Chapter 3.07 – Something Stinks

Warning: Melinda’s retinas might not be the only ones burning! So bright!

Oooookay. Well, that was the weirdest thing Melinda had ever had happen to her and there had sure been a lot of weird things happening to her lately.

She had fought hard to get a barely-conscious April down the stairs and to the front door, feeling her friend tense up as they approached it. Then, as she wondered what the heck to do next, the room had been filled with a lurid green light that had gradually gotten brighter and brighter until all she could see were the wiggly veins in the back of her eyes.

Something warm and soothing bathed her lower limbs, rising up her torso, like wading into a warm sea. Melinda felt it seeping through her skin then flowing back out, almost sentient, almost hesitant as if whatever it was couldn’t decide whether to stay inside her, or not.

She’d clutched April, using April’s confusion and fear to cover her own – she couldn’t be scared, she wouldn’t be scared. She had to be brave, for both of them.

The invisible waves had no problem flowing into April and filling her. April became warm to the touch, lit from within. Melinda’s fingers traced her friend’s soft skin, this light pulsing through her like an imitation of a heartbeat. April felt alive.

She’d barely had chance to embrace this thought when it was gone. It was all gone. Melinda reached out her fingers to clutch at the fading comfort of this sensory bath, but it slipped through her like she was nothing.

Maybe she was nothing. Maybe this is what happened when a vampire died. Without a soul there was nowhere for them to go, they simply ceased to exist.

Was it her imagination or was this old house getting draughtier?

As the blue sky broke through this hazy blanket, a threatening heat blistered her skin and burned her retinas like no brightness could.

She called out into the void and felt a warm arm loop around her waist in response. She could detect a delicate, herbal perfume that had been dabbed on to a pulse point, inches from her nose. Melinda’s whole body, starving and lost in this crazy dream, pulled her towards this solid beat, her confusion and bewilderment blurring the edges of everything she thought she knew, of all the control she thought she had. Her lips were so close to this tantalising source; she could already tell this mystery drink would be divine.

Was she dreaming? She hoped she was dreaming. She was loathe to fight it. She deserved it. Watcher, just allow her this.

The very tip of Melinda’s cold nose brushed the searing heat of flesh. Her fangs extended, that icy coldness across her skin, her eyes stinging as she changed form. But this wasn’t like her usual change of form. This was lighter, purer.

Like her whole body had been disintegrated into powder and blown apart from the core. She was aware of each fragment of her being as it floated detached from the others. She reached out to grasp the warm body before her or to find April alongside her in the aether, but her touch would not connect. She was dust, she was nothing.

She hadn’t got a cohesive thought in her head. In that moment, she simply had to let go and just…

Be.

Melinda had never really thought about what the afterlife might be like, but she hadn’t anticipated there being ceramic pigs there.

She scanned her surroundings as they pieced slowly back together, until she noticed the silhouettes of three men. Their voices exploded into her consciousness, like someone had just turned the volume up. The first one most definitely a stranger, but the other two…

“Seriously; everyone knows you don’t click the ads,” rang the youthful drawl she didn’t recognise. “The ads are bad. Aw shoot; not this virus again. It took me days to get rid of it last time…”

“You’re a man of broad tastes, Vatore,” chimed in a softly-spoken older tone that almost sounded like… Broof? There was laughter in his words. “Very broad…”

“I’m not,” protested a deep, sizzling crackle that was definitely Caleb. Ugh. Melinda rolled her freshly-reformed eyes; all hope that she’d made it to the Good Place evaporating at his voice. “There was a woman, she made me do it. Not this woman, a different one. A younger one. Blonde…”

“I suppose ‘grey’ is almost blonde,” maybe-Broof chuckled. “And when you’re three hundred then yes, I suppose a human pensioner is going to seem young.”

“No. She was blonde,” Caleb explained. “And she was young. Twenties, maybe? I don’t know, I’m not great at that. And there were no men shown in any of the pictures; I don’t know what all those men are doing there. Well, I know what they’re doing, but I didn’t ask them to do that.”

“Ugh, Cal,” came a weary groan accompanied by lots of tapping. “How many things did you click on before I walked in?!”

“A couple,” Caleb said quietly. “…of hundred.”

“I… dude, how did you get onto this site? Wait. Did you enter my bank details?”

“No. They were already saved.”

“Damn,” new voice muttered under his breath. “That’s my §247 savings gone. Probably my identity too. No wonder Lils never let you near these things.”

Lils? Melinda thought. Lils as in ‘Lilith’? Was she here too?

“I’ll buy you a new one, Wyatt.”

“A new laptop or a new identity?” Broof joked, clearly finding the whole thing very amusing.

“I think I’m gonna have to take this out to the yard and shoot it,” Wyatt groaned. “It’s riddled.”

Melinda’s limbs were leaden, condensed. She felt sick to her stomach, listening to the distant voices of these three men intermingled with multiple robotic moans, exaggerated grunts and the kind of language that Faith so often favoured. As confusion turned to complete discomfort, another voice drifted from above her, thankfully drowning everything else out.

“Oh, for goodness sake, boys. If you must view those disgusting sites, must you do so in my kitchen?”

Three frantic faces turned towards her.

“Mum! I thought you were going to call?”

“Change of plan,” came the soft reply. Melinda rolled her head up to see that it was once again resting on a shoulder. It took her a moment to recognise it as belonging to Lilith’s friend. She dragged her gazed along the slender, powdered neck but oddly it no longer appealed. As she lost interest, she noticed April out cold on the shoulder opposite.

Lifeless, once again.

“April?” she whispered, but her voice sounded like Caleb’s and within seconds he’d pulled the limp girl into his arms and was holding her firm against him, snarling at Sage.

“What the hell have you done?!”

Melinda flinched as Caleb’s eyes glowed, but Sage was unaffected.

“I haven’t done a thing, sweetheart,” she sang. “But you can easily fix it. Take her. Hold her close, there’s a good boy. Broof dear, if you could take this shell-shocked little one through to the sitting room, look after her and Wyatt, for the love of the moon, turn that filth off!”

I’m trying!”

Melinda had never been this close to Broof; he looked so much younger than she remembered.

“Can you walk?” he asked softly.

Oh, that voice. Melinda could’ve cried. That gentle, familiar, kind voice that had opened doors and covered tracks for the last ten years of her life. Melinda couldn’t bring herself, in that moment, to wonder why he was here – wherever here was – instead of in jail, or to acknowledge that his stable pulse was sending her bananas. Relief washed over her at the appearance of someone solid and dependable, and she nodded. “I think so.”

As Broof guided her towards a door and she following trustingly, she glanced back over her shoulder to see Caleb still clinging to April, focused entirely on her. Even just this tiny action seemed to be stirring April from her daze.

The rotting fopdoodle.

Had he been here all this time? Watching gross movies and hanging out with the boys when April was snared in his trap, wilting and suffering, waiting for him? It irritated Melinda to no end that Caleb was the one who could just swan back in and be the hero. Whatever April said, however much she protested, this scene didn’t lie; Caleb was the one who April needed.

Whatever hope she had that she could save April, take her away and start again, died the moment April came back to life in Caleb’s arms.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

Melinda turned away, torn somewhere between the ultimate joy at hearing April’s voice and heart-wrenching grief at what she’d used it for. Broof gave her a look that conveyed his understanding or, at least, his sympathies. But a lifetime of being paid to know everything and say nothing was deeply ingrained into the bearded man so naturally, he didn’t speak.

Melinda was tired of it; tired of feeling like her insides were being wrung, tired of being used like a comfort blanket. And for what? For fricking what?!

I missed you.


_


Jessica had deliberated over her outfit for a good half an hour, fussing with her skirts and trying to find a blouse that didn’t look mismatched, which was hard when all she had was the clothing Pixie had dropped by for her.

Pixie was great – she’d been a lifeline connecting Jessica to the outside world – but her fashion sense left something to be desired.

Jessica selected an embroidered blouse and plain, pink tennis skirt and took one more, long glance in the mirror. She couldn’t help but let her gaze wander to her belly, still flat, wondering how long it would be before it ballooned out and forced her out of the gym and into sweatpants and baggy jumpers.

The orderly had been waiting for Jessica outside. Their patience was most unusual and it made Jessica nervous; why was it so important to look presentable for these visitors? What on earth could Gloria and Beth Wangshaft want with her?

Her visitors appeared to be having a tense exchange when Jessica entered the visitation room, Jessica could have sworn she heard the words ‘be nice or die’ but the pair fell silent as Jessica approached, further arousing her suspicion. Gloria’s face still bore that ‘something stinks’ expression, but Beth offered a cool smile, gesturing Jessica to a seat opposite that she took, tentatively.

Neither woman offered a greeting. Jessica wasn’t sure if she should speak or not but didn’t have to deliberate for long.

“I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here, Jess?” Beth said. Jessica winced at the shortening of her name. She didn’t mind being called Jess, really, more that she it felt so forced and overly-familiar in this bizarre situation. Jessica nodded and Beth smirked. “Go ahead, Glore.”

Gloria rolled her eyes. It was clear to Jessica that she was here under duress. She coughed politely and folded her hands in her lap. “Beth feels—” she began, eliciting a swift elbow in the ribs from her mumsy daughter-in-law, “Ow! Fine! We feel that Wilbur may have been rather impulsive in his judgement in sending you here.”

Jessica blinked in surprise. “You do?”

“I suppose. That is not to say that you couldn’t benefit from a little structured therapy, some guidance – ow!” she hissed as she got another elbow in the ribs. “But Beth – we – believe that can be done in a less institutionalised manner, certainly. Although we can’t be seen to be getting soft on your kind, there’s certainly capacity to reduce the situation to something less… media intensive shall we say.”

“Right, of course,” Jessica lubricated the conversation, politely.

“Goodness knows we have enough attention as it is,” Gloria continued. “With William absconding and this nonsense with the Moss girl, and now the press are sniffing around because of that police chief – Wilbur just had to visit him that morning, the blithering idiot—”

“Oh for arse’s sake,” Beth groaned. “If you beat around this bush any more, Gloria, it’ll be bald as a baby’s backside. Jess,” she said pointedly, looking directly at her. “Pack your bags and sod off.”

It took Jessica a second to recover from this onslaught of crude language before she really understood what she was being told. “I’m free to go?”

“Yep,” Beth confirmed. “And I’m hoping you’ll be happy to return to work because with Ralf being gone and all this crap happening, I don’t have time to be filing reports about shoplifting and all that other bollocks.”

“But I’ve been suspended. Mr. Wangshaft—”

“Has been overruled,” Beth snorted, gesturing between Gloria and herself. “If he thinks I’m running the WBPD single-handedly he can bugger right off.”

Jessica faltered. “You’re running the police department?”

“I am,” she muttered, “Like I’m not in charge of enough.” Beth huffed, blowing her hair from her eyes. “You’ll be working for me. Reporting to me. We’ll hire someone for patrol. You’ll be on desk duties, mostly; can’t risk any harm coming to that nooboo now, can we?” She stared Jessica down, the corner of her mouth lifted into a smile that Jessica couldn’t read. “I can probably sort out a little pay rise, too. Help you to get a nicer place. What do you say, Jess?”

Jessica clenched her jaw, her warning alarms sounding in her crowded head. Nothing about this felt right, or sat right, but Jessica was far from afraid. If she had to sum up how she felt in one word it would be: curious. Clearly, neither woman before her gave a hoot about her, or how she might be feeling about the loss of Chase, of Ralf, of being locked up and made to look in the wrong, to look crazy. This U-turn was not a move in her best interests or an act of kindness. She doubted anything the Wangshafts did was ever in kindness.

No. This was strategic and highly suspicious.

Jessica would go home, cry her heart out, plan and theorise in that order, but right now there was only one way to behave. She smiled brightly, tilting her head to convey her friendliness and reaffirm to Beth that she was the someone pliable and naïve that they clearly believed her to be.

“That sounds wonderful!” she gushed. “Thank you so much for this opportunity! I won’t let you down, Beth! Can I call you ‘Beth’? Should I call you ‘Boss’? Chief? Mrs. Wangshaft?”

“Definitely not the last one. Beth’s fine,” Beth replied tersely, Jessica’s cheer clearly grating on her. “Good stuff, Jess. I’ll see you at the station, first thing tomorrow.”

“First thing tomorrow,” Jessica repeated. “I can hardly wait!”

“Me either.”

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22 thoughts on “Chapter 3.07 – Something Stinks

  1. Melinda has a near-death experience and you illustrate it so beautifully by your over-illuminated and almost dissolved images 🤩

    Back to life, her first observation is a ceramic pig 😂
    Why do I find this so funny?

    Several recognizable voices crystallize out of the mists.
    Caleb is painfully trapped in a crossfire. Right now he probably wishes he could disappear in fog, but he must instead endure the realization that he has once again fooled himself tremendously.

    So Caleb managed to clear Wyatt’s bank account.
    …..Why does it not surprise me 🙄
    Oh! Wyatt also needs a new identity.

    I never know if I should laugh or cry over Caleb’s repeated idiotic actions.
    I’m too happy with my head to knock it down on the table, but I understand Lilith is tired after hundreds of years of trying to knock some sense into his empty skull.

    Broff seems to find it all very funny.
    Maybe I should stick to his outlook on life 😁

    The whole episode with Jessica fills me with question marks.
    What interest does Beth have in her?
    Are they relatives, without Jessica’s knowledge?
    Jessica is crazy enough not to question the cause and ulterior motives.
    I still get bad feelings when it comes to Beth.
    Maybe primarily because I do not understand why she murdered Ralf?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, I’m glad you like my badly edited images. It’s not my forte, but the message appears to have gotten across OK so, yay!

      Caleb himself is probably the very definition of tragicomedy. Laugh or cry? I’m at the ‘laugh’ point, because I’m definitely with Lilith, whacking my head on the table and I’m probably delirious. Yes, stick to Broof’s outlook, the casual bystander. He’s definitely taking the ‘laugh and carry on’ option, too.

      There’s a lot simmering underneath Beth and her motivations. We’ll soon find out what these other things are that she’s in charge of and things might start falling into place…

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  2. All the bright! 😁

    Very interesting how the energy flows through Melinda but gathers in April so strongly – I guess that’s the proof we need that April really is Wyatt’s daughter. I wonder if she would be able to cast magic as a vampire. The description of the energy feeling like it wasn’t certain if it should stay or leave with Melinda made me read back the chapter with Sage blowing up the house, to see if Lilith had the same experience. Oof, sounds like Melinda got very close to actually biting Sage there. That probably would not have been a great thing to do mid-teleport spell. Maybe they’d end up in the middle of a lake somewhere instead of in their house 😅

    I already said this in private but I love the pictures of Melinda opening her hand and metaphorically letting go. The piggy afterwards had me in stitches 😂🤣 Oh, I love your humour.

    Bwahahahaha of course Caleb ends up with a million viruses 😂😂 he drained his bank account? Gave out Wyatt’s private info? This guy is a walking disaster – we’ve seen it countless times now, but it never ceases to surprise me just how badly Caleb messes up with, well, absolutely everything 🤣 The irony of him clicking on hot women and ending up with loads of men instead, lol.

    Sage hasn’t done anything, Caleb. You might have noticed what was actually happening if you’d paid attention to the visions of your vampiric wife in complete agony instead of breaking the walk-in closet with Roxy.

    For some reason, when I imagined reunions after the teleport, I always thought about April and Caleb, or April and Wyatt – Broof and Melinda never even occurred to me. But that’s right, he’s been a very large part of her life too, hasn’t he? Aw man, now I feel bad. I hope they get a proper heart-to-heart at some point. Rotting fopdoodle 😂😂 channeling her inner Yibbi, I see. Much approved, much approved. 🤣

    Ouch. Oh, Melinda. I know that mood all too well. Being delegated to comfort blanket and shelved – not even discarded, but shelved – when you’re no longer needed is a special kind of torture. She tries so hard to do the right thing and be there for the people she loves, and they keep using and discarding her. Faith did it, and April is doing it too. I really want to say that April isn’t doing it on purpose, but… I’m not so sure about that.

    Hey, to be fair, for GliTS standards, that is a very decent and conservative outfit, Jess 🤣 I wonder who said “be nice or die” to whom – my gut is telling me that it’s Beth talking to Gloria, and not the other way around. That line – “your kind” is so, so suspicious. What does Gloria mean by that? The mentally challenged? Troublemakers? Or does Gloria know something about Jess that even Jess doesn’t? Oh geez, and now Beth is Jessica’s direct superior after murdering her last boss. That can’t bode well. Send the GliTS after them, Jess! Sic them on them all! I’m sure they can handle it with their kooky behaviour 🤣

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    1. I did promise you brighter days! That’s it now, I’ve delivered – back into the mire we go.

      As you probably gathered form your re-read, Lilith’s experience was slightly different to Melinda’s; the energy definitely knew it didn’t belong in Lilith, flowed straight out.

      Wyatt was way too trusting and now he has lost his lifetime savings, possibly his identity and can probably never look his mother in the eye again. Oh, and he’s likely made a weird impression on his daughter and her friend too. Still, Caleb learned a lesson. Possibly. I admit, when I write for angry Melinda, I do channel angry Yibbi quite a lot, so I’m glad you approve. 😆 Oh I know, poor Melinda, she definitely doesn’t appreciate her own worth. Still, I’ve said this before, but I’ve given all the girls the tools they need to get out of their respective situations, they just need to figure out how to access/use them.

      I think that outfit was one of the stylised looks in CAS, but it looked very GliTS-y to me and yet still very Jessica. ‘Your kind’ could definitely be a multitude of things. ” Send the GliTS after them, Jess!” is that really what you want? You want Yibbo and co involved in this? 😉

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  3. Right. Okay. So I think Mel is misinterpreting things here… April gathers the energy because she´s half a witch, right? And then the dissolving is the teleport, isn´t it? Poor Mel, being caught in all that not knowing what´s going on. Poor April, too, being abandoned by her sire and then the experiments on top of that sure did do a number on her.

    But I still have to mention this thing that´s really bugging me. What is this with vampires and not having a soul? I mean, sure, they´re technically dead so their souls might not be in their shells anymore, I get that part. But… they used to have one. So… where did it go? And does that mean vampires don´t even have ghosts in your verse?

    I love Melinda´s “just be” reaction, though. Just existing, and being content in the fact you do… it´s a start. Hopefully, she can hold onto that once the disappointment starts to wane. …at this point, there´s nothing April can do about things even if she wanted to, is there?

    *sigh* Oh, Wyatt. The problem with the personal info is just the worst. Forget the laptop and the few bucks. But personal data? Uh-oh. I shouldn´t be surprised Caleb manged to get that deep into the bad side of internet… but his talent for causing trouble is really something else. All my sympathies…

    Well now! The visit sure took an unexpected turn. Gloria is a surprising blabbermouth, but she´s right. The publicity IS getting a bit too much, isn´t it? So the GliTS actually did help. Yay! It´s fun to see how Beth is calling the shots, too. Gloria definitely looks like she would rather be anywhere else. I´m still worried about Jessica, because she still is a loose end, no matter how well she plays her part… but for now, this seems to be good news. This, the publicity, Beth´s not wanting to do all the work herself… and maybe even the baby. I´m just hoping Jess doesn´t get caught sticking her nose into something because… Beth just seems very thorough.

    Also, on a semi-related note… if you´re just busy, ignore this, but if you´re not then maybe your mail had been eating stuff again. O.O

    Liked by 1 person

    1. April has the capacity to hold the energy because of that reason, yep. And yeah, neither girl understands what has just happened. Someone really needs to sit down with these two and explain everything, hey?

      Ooh, lore request! They did have a soul and although it detached to allow the curse in, it’s probably still out there, somewhere… As for vampire ghosts? I’m sure there’s someone on the cast who has the skills and equipment to answer that for you, one day. 😉

      Considering Wyatt is a 76-year-old witch, his identity probably wasn’t his actual one. Still, now he’s in no doubt about Caleb’s social, technical and intellectual acuity as well as his drivers, so I suppose this is a good thing, right?

      Yes! Focus on the good news and not everything else. Jessica is free! She has a job! She might even be getting a pay rise! Hurrah! 😁

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      1. Yep. Good thing Sage plans to do just that… but we will see how good she is at explaining… especially if Melinda has the time to pull herself together and be her perceptive self while they have their little talk.

        Yes, yes, all the lore! 😀 *nods* That´s a good thing, then, that the souls still exist. Maybe we shouldn´t try that with the ghosts, though. Vampire ghosts sound like they could still be dangerous somehow and I wouldn´t want anyone getting in trouble because of that kind of experiment. 😉

        …true. Still! Having to craft a new one is sure to be so annoying! XD But yes, trusting Caleb… I´m sure that´s not a mistake he´s about to repeat, so let´s look at the bright side there. XD

        *grumbles* Easier said than done. Especially since I still have no idea whether or not to trust Beth. On the one hand she is somehow linked to Wilbur who is obviously anti-vampire. (Or is he… one has to wonder how far from their hunter roots did that family stray.) On the other she works with Sage who… isn´t really? She got rid of Ralf, sure, because he was about to blabber… *sigh* but then Jessica might try to do exactly that as well. Jess is awesome, but I can´t forget the fact she might still be the most dangerous one on the whole “exposing vampirism” front. Best I can hope for is that she´s sharp enough to realize the whole scope of the coverup and her chances of busting it (very slim to none) before she tries to do it.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Oh, for sure. Have no doubt that if anyone is going to spot something, it’ll be Melinda.

          I thought about writing up the lore and having a few pages dedicated to it like some other writers do, but I also kinda like drip-feeding it to you all so that you learn along with the girls. Hmm. Tricky.

          Such fun theories! I can’t say much, but can confirm that all may not be as it seems with the Wangshafts and Jessica is certainly going to make waves.

          Like

  4. Wait.. Jessica’s cheerful naive attitude was a farce this entire time!?

    My life is a lie. #bringbackcuteJess /sob

    Ok, she’s still cute. Pixie’s clothing for her makes her ramps it up 100x! And probably halved her age, and she might not be taken seriously at work. But y’kno, me likey. c: Probably get hit on by everyone she interrogates in the interrogation room… (Just me? Ok.. xD )

    Melinda feeling mad and emotional? Ngl, I love where this is going. I’m curious to see what a mad Mel will do. For someone who’ve kept their cool their entire time only to be scorned in the end. Poor girl. Caleb watching porn the whole time while April suffers at home. Not too far from the truth there.. 😡

    This whole time the girls don’t realise they’re in the presence of spellcasters. Oh boy. So many bombs.

    Beth and Gloria have an interesting power dynamic. It’s clear who’s pulling the strings but oof. Makes Beth even more mysterious and suspicious. Her relation with the Wangshafts isn’t as clear cut as it seems o.o

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Aw, no. Jessica is still Jessica, she doesn’t have a fake bone in her body. But she’s also grieving the loss of two people, worried about the little one on the way and even she can see that something is very wrong with this visitation scene. As she understands it, her naivety and perceived lack of threat might be the only reason the Wangshaft are allowing her to go free, so despite not feeling it right then, she pretends she has no idea what’s going on and forces the cheer. She’s a trooper, is our Jess. 😁

      Haha, hopefully she’ll get her own wardrobe back before she heads back to work; don’t want any untoward scenes with Morag in that interrogation room, do we?

      Looking forward to more angry Mel, are you? What bombs? This is a peaceful place, no bombs here… 🌼

      No, Beth is not quite as wrapped around the little finger of the Wangshafts as Wilbur would like to believe. Or at least, that’s the impression she likes to give.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. This was perfection.

    Mel’s poignant and (kind of disturbing) almost death to her waking up with Caleb struggling to explain how he clicked on so many porn sites. I see now why Lilith did not let him use the computer. Is there anything that he can do in moderation?

    I loved that scene happening from Mel’s POV. God, her disappointment was palpable and I agree. Seeing April in Caleb’s arms just turned my stomach. I thought they were two selfish dummies who deserved each other but Caleb is a bumbling monster.

    And Jess. Sweet. Jess. Amazing Jess. She has taken over in my heart. My girl has learned some things. The way she deployed that cloying persona as a cover? Chef’s kiss.

    I’m a lil worried about what she’s gonna do with this baby. But I can also see her 8 months pregnant, arresting the Wangshafts and fighting vampires and being *fine* lol.

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    1. There is nothing Caleb can do in moderation, no.

      I like the phrase ‘bumbling monster’ – such a nice way to describe this absolute shitshow of a couple. Still, stuck together forever and now heavily supervised, maybe things will turn around.

      You may see her 8 months pregnant, but as for the rest? Nah. Desk duties, only. 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You taunt me with that phrase! “Maybe things will turn around” BAH! I’ve already put my affections elsewhere like…um… ::looks at the entire room of ships, every single one is on fire::

        I’ll uh… get back to you.

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  6. I immensely enjoyed the merry mess Caleb caused. So did Broof it seems. Nice to see a little mischievous side of him. And again I felt such a strong wish for him to have something amazing come his way. I want to see his Broofiness fully unleashed. Speaking of unleashed. May I hope that in the next chapter we’re gonna see Melinda unleashing her rightful wrath/frustration on Caleb? I know Caleb is a man child not knowing what he does, but part of me demands a satisfaction for his cheating on April and leaving her withering. And ofc all these feelings have been piling up in Mel and now she’s a little weakened and so is her usual self-control maybe? If it’s to ever happen, now is the time? Maybe?
    Smart move on Jess’s part. The offer of free leave might not have come again. Better take it. Although part of me wanted to see her tell the ladies: ‘No thanks. My stay in this institution is doing me good.’ Just to see how things escalate in media and who knows where else.
    That’s all from me today, I guess. Broof. Broof.😘

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Broof is carefully wrapped in many layers of professional, presentable paper, but he’s not a butler anymore so maybe, just maybe, he’ll start to show you what’s underneath the polished exterior. Hopefully it’s something you want to see.

      You’ll be pleased to hear that someone puts Caleb in his place over his treatment of April.

      Part of me wanted Jessica to tell Beth to go screw herself, but they would’ve made the situation go away, one way or the other.

      Ooh, you’re feeling Broof. OK, I can work with that. 😉

      Like

  7. Okay, the ceramic pigs thing almost made me wet myself. And I LOVED the exchange about Wyatts computer. 😂 that was damn perfect. And I’m so glad “Jess” is suspicious. That Beth is Trouble.

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    1. What if I’m double-bluffing you lot and this is the afterlife? Ceramic pigs, infected laptops and everyone’s worst nightmares continuously happening…
      Aw, Beth’s not Trouble! She’s let Jessica walk free and even given her a pay rise. She’s just got one of those faces and may have killed a man it’s just her face. Yep.

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      1. Omg surely you wouldn’t do that! Tho that Would put a strange spin on everything. And if everyone’s worst nightmares are coming true, that’s not a good sign.
        Beth is most definitely trouble. I can’t be convinced otherwise. 😈

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