The Day Of The Tribe.

3.

"Thank you", she said gladly as she walked away.

Naylor was gobsmacked. How did she convince the attendant that her stuff was free? How on earth had that just happened? He quickly paid for his things and ran out to the parking lot where he spotted her jumping into her white sports car.

"Wait!", he called out. She spun around and smiled at him. He jogged towards her.

"What was that? A freebie?", he asked her. She looked lost in thought and then paused when she realised what he was talking about.

"What do you mean?", she inquired. He squinted at her.

"That guy back there, you told him your stuff was free and he agreed", Naylor said.

"That was nothing. I have to go", she persuaded him as she continued getting into her car. It was the fastest way she knew to get out of a compromising situation.

"Wait!", he barked. He slammed his hand on her car door to prevent her from closing it. She frowned at him, frustrated by his persistence. However she looked at the situation, she couldn't stop herself from being attracted to him. Even though he was displaying violent behaviour towards her, she still saw him as desirable.

He stared deeply into her eyes and she reciprocated the action. He was trying to make her give in but she was resilient.

He eased back and released the door. She slammed it in his face and drove off. He was immediately intrigued by her. He wanted to know who she was and how she had gotten her groceries free just by telling the man so. He originally thought that it was a freebie or persuasion of some kind, but her behaviour made him to think otherwise.

He retreated to his car, knowing that he would see her again and he would get to the bottom of his strange new obsession.

¤¤¤

"So... what's for dinner?", Claire asked as Naylor walked through the front door. He didn't respond. He was still fazed by what happened at the supermarket. He had been thinking about Audrey since he got into his car. It was decided that he had mixed feelings about her. There was something awfully mysterious that he was so eager to discover. It made him even more furious that he had no clue as to what her problem was. It made him scratch his head and he hated it.

"Earth to Naylor", Claire voiced with unhidden concern. The sound of her voice pulled him out of his thoughts and so he realised that he had almost walked into the staircase. He smiled as he picked himself up.

"Groceries are in the car. Help yourself", Naylor replied her. He had reasons for not telling her about Audrey. Claire was like him, in that, she would always dig until she got to the root of a problem. Sometimes, she was bold enough to appear unannounced to the person-in-question. In this situation, it was Audrey. The last thing he needed was for her to meet his proud and irrational siblings.

"What do you mean 'help yourself'?", Robin inquired as she emerged from the kitchen.

Naylor stopped dead in his tracks. Like clockwork, Kevin appeared from one of the many doorways. He somehow knew that was going to happen. Robin took closer steps towards him. They could sense that something was wrong. They knew he was hiding something.

"You were supposed to go survey the town. Find out if it was safe to turn in the open?", Kevin reminded him. Naylor released a harsh sigh of relief. He turned around to face them.

"And I did".

They waited for him to continue. The more he tried to shorten the conversation, the more suspicion was brought upon himself.