Liam was in his latest hotel room talking to Mary when he heard a beep on his phone. He didn't really want to answer it, but finally convinced himself that he should. "Someone is on my other line," he told Mary regretfully. "I have to talk to them. Please tell me you'll still be around when I get back."
"Of course I will," Mary replied. "You've seen me at my worst and you're still talking to me and not treating me like the monster I am, so that deserves some loyalty on my part, doesn't it?"
"You're not really a monster," Liam told her. "It was something that was done to you by a cruel and spiteful woman. And I-I will see to it that she'll pay for that."
"You will?" Mary asked.
"Yes," Liam replied. "I promise." Then, he clicked on the other line. "Hello?"
"I don't like being kept waiting," said a voice he knew well. "Will you give my nephew a message, Liam? I'm on my way."
"What?" Liam cried. "Just a minute! How the hell did you get out?"
"It wasn't easy," Edele replied. "But I have my reasons. Just ask my nephew. He'll explain them to you."
"So you're out," Liam sighed. "Well, fine. It's done. You better not do anything more to Mary. You've hurt her enough already."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Edele replied with a tinkling laugh. "Now that the curse has been enacted, when it comes to Mary, I can happily sit back and watch the destruction she makes. I don't need to do any more. I'm done talking to you now. You'll give my nephew the message?"
"Do I have a choice?" Liam wanted to know. "What will you do if I don't?"
"I'll have to tell him myself then," Edele replied. "And that'll disrupt things that don't need to be disrupted, at least not at the moment. Do you understand?"
"Fine," Liam said. "I guess. I'll tell him."
"Good," Edele said, his voice full of satisfaction. "Let me know when you've told him. I'll be waiting for your call."
"Fine," Liam replied. "Whatever. Goodbye." He ended the call and went back to Mary, hoping she was still on the line. "Sorry about that," he said. "Are you still here, Mary?"
"Yeah, I am," Mary replied. "But it won't be for much longer."
Liam swore then. "Where are you?" He asked. "Tell me, please. Your exact location."
Mary gave him an address, the same way she usually did in her notes. He figured that she most likely wouldn't be there when he arrived, but he hoped she would be.
To his surprise, when he arrived in her hotel room, she was sitting on the bed. "You're still here!" He exclaimed. "I didn't think you would be. I thought you'd run away like usual."
"I know," Mary nodded. "And I thought about it, but then I realized that I wanted to see you as much as you want to see me, at least for a little while. Until I go out and cause tonight's destruction and commit tonight's murders."
"Edele called me before I came over here," Liam told her calmly. "Apparently, she's broken out of the council jail yet again. She's very determined, that woman. Much more than the other prisoners. You don't have worry, though," he took her hand and kissed it. "We'll catch her. And hopefully, I'll be able to convince someone to kill her upon capture this time because the cycle of her getting out and us dragging her back to jail only to see her escape again is getting really tiresome."
"You know, I've been terrified of her getting out for years because of the curse and all and what it would do to me, but now that the curse has happened, she doesn't scare me anymore," Mary got out. "Now I'm just relieved. Everything bad that could possibly happen has happened and it can only get better from here, can't it?"
"Oh, I hope so," Liam replied and took Mary in his arms. "You don't deserve this, you know," he said. "You never did."
"Yeah, but it happened, so what can you do?" Mary replied. "I just deal with it the best I can and remind myself that none of it is truly my fault."
They talked until the sun began to go down, and then Liam watched her change, his eyes filled with horror. He was still holding her and wanted to let her go, but something in his mind told him to keep a grip on her. Then, an idea struck him. He took a deep breath, looked into Mary's reptilian eyes, and leaned forward to kiss her cold lips, hoping that, just like in fairy tales, his kiss would break the spell. But instead, she just hissed at him, pushed him away with surprising force that made his head bang into a wall, and slithered off into the gathering dusk.
After he regained consciousness and got his breath, Liam called Sean just as Edele had bade him to, leaving him a message of warning on his machine after several seconds of begging him to pick up. But he was obviously very busy. Whatever he was doing would probably be some of his last peaceful moments until Edele found him and pounced.
"I think we should go out," Eva told Sean. "Like on a date."
"Oh, so you wanna go out, do you?" Sean asked. "I thought you preferred indoor entertainment."
"We can do both," Eva replied. "Who says we can't?"
"What did you have in mind?" Sean asked.
"Drive in movie." Eva suggested. "You ever done that?"
"No," Sean shook his head. "Is that some droll human thing?"
"Yeah," Eva nodded. "Mom and Dad used to take me. I think we could have a good time. And if we get bored, the trunk of your car has enough room for us to…you know."
"Wait, we'd be watching a movie in our car?" Sean asked. "I didn't know you could do such a thing."
"You can!" Eva smiled. "And you still get the popcorn and candy too."
"Well, I do love popcorn and candy," Sean replied. "But don't you think…I was thinking that the first time we went out, we should do something a little more…adult."
"Like go to a restaurant or something, you mean?" Eva asked.
"Yes, please," Sean nodded. "I know that it's not exactly what you wanted to do, but…I think it would be a good way to start things."
"All right," Eva replied and kissed him. "If that's what you want to do, then we will. I just got a new outfit that I can wear. But since we're going on the date you want, you're not allowed to complain about how I'm dressing."
"Why?" Sean asked nervously. "How are you going to dress?"
"Just a minute," Eva said excitedly. "You'll see! Shut your eyes."
Sean shut his eyes, terrified of what he would see when he opened them. When Eva told him to open them, his jaw dropped a little. She looked like a ballerina or a sugar plum fairy. Her dress had a poufy pink skirt made of tutu material and dotted with metallic pink sparkles, the same sparkles which covered the bodice which ended with a sweetheart neckline. She had diamonds in her ears and a sparkly bracelet on her wrist, along with matching silver sandals and a small silver clutch purse and pink fur wrap to keep her warm.
"Oh, my god!" Sean said and stared. "You can't go out like that!"
"Why?" Eva asked. "What's wrong with how I'm dressed?" She went to the mirror and stared into it. "Oh, my god, you're right!" She cried. "I can't go out like this!"
"It's good you see my point," Sean replied.
"I can't go out without my tiara!" Eva exclaimed, zapping it around a big, curly updo. This one was different than the one she'd gotten from the store. It was dotted with pink stones in different shades to match her dress. She then turned to face Sean, zapping him into a dark suit with a pink tie, and then took his hand to lead him out to his car.
As he drove and sneaked glances at Eva in the passenger seat beside him, Sean found himself becoming more accustomed to her outrageous outfit, and even thinking that it fit her better than some fancy gown would. When they parked at the restaurant and she turned to open her door and get out, Sean put a hand on her arm, which gave her pause.
"All right, what?" She asked. "More lectures about how I shouldn't embarrass you in public?"
"No," Sean replied and kissed her. "I just…I just want to say that I think you look very pretty."
"You do?" Eva asked in surprise. "Well, thank you."
"You're welcome," Sean nodded. He got out and walked around the car to help her out. Concerned about the height of her heels, he didn't let her walk, but carried her the length of the parking lot and set her down by the restaurant door. "Be careful on those heels of yours," he advised. "You don't want to break your ankle."
"Thank you," Eva replied. "I'll watch myself." They strode toward the door, going inside and ignoring the host's startled look when they asked him for a table for two. They ignored the whispers of the other patrons as they followed the man through the restaurant and then sat down at their table.
"Everyone's staring at us," Eva whispered. "I bet it's because of my outfit."
"Well, of course," Sean nodded, smiling and reaching out to put one of her errant blonde curls back in place. "Look at all those women, every one of them wearing the same sort of outfit, the only thing differing being the color or the length cause they're too afraid of what people will say if they try to stand out. That's what makes you so much better than them."
"Wow," Eva replied, blushing and then grinning widely. "Is this 'Let's flatter Eva' night? Because I like it! You know what this will mean for you when we get home, right?"
Sean smiled. "One thing at a time," he said.
When they came with the wine list, Sean refused it and Eva pouted. "I was looking forward to a German Reisling!" She complained. "Do you know how good that stuff is?"
"You're too young," Sean said firmly. "And I find it disturbing that you're such an enthusiastic drinker at your age. You're still a teenager for heaven's sake!"
"And you might not look like it, but you're an old man!" Eva whispered intensely. But when Sean asked her again nicely, she relented. Oh, all right," she sighed. "I'll get a soda."
"Good," Sean replied. "Thank you. I'll be having wine myself, but please don't ask me for any."
"Get a red then," Eva advised. "I hate that kind and won't ask you for it."
"All right," Sean nodded. They ordered their drinks, as well as a chicken Parmesan (Eva) and some smoked salmon (Sean), and ate, talked, basically had a very enjoyable evening. Eva Even convinced him to share some chocolate cake with her. After they paid their bill and headed out, Sean checked out his phone, which had been in his car, charging for most of the day, and saw the message from Liam. He listened to it and leaned back against the driver's seat, closing his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Eva asked. "Would you like me to drive?"
"No, thank you," Sean replied. "Not my car. Liam just called to say my aunt's out of jail again. The good thing is, she has no more interest in harming Mary. The bad news is, that means we have no idea what she's gonna do! And whatever it is, it'll probably be directed at me because I killed Sarah!"
"Probably," Eva agreed. "But don't worry. You have me! I said I was gonna protect you, and I mean it! I'll kick her face in if I have to."
Sean tried not to laugh at the sight of what looked like a nutty ballerina making such a violent statement, but he couldn't help himself.
"What's so funny?" Eva asked, her eyes narrowing as her knuckles cracked and she bared her teeth. "You think I can't do it?"
"Sorry," he apologized. "No, I know you can, and it's so sweet that you want to, but…I really think that whatever happens should be between my aunt and me. I don't want you getting involved."
"Okay," Eva sighed. "But you know I won't listen to that, right?"
"I know," Sean sighed. "But at least I can say I got it out there."