May Eve by C.A. Wittman

Author:C.A. Wittman [Wittman, C.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-NINE

Lydia gathered her drawings, anxiety prickling her skin as Alejandro followed suit, asking how she knew his mom.

"I can't say," Lydia exclaimed, shoving everything haphazardly into her backpack.

He'd grabbed her arm. "Why not?"

"Please don't ask me," she hissed back fiercely.

They stood for several seconds, gazing intently at each other, his hand still squeezing her arm until she wrenched herself away.

"I want to go now," Lydia said, trying to gain control of her breathing the way Lucien had taught her. Alejandro began to talk about fairness, how he had a right to know. Lydia tuned him out, counting to herself as she went for the door. They stepped outside and she locked up. He followed her down the steps and across the street, still talking until Lydia halted, her frustration and fear getting the better of her.

"Go away!" She screamed.

His eyes widened, and he reached for her arm again. "Lydia."

"No! No! No!" She yanked herself violently from his grasp.

"Hey, is this guy bothering you?" A man asked, coming up on them. He was tall and muscular, with a surfboard under his arm.

"We know each other," Alejandro said, his face paling.

"I don't want you!" Lydia screamed. "Leave me alone!"

"You heard her," the surfer said.

"But—"

"Dude, what part do you not understand?" He flicked his wrist for Lydia's sake. "Go on, I'll watch him."

She fled then, running to the next street where she continued her escape until her lungs felt they would burst, her muscles unused to so much exertion. For a moment, Lydia didn't know where she was. She'd blindly run from one street to the next and found herself in an unfamiliar neighborhood with a circular geography creating confusion in her already-confused state. By the time she made it out to Mission Street, the traffic whizzing by, the overstimulation was all too much. Lydia felt the numbness creeping through her body. Slowly, she walked to a nearby donut shop and slipped into a booth at the back, where she remained unnoticed for two hours.

A call from Kaito finally dredged her out of her catatonia.

"Hi, Lydia," Kaito's cheerful voice bounced out of the speaker.

"Hello," Lydia replied woodenly.

"Everything okay?"

"No."

"What's wrong?"

"I cannot say."

A slight pause. "I'm sorry. I hope you feel better."

"Thank you."

Another pause.

"Sakura was able to track down the forensic palynologist in the UK. She recently had success solving a rape case through removing the pollen from the suspect's clothes by washing them with medicated shampoo."

A glimmer of interest. Lydia wiped at her nose and sniffed.

"Tomorrow morning we are going to the professor's house, where we’re going to scrub everything with the medicated shampoo and then flush the garments with deionized water to extract the palynomorphs. Can you make it?"

"Yes. What time?"

"Professor Gollnick wants to get started at nine. I’ll text you her address.”

“Thank you," Lydia replied politely.

She hung up with Kaito, the last two hours rushing to the forefront of her mind.

Lydia could feel a wave of anxiety building in her chest. This time, she dialed Lucien, where she vomited out her hysteria and then hung up, overwhelmed by her emotions.

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