"J-Jamie, why are we..." I start, unsure of how much I want to use that word. "...that?"
"Be quiet and let me think." Jamie snaps. She never snaps like that, except lately. What is going on? Jamie stands there tapping her foot for a minute, then unlocks Timberlake from her pen, scoops her up, and hands the animal to me.
"Jamie," I start.
"Norma, take Timberlake home, tell Carrie to close the windows, and don't leave until I'm back, okay?" Jamie looks me in the eyes as she talks and, for such a normally spaced out woman, it's surprising me.
"B-but-"
"Go!" She says, then softens her tone. "Please, I'll be back by tomorrow. Just explain what happened, okay?" I nod and hurry back to Carrie and Jamie's apartment, and glance back at the stand, to find Jamie is gone. I reach to open the wooden door, when it swings in and a startled Carrie stands there.
"Hey darling, what's going on with Timberlake?" She asks. "I was about to take the next shift-" I push her inside, partially with the goat.
I set Timberlake down and close the door behind me, then lock it without even talking to Carrie. I start shutting windows until Carrie grabs my shoulder, pushes me around, and forces me to explain myself.
"Norma, you're acting like Nuclear War is about to happen!" She says. "Now calm down and tell me what's happening and why the goat is inside!" I hurriedly explain everything I saw when I went outside.
"What is going on with Jamie?" I ask when I'm finished. Carrie sighs and looks like she's having trouble speaking, but Timberlake bleats something so that she takes a deep breath and explains.
"Jamie is in over her head." Carrie says somewhat bluntly. "Let's just say...well, she's doing things that some people might not want to happen." I must show my confusion transparently because she clarifies; "The government, honey."
"Oh." I say.
"She's worried because she's walking a very dangerous path," She says. "And trust me, that is not something you want to get caught up in, so when Jamie says to go somewhere, you need to listen, okay?" I nod, despite the unintentional condescending tone, like she thinks I'm a little kid. I barely think about that, though, because now I'm worried about Jamie.
WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
Dead or alive? That could be Jamie if she keeps this up! Who is she talking to? Has she killed anyone?!I run through probably a thousand questions in my mind before I start breathing too rapidly and panicking. Jamie practically raised me since Howard disappeared! If something happens to her, I have no idea how I'll survive!
Wait...since Howard disappeared. He introduced me to Carrie and Jamie. Could he have something to do with this?
I decide questions unasked will go unanswered, but when I turn to ask Carrie hundreds of them, before I can even ask, Carrie says she feels sick, so she lies down and falls asleep. I cross my arms and pout purposelessly for a few minutes before the questions run through my head and I end up playing with Timberlake to distract myself.
I don't even realize I've fallen asleep until I wake up again with a pillow draped over me. An asleep Timberlake is my pillow, but when I sit up, she wakes up and licks my hand. The light outside is faint, but I can't see the sun so I don't know if it's early morning or evening. Carrie is sitting at her desk, doing something with yarn. She sees I'm awake, glances at me, then returns to knitting.
"What time is it?" I ask.
"Morning." She says. "You fell asleep so I just covered you and Timberlake with a blanket." Before I can even decide if it's a good idea to ask about food, my stomach growls loudly. Carrie looks at me sympathetically.
"Honey, you could help yourself to some cheese and bread, if you'd like." I stand and walk over to the small cabinets, to find only a little cheese and bread. I tear off a bite-size piece of each, then walk to Carrie. I try and ask if she and Jamie are alright, but something about her posture, or the way she's holding the knitting needles so close, makes me wonder if something is legitimately wrong. She looks up at me. "What is it, Norma?"
"Uh, I don't know..." I sit down on the floor, wrap the blanket around myself, and nibble on the food, only getting more and more worried.
A/N: the plot intensifies...please review, it means a lot!