It’s Monday now, and Fang has been staying at my place. She hasn’t preened or had any issues since Saturday. On Saturday, we danced the night away. I can’t even remember what time we went to bed, but we did eventually… I think. Sunday flew by pretty fast. All Fang and I did was buy some groceries at a local omnivore store and do some laundry; we got weird looks from the blood on our clothes and my bed sheets. Today was easy enough, basically a repeat of Friday. Fang took her bandages off after school to see tiny feathers growing where they had been previously plucked. Hopefully, Naser won’t notice her preening. Got some quality meats and veggies, though. They’ve been sitting in my freezer since last night, waiting to be cooked. Now I can actually make something for Fang. I really hope I don’t fuck this up… hopefully cooking pizzas was enough experience to get me back to my full gourmet potential. I’m making some salmon with some homemade mashed potatoes; it should be easy enough. I space out the salmon on a baking sheet dusting them with salt and pepper. Next, I make a lemon garlic sauce mixture and spread it over the salmon, leaving no spot uncoated. I hear Fang giggle, watching me narrate myself making food… I ignore her and place a slice of lemon on each piece of salmon before throwing it into the oven. Got 20 minutes. I skin a few large potatoes, cut them up, throw them into a saucepan filled with boiling water, and add a dash of salt. I cover the small pot loosely with a lid and have 20 minutes on that as well… I turn to see Fang trying her best to not laugh at me. “Why don’t you try to cook?” She giggles softly, “No way, I’d probably kill us both.” “Wouldn’t be surprised.” I smile at her. She punches me in the arm playfully, “Dork.” I sit on the bed and play x-rox with Fang until I hear the kitchen timer go off and make a mad dash for the salmon, I carefully take it out, and it looks perfect. I place the sheet on the counter and turn off the oven, taking the saucepan off the eye and draining the potatoes. I put the potatoes back in the saucepan and mash away, adding a bit of salt and butter to the mixture. I add in enough milk to make the potatoes perfectly creamy and grab two plates. I plop mashed potatoes on both our plates, along with a slab of salmon. I hand one of the plates to Fang “...and here you are.” She looks mesmerized by the meal in front of her. She takes a bite of the salmon, and her face lights up, tearing the meal apart. She’s done before I can even finish my salmon. She looks at me, “Is there more?” I nod as I swallow a chunk of salmon, “Yeah, in the kitchen.” She speedwalks over to the kitchen, grabbing another helping of potatoes and salmon. I’d say that dinner was a success if she ate that as fast as she does dino nuggets. I finish my meal just as she finishes her seconds. I take my and her plate and put it in the sink, rinsing it off. I look at the time as I sit next to Fang, 6 PM on the dot. I need to get her home tonight, or Naser’s probably gonna lose it. “Hey, Fang?” She looks over at me, “What’s up?” I put a hand on my neck, “Naser needs you home… like tonight.” She nods, looking a little disappointed, “Yeah, alright. I’m ready whenever he is.” She tries to flash me a warm smile to show she’s content. I text Naser to come to pick her up, “He’ll be here in fifteen minutes, alright?” She nods, her smile fading, “Alright….” She gets up and grabs her backpack, the only thing she brought with her. I make sure I still have the bullet on me by brushing my pocket; I’ll hand it to Naser before he dips with Fang. Fang looks anxious. I would be, too, going back home to an angry Ripley… I check the time to see fifteen minutes have passed. When’s he goi- I hear a knock at the door. Now, he’s here now. I get up and open the door to see Naser. He flashes a smile at me and glances into the apartment. I make some room to allow him in, and he enters, looking for Fang. She’s sat on the bed, smiling softly at Naser. Fang pops up and makes her way to us. She kisses me softly before making her way into the hallway. Naser sniffs the air, “What’s that smell?” “I made some salmon and mashed potatoes,” I gesture toward the kitchen. “Want some?” He shakes his head a little, “Nah, dad’s strict on time. Sorry, Anon.” I nod a little, “It’s all good, man, be safe.” He smiles and nods before turning away, and I stop him, “I need to give you something, actually.” He looks at me curiously as I place the bullet in his hand, “Forgot to give you this a bit ago.” He nods and turns away, staring at the bullet, and I slowly close the door. - - - As Naser and I make our way down the stairs, I can’t help but feel nervous; I can’t wait to hear what dad’s gonna say to me. Here’s hoping he’s not royally pissed… I hop in the passenger seat with Naser and immediately space out, looking at the slums of skin row. I feel bad for Anon. It must be scary living in a place like this. I still can’t tell if he was being serious when he gave me that pocket knife… I think I still have it somewhere at home. “Fang?” I’m snapped out of my thoughts by Naser’s voice. “You alright?” I turn my head to face him, “Yeah, why?” He sighs, “You’re just quiet, is all.” I look back out the window, “I’m just thinking.” “Thinking about what?” I scoff softly, “Why do you want to know?” He shrugs, “Just curious, is all.” I watch the buildings fly by the window, “I’ve just been thinking about the weekend, is all.” I mock his voice. We stop at a red light, and his voice sounds curious, “Hey, what’s up with that?” I turn my head back towards him to see he’s pointing at a spot of short feathers on my arm, shorter than the rest. Fuck, uhhhhh, “I just scraped off some on accident, that’s all.” If I was a human, I’d be sweating bullets right now, but Naser nods a little returning his gaze to the road, “Alright, as long as you’re okay.” I return to the window and continue thinking until we pull into our driveway. Welp, can’t wait to get torn up by dad… I walk inside and… nothing; Dad glances up from whatever he’s watching at me but doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t look surprised at all… that can’t be right. He’d chew me up if he knew I was at Anon’s house. “Hey, Naser?” He spins around, “Yeah, Fang?” I glance over at Dad, “What’d you tell him? Like, where did you say I went?” He follows my gaze to a calm giant sitting on his loveseat, “Oh, I told him you were at Trish’s house.” I feel my stomach drop just hearing her name. I nod quickly, passing Naser to go up to my room, trying my best to not let my mask slip. I close the door behind me, set my backpack next to my door, and sit on my bed, thinking about Trish… I move my hand to my arm opposite of it and… I resist. I gotta stop doing this. I swallow the lump that had unknowingly formed in my throat, ‘do better...’ I hesitantly go back downstairs, biting my cheek as my mind races. I shakily guide myself down the stairs, putting most of my weight on the rail. I go into the kitchen, grab a cup, and start chugging water until my mind is subdued. I remember doing this before I began preening. Chugging cold water helps you not think about shit. I calmly set the cup down and went into the living room. I sink into the couch, and Dad speaks up. “So, how was Trish?” Fuck, I’m gonna need more water… I grip my thighs, my nails threatening to break my skin, “It was fine, Dad. Trish and I just played some video games, and that’s all.” Dad nods, “Good, you have a good time?” I nod, and that’s all he needs. I slowly loosen my grip and distract myself with whatever he’s watching. Some sort of nature documentary. I think I’ve seen this about 20 times already but whatever. Mom bursts into the living room, “When- Oh, there you are, Lucy! We missed you so much.” She hugs me before speed-walking into the kitchen and back into the living room with a plate of steaming food. “I saved you some since I knew you were coming back home tonight.” It’s some peas, steak, and corn. Even though I could totally eat this all, I’d rather not feel awful, “Uh, I’m good, Mom. I ate at Anon’s house.” Dad glares at me. What did I-... Oh… fffffffffffffffffffuck…. Mom just nods at me, still smiling, and goes back into the kitchen. She didn’t seem aware of what I said. Or maybe she just didn’t care. “I’ll leave it in here in case you get hungry. It’s under some tin foil.” Dad is shooting daggers at me. I feel like I’m about to throw up. He would know I was lying if I said anything to save my ass right now. I try to avoid eye contact as I go into the kitchen. Mom’s still in there, cleaning dishes. “I changed my mind. I’ll eat it upstairs.” I quickly take the plate and shuffle my way upstairs before she can say anything, putting as much distance between my dad and me as possible. But to no avail, I hear him coming up the stairs as I sit on the bed with my still-warm food. Might as well enjoy my last meal. I peel open the tin foil, only to realize I forgot silverware… Dad is standing in the doorway, glaring at me with my plate of food in my lap. I feel nauseous. He moves and sits next to me. All of the worst possibilities flood my head as he breathes in to speak. “Why?” I try to avoid eye contact with him, “Why what?” My voice cracks as I speak. He huffs, his voice stern, “You know what I’m asking. Why would you lie?” “I just… I just thought… I don’t know. I thought I would be in more trouble if I told the truth, so I lied to your face….” He looks down at me and places some silverware on my plate, “Listen, Lucy. I don’t hate Anon. He seems like a good kid. I think his intentions can be a bit iffy… at times.” He cracks a smile, “But the only reason why I scare him is to test him a little… also because it’s a bit funny, I’m not going to lie.” I look up at Dad, and I return the smile. He sighs before continuing, “You don’t gotta lie about going to see him, alright? If you’ve seen him this many times and you’re not hurt mentally or physically, I can trust him. Just be careful, please. For your father’s peace of mind.” I rub my neck a little, “Alright… thanks, Dad.” He pats my back softly, “That’s my girl.” He gets up and closes the door behind him. I silently eat my late-night steak and veggies and decide to text Anon. “You up? :V” His response is pretty quick, “Yeah, just chilling right now. Watching another video essay.” “Nerd.” “Says you, miss league of wizards.” “>:V” “So, how did talking to your dad go? Did he know where you were?” “Not until it slipped out of my mouth. He thought I was at Trish’s place until I said I ate dinner at your place.” “Oh shit. You okay?” “Still in one piece, yeah. He just gave me a fatherly talk, said he trusted you because you haven’t hurt me or something like that.” - - - Thank raptor Jesus, he didn’t see her preening, “Ah, okay, cool, so what are you up to?” “Just eating second dinner. Mom made me some in case I got hungry.” Maybe I should do that. I’m pretty hungry… “What’d she make you?” “Some steak, peas, and corn. Tastes amazing, honestly. It seems like you have a competitor.” I giggle a little seeing the message, “Oh really? I don’t think I could compete with your mom’s cooking.” “Idk, it’s pretty close, being 100% honest.” “Mhm, sure, I don’t think so.” “Whatever you want to tell yourself.” I tap out another message before eating leftovers, “So you coming to school tomorrow?” “Uh yeah, why wouldn’t I.” “I was just curious, is all.” “You and Naser are always curious.” We text late into the night until one of us eventually says goodnight… hope she’ll be okay by herself tonight. I won’t worry too much. If nothing terrible has happened yet, I’m sure she’ll be fine… just glad she’s calmed down a bit over the weekend. Still kinda wondering what the fuck happened on Friday. I mean, I know what happened, but it was just… out of nowhere. I huff before turning off my light, closing my eyes. She’ll be fine.