Be My Dreamcatcher [girlxgirl]

Eight

My hand moves to grip Eva's thigh and just then a loud rapping voice comes from the door.

Eva and I spring apart like corks and stand up to resettle our hair. I look over at my watch; it's been more than an hour and a half since we came here. Somehow, the pizza session became our makeout session. To our credit though, we started it after finishing the pizza, so no waste.

After making sure we don't look like we've been groping at each other, Eva goes to open the door after squeezing my shoulder once.

She throws the door open wide and I get a good look at her "contacts". There stands a tall guy with enviable ebony skin color. The woman beside him is tall as well. Like, very tall, with badass pixie cut hair. They are both dressed casually in jeans and t-shirt but they walk and carry themselves in a way that commands attention.

Eva first shakes hand with Joanna, then Travis.

"Thanks a lot for coming guys," Eva says. "This here is my . . . my friend Charley. She works here too."

Okay yeah, a friend who works here too. Awesome.

I walk over to shake their hands as well. Both of them give me a look and then the same to Eva but seeing that she's expressionless and clearly has no objections to my presence here, they say nothing.

I go over to stand against Eva's desk and cross my arms. It's obvious that they can see that I'm not just a friend who works here, and that they don't approve.

"Okay, so we ran the required tests," Joanna starts with no preamble. None is required I guess. "The blood is definitely not Lydia's—"

Oh.

"—but it matches someone else's."

Eva's eyes enlarge but her face remains impassive aside from that.

Travis says, "That's why we're an hour late, in case you were wondering," before Joanna picks up again.

"So we matched the sample with our old personal records—don't ask technical questions—and luck was on your side because we found a match. It was a VERY long shot but somehow worked."

"We had help too that's why we're only an hour late, in case you were wondering," Travis deadpans.

This invokes a little mirth in me but I don't let the smile take over.

Eva is standing shell-shocked; none of her muscles seem to be moving except for her shuddering breaths.

"Who is it?" she asks.

"Some Benjamin Ramirez. Was convicted a year ago for an attempted date rape but the shitbong weaseled his way out." Joanna looks furious at this.

"And you know where he lives right now?" I speak up for the first time in their presence when I see that Eva isn't going to apparently.

"Yes," Travis replies, "but you two aren't going there."

"You haven't lost your habit of trying to boss me around I see," Eva snaps, her breaths still not measured.

"No Eva, he's right this time," Joanna puts in.

Eva addresses both of them now. "Don't you know by now that you can't just expect me to listen to you?"

"You don't know what you'd be walking into. For all we know he could still be a criminal or something." Joanna stares at Eva.

There's tense silence in the room and which is made more awkward due to the fact that we're all standing. Awkwardly.

"I'd be with her," I hear myself saying.

Even I don't think this is a good idea, but it's the only one we have.

"Yeah as if you are some sort of expert." Joanna has spoken to me for the first time directly and her voice is very abrasive. More than I'd expected.

"Jo, stop." The conviction and annoyance behind Eva's words is hard to miss. "We are going to meet him. He has attempted date rape before but we don't know if he's an axe murderer. Besides, Charley and I are more than enough to defend ourselves."

Travis gives out a small bark of harsh laughter. " 'Charley and I'. Listen to yourself Eva. You already talk about her as if . . . " and he scoffs again.

"As if you were talking about Lydia," Joanna completes.

Eva's whole body instantly tightens. There's a current around her, palpable in the air. She points a finger at the notepad on her desk. "Address."

"Fine, go and throw yourself straight into shit!" Joanna throws up her hands and hastily scrawls an address on the notepad beside me. I want to move away from my position, but I remind myself that I have nothing to be afraid about.

"Eva we're—" Travis starts, but she points a finger again, this time at the door of the office.

"You've been very helpful; I'd remember to send you a thank you note when I'm done searching for my dead wife's secrets."