Without turning around, Ms. Gibson said, “Elizabeth, you should be smart enough to know not to pull a knife on me. Put it away.” Elizabeth shook her head but did not respond or move to put the knife away. Ms. Gibson sighed and turned around, looking both amused and disappointed by Elizabeth‘s actions. “Look, do you really think you’re going to accomplish anything by killing me? I’ll die when I decide to, and I have no intention of dying in this room, by your hand.” Ms. Gibson calmly plucked the knife out of Elizabeth’s hand, smiling, and then tucked the knife safely away into her own pocket.

“You can’t decide when you’ll die,” Elizabeth replied angrily. “You’ll die when it’s your time to die.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Ms. Gibson said. “That’s not always true. Sometimes, people die by their own hand, or by entering a situation they know is dangerous.”

“You’ve never struck me as the suicidal type, Gabby.”

Ms. Gibson smiled wryly and replied, “My time was up a long time ago, and the Grim Reaper never bothered with me. I’m not even good enough to die.”

“You’re starting to sound like those brainwashed idiots from when we were kids.”

“Point is, I should have died a long time ago, but I didn’t. And, trust me, Liz, when I do die, it will be by my own choice. That I can assure you.”

“What, are you going to cut your wrists with that knife?”

“Like you said, I’m not the suicidal type,” Ms. Gibson replied, smirking a little. “Now, get the hell out of here.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t take kindly to having people thinking about killing me in my own home. Go find yourself a dumpster or hotel room to sleep in. As of right now, you’re on your own. Or, even better, go back home. Go take care of your kids, the kids that you only got to have because I was unable to.”

“They’re being taken care of.”

“They need to be with their mother,” Ms. Gibson replied firmly. “Besides, you clearly don’t belong here.” She stared silently at Elizabeth for a few seconds, then added, “And change back into your regular clothes before you leave. I’m not letting you leave with any of my stuff. You‘ve been a bad enough guest without stealing my stuff as well.”


Ophelia grabbed Tiffani’s wrist, preventing the punch from landing. Undaunted, Tiffani raised her other arm, only to have Ophelia block the hit. Ophelia then grabbed Tiffani’s other wrist and pinned the girl’s arms to her sides.

“Now, look,” Ophelia said, trying to sound calm, despite her frustration, “I’m going to make you listen to me, even if you don’t like it, so listen real good, because I don’t feel like repeating myself anymore. Got it? I didn’t have anything to do with that picture. And as far as I’m concerned, you can have AJ. I don’t want him, never have, and never will. Hell, I’ll avoid talking to him unless it‘s absolutely necessary. I’ll probably never even see him again after graduation. Even if we were stuck in an elevator together, I’d still avoid talking to him unless necessary. But you need to calm the hell down! Things are getting out of control, and whoever actually is doing this wants us to be at each other‘s throats. Are you going to let whoever that is win?”

“Easy for you to say,” Tiffani spat out, trying to release her arms from Ophelia‘s grip. “Never dealt with weight problems, always liked being the weirdo, so being laughed at for being different never really bothered you. You have parents who like you the way you are, and friends who don’t turn their backs on you, even after you gain weight. Life’s been a breeze for you, hasn’t it? And you’re telling me to be calm when the first guy who’s actually liked me likes you even more? Would you be saying that if Cy had it bad for me? Would you?”

“Actually, I would probably be just as jealous as you are,” Ophelia replied. Tiffani stared at Ophelia, silent in her astonishment, and stopped struggling. For several seconds, neither of them said a word. Ophelia took a deep breath and continued. “But you’re wrong, Tiff. I didn’t like being picked on anymore than anyone else did; I just decided that I wouldn’t let the idiots get to me. You can either be a victim your whole life, or you can realize that there will always be someone laughing at you. If you have confidence, maybe people won’t stop laughing, but you won’t feel bad about yourself. But, listen, you need to realize that nothing is ever going to happen between me and AJ, ever. I want you two to have a happy relationship and all. You don’t need to fight anymore. You’ve won. You’ve got what you want. But if it makes you feel better, go ahead and hit me.” She released Tiffani’s wrists, and Tiffani rubbed her wrists, which ached from the strong grip Ophelia had had them in. “I’d suggest going for the upper arm; it’ll be easier to cover up while it’s healing. If you go for the face, I’ll have a lot of questions to answer. The legs are a good choice, too; they’ll be easy enough to cover up.” She closed her eyes. “Go ahead, while I’m feeling charitable. I won‘t even hit back, I promise. And if anyone does ask what happened, I‘ll say I bumped into a door or something.”

Tiffani nodded, then hit Ophelia’s upper arm twice, but with little actual force. Ophelia opened an eye and asked, “Is that all? That was all sound and no pain.”

“What, you wanted a bruise? I can give you one, if you actually want one.”

“Eh, it’s up to you. Whatever is going to make you feel better.”

“Nah, I think I’ll feel better if I go talk to AJ. We haven’t spent much time together lately.”

“I think you’ve just taken a step in the right direction.”


Jade and Graham stared silently for each other for several seconds. Graham, finally breaking the silence, said awkwardly, “So, what now?”

Jade shrugged and replied, “I guess we just take things one day at a time, right?”

“Right. And then, maybe…”

“Yeah…”

“Want to go get some coffee?”

“Yeah, that sounds good. And some beignets, too.”

“Of course,” Graham agreed.

As they walked away from the building, Jade slipped her hand into Graham’s and smiled at him.


“Damn it, Angela, why the painting?” Dunstan yelled, diving for the framed painting, which had fallen to the floor. “This isn’t one of the replaceable things in the house! Why the hell did you shoot that painting?”

“Why? Why do I do anything? Right now, there’s two girls who are probably killing each other because of a funny little prank or two that I played, just because they annoy me. But, fine, I’ll be a good girl and tell you why. Well, for starters, I know about those pictures you keep inside. I noticed that there was kind of a worn patch of carpet right under the painting, like someone was standing there a lot or moved around a lot in that area. So, I took the painting down to see what the big deal was, and I found those pictures tucked away in the frame,” Angela replied. “Very clever of you. So, pictures of your mother and your ex-girlfriend? You know, you have some issues. Oedipus complex, much?”

“Oh, real funny.”

“Oh, wait, it gets better. When I was putting the pictures back in there, I started wondering, ‘Why this specific painting?’ And when I looked at the signature on the painting, it explained a lot. ’O. Foley,’ huh?”

“That was done a long time ago.”

“It was done less than five years ago! There‘s a date on the painting!” Angela snapped. “That’s another thing about you I hate; you always lie to my face. Now, listen up. You are going to do exactly what I want. And, for starters, that means the only two women in your life are going to be me and Charise.” She chuckled a little. “Oh, wait, that is one other thing I forgot to tell you about. Totally slipped my mind.”

“What? What are you talking about?” Dunstan asked.

“You haven’t been upstairs yet, have you? I mean, I got here right before you did, so I guess you haven‘t been upstairs since this morning. You really should go up there.”

“Why? What did you do to Charise?”

“I actually didn’t do anything. This is something I didn’t actually expect, surprisingly enough. Maybe you should run upstairs and take a look, eh? Specifically, in your bedroom.”

Dunstan gave Angela a look of horror, then raced out of the room and up the stairs. He hurried down the hall, bumping into a table and knocking over an expensive vase. Forget that for now, he thought. He opened his bedroom door and looked around, eyes wide, expecting to see a dead body. But, no, everything was as it was before he’d left. No, wait, something was different. He stepped over to the end table and noticed the diamond ring that had been placed right in the middle of it. Then, he stepped over to the closet and threw open its doors. All of Charise’s clothes were missing. Dunstan gasped and opened the bathroom door and looked around. Charise’s toiletries were no longer there. Dunstan slowly turned to Angela, his mouth open in astonishment. For once, he was completely speechless.


Charise stood before the front door, feeling more anxious than she had in years. She glanced back at the car, where she’d left all of her belongings, just in case they didn’t want anything to do with her.

They won’t want anything to do with me, she thought. They’ll spit in my face and tell me that I deserved it all. But that’s okay. I got away from him. I’m free. I’ll find my own place if I have to. But the least I can do is see if they’re going to forgive me.

Charise’s hand shook a little as she rang the doorbell. She waited, biting her lip. They’re not going to answer, she thought to herself. They’re just going to ignore me. With a sigh, she turned away and began walking toward her car.

She heard the door of the house open behind her, and she slowly turned back around. S was standing in the doorway, staring in astonishment at her. “Charise?” he said quietly, in disbelief.

“Yeah,” she replied, walking over to him. “It’s me. S, I’m sorry… I…”

S embraced her tightly and said, “Welcome home, Charise.”