still have a place to decorate for Halloween.
The cats lounged, relaxed but alert, each in their carriers.Silently judging me.
“I can’t believe I’m letting cats look at me like I’m an idiot.”Their identical, familiar looks of exasperation burned into my stomach.“If you want pup cups on the way to wherever we’re going, you better stop giving me the evil eye.”I swear, Lucifer snorted at me.Sounded like a sneeze, but I knew he actually snorted.
I snagged my keys, locking the door on my way out to meet Carrie.The loud rumble of motorcycles heralded the group’s arrival.Just like Carrie’d said, a big blue Bronco pulled up to the curb.Carrie wasn’t driving, though.Hawk, Carrie’s very overprotective man, sat behind the wheel.He got out before Carrie, but she rounded the front of the vehicle and headed straight to me.
My neighbors glared from their windows, handkerchiefs pressed to their faces.The stench had followed me outside, clinging to my clothes and hair like an invisible, putrid cloud.In fact, there seemed to be a cloud just kinda… hanging out.Surrounding the building in a noxious blue/green haze.
“You smell like death warmed over,” Carrie said without a hint of judgment.Just a statement of fact.With a really big grin on her face.
I laughed nervously.“Yeah, turns out mixing wolfsbane and fermented beet juice creates something worse than tear gas.”I tugged at my burnt orange sweater, which now sported several green stains.“I’m so sorry about this.Thank you for coming.”
Carrie waved me off.“Not another word about it.Shit happens.And sometimes it’s in the form of a really foul witches’ brew.”Her smile was infectious as she slid her arm through mine.Despite the fact her eyes had to be watering, Carrie took everything in stride.She didn’t act like I smelled like roadkill, only guided me back inside the building to my apartment.If she distracted me, I wouldn’t concentrate on the men she brought with her.
“I don’t know why you brought so many people.”I didn’t want them seeing how little I had.Carrie was the least judgmental person I knew, and even she was going to blink at the small amount I had to take with me.
“We’re moving you completely out of here, Ellie.”Carrie gave me a firm look.“You should have taken me up on my offer months ago when you told me about this jackass raising the rent on you with no notice.”
“I can take care of myself.”I winced.“Usually.”
“Sure you can.”Carrie held back so I could unlock and open the door.“But sometimes, you just need to kick back with the girls and regroup.”
I stared at Carrie for a long moment until my lips spread in a slow smile.“I like that.”
“Thought you might.Come on.Let’s get your stuff and go take a medical-grade shower.”
“I’m not sure even that will get the stench outta my hair.”
“Where’s all your shit?”Carrie looked around at the three cat carriers, the single suitcase, my computer bag, and a giant tub of cat food and cat toys.And the portable cat tree.Oh.And one small tote with all my Halloween decorations.
