Considerably Wicked [Excerpt Only]

Chapter 5: Will

"It's good that you're straightforward, Una. And again, try not to overthink. You didn't do anything bad. You asked Tyra to leave because she broke the rules. But you have to keep in mind that not all people are like Tyra. Or Mindy. Or Karen. Or Susan."

Una had been seeing Dr. Tinna Larson every week for the past few years. The visit had started as something mandatory for her. But as the years went by, and even after a remarkable progress on her end, she continued to see the good doctor once a week for a chat. It may sound sad to some people, but Dr. Larson had become more than her therapist; she was the closest thing Una had to a family now.

"Yes, Dr. Larson," Una said, balancing her phone between her ear and shoulder as she put her key into the doorknob that Monday afternoon.

Mindy, Karen, and Susan were the people who lived with her before Tyra, and just like the latter, they all broke the rules Una asked them to follow. Mindy sneaked in a pet hamster, Karen couldn't keep her loud music down, and Susan, just like Tyra, couldn't seem to control her hormones. In the end, they all had to go.

Una continued to listen to her doctor as she closed the door behind her, locking the door twice, a habit she picked up a few years back after leaving Aishcliff.

"It is important that you have someone to talk to..." Dr. Larson went on when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Una sighed. "Okay, Dr. Larson. I have to go. Someone's at the door."

"All right, see you on Wednesday," Dr. Larson said before hanging up.

She put her phone in her pocket and peeked behind the curtain and saw a man standing outside her door.

What does this guy want?

She hurried into the kitchen and pulled a knife from the cutlery drawer. She had to find out what he wanted, but she knew from experience that she had to be very careful. She walked back to the living room, straightened up her poor posture, and hid the knife behind her back as she unlocked the door and opened it.

"Hi," he greeted her, the guy smiling right away. His gunmetal-blue eyes immediately caught her brown ones.

"Um, what do you want?" she asked and moved to the side, hiding the knife in her right hand behind the door.

"Hi, Ms. Miller. I'm William Thomas. But you can call me Will," Will said, offering his hand.

But Una just glanced at it for a brief moment, her own way of acknowledging his friendly gesture. He pulled his hand back, not taken aback at all.

"What do you want?" Una asked him again.

"I work with Ms. Liezel Anne Blanco. She mentioned you're renting out one of your rooms. I'm here to check...have a look," Will briefly explained his surprise visit, giving Una a grin that oddly didn't reach his eyes. "Is the room still available?"

"Yes." Una opened the door wider.

Will entered and eyed the knife she cautiously placed on the side table but decided not to make any fuss about it. Somehow, he understood. He was a stranger after all.

Una led him inside and motioned for him to sit on the couch across from her. She was supposed to dive straight into the interview and dig into Will's background, be done with it, dismiss him, and then prepare for dinner. She was hungry. But there was something interesting about this guy that she decided to study him first.

His eyes surveyed the living room that led into the kitchen and observed how remarkably white the walls were as if Una had only cared about cleaning it to maintain its appearance and nothing else.