Page 17 of Scorned
Everything seemed untouched. All the pillows on the couch were in perfect position and the TV remote was in the same exact spot when we first came here. An inch of dust seemed to have moved in, now living on top of everything.
Knowing how much of a clean freak Sage used to be, this wasn’t like her. She may have been staying here, but she wasn’t living here. With the way she shut down, she wasn’t living at all.
I headed into the tiny kitchen and opened the fridge and found nothing but a barren wasteland. I foraged through a bunch of cabinets and they were the same. Only one pack of noodles and a couple cans of soup laid upon the almost empty shelves. With a sigh, I slammed the last one shut.
My jaw clenched as I headed down the hallway, stopping at the bathroom first. I checked to see if she needed any toiletries and cataloged them.
Frantic meowing screeched through the cabin, getting my attention. I stepped into the hallway and followed the sound down to Sage’s bedroom. Her cat, Chewy, scratched at the door, wanting out. I opened it and he twirled between my legs while purring in victory.
“Did she accidentally lock you up, buddy?” Reaching down, I stroked my hand down his soft fur before he took off.
When I went to shut the bedroom door, an orange medicine bottle on the dresser caught my attention. Deciding to investigate, I headed toward it and yanked it up.
Marie Adams. Serovenomine. Take one tablet daily.
“What the fuck?”
I knew Sage’s alias for Venom had been Marie, so that hadn’t concerned me. But with the bottle being empty and weeks overdue on refill, I worried it might be something she needed but had run out of. I pulled out my phone and did a Google search and got no results.
The wood planks on the front porch creaked, alerting me someone was about to enter the cabin. I stuck the bottle in my pocket and headed out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I turned into the kitchen moments before the front door opened.
“Thanks for letting me walk with you, Sage,” Marcus said, and she didn’t respond.
The front door shut and she let out an exhausted sigh. Her footsteps made the floors of the cabin creak as she headed toward me.
“Hey,” I said when she came around the corner, startling her.
“What the fuck, Winnie! You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry.” I shut a cabinet door and finished pretending to log items in my notes.
“What are you doing here?”
I held up my phone for her to see. “Taking inventory. We’re heading into town for supplies.”
“Oh.” She trudged past me and grabbed a cup from the strainer, filling it with water from the faucet.
“Do you need anything?” I asked, getting her to engage in conversation.
“Chewy needs food.” She sipped her water while staring out the window framed by pale blue curtains that hung above the kitchen sink.
Even though I already knew why Luka’s dog didn’t stay here, I figured it would be a way to get her to converse. “Where’s Annie?”
She downed the rest of her water and set her cup back in the strainer. “Peach has him. He doesn’t get along with Chewy.”
“That sucks. Anything you need from town? Food, drinks, meds?” A swift kick in the ass.
“I need soup and noodles.”
My jaw clenched more as I attempted to keep a calm demeanor. “That shit will kill you.”
“Good.”
It was like red hot lava burned through me when she silently strolled out of the kitchen. Needing to get her to talk, I shoved my phone in my pocket and headed down the hall after her.
“Hold up.”
Sage stopped by the bedroom door and turned toward me. “I don’t feel like talk—”
