Those That Slither | ON HOLD

Eight

In the kitchen Beo sniffed around his bowl loudly until he dove into a feeding frenzy. Leah smiled at him through a stiffness in her cheeks before pulling up the dialer on her phone. It was time to thank the man who just might have saved her life.

As the call began, she put the phone to her ear, patiently waiting for the dial tone to be answered.

"Hello?"

"Um hi, Daniel?"

"Is this Leah?"

"Yeah," she sat on her couch curling up her legs beneath her, "I got your note. Did you really pay for my tow?"

"I hope you don't mind."

Her head shook,  "You didn't have to do that. I think you did enough last night."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Stubborn."

A chuckle came from the other end of the call making her tingle, "I know."

She leaned back, chest slowly rising and falling under a certain calm she felt. She Wasn't Sure what else to say to him. Even if he turned out to be a good guy in her whirlwind of a chaotic mess, it didn't mean she actually knew him. The pause seemed to grow awkward and she sighed dramatically.

Daniel cleared his throat, "You know, I'm still in the area thanks to Travis. Would you mind if I swung by? I have something for you."

"Its not another note is it?"

He laughed, "Not this time."

"Well," her voice shook nervously. It wasn't often she spoke on the phone with someone besides Alice. Speaking of which she probably should call her next, seeing as the woman had some serious attempts to get a hold of her. "Sure. I guess."

"Positive?"

"Mhmm."

"Okay I'll see you in a few or is that too early?"

She was already dressed with nowhere to go, there was no need to wait for company, "No that sounds good, See you soon."

As quickly as the call ended,  Leah prepped herself for the next call she would make. It was pretty obvious what kind of attitude Alice would have against her. There would probably be questions she didn't feel like answering and she knew she'd probably mention the scattered boxes in the living room.

Her fingers danced on the dial pad and before she knew it, Alice grunted into her ear. "Well look who it is!

Before Leah could respond, her friend went on-- and on, "You know I called and text, drove past your house and even went inside, drunk! By the way, I can't believe you're really packing, you could at least organize your boxes better. I mean, if you're mad be mad but don't ignore me, especially with well, you know what going on. So," she cleared her throat and took what her friend could only imagine as the biggest breath, "Where on Earth did little Miss Edenwood go huh?"

Annoyed, she nipped at her, "Elk Village."

The line went quiet for a few seconds.
"Really?"

"Yes. But not by choice."

"What's that mean?"

"I didn't intend on going there."

"How the heck do you go somewhere and not even know it?"

Leah slumped forwards and laid on her stomach, legs kicking up on the arm rest, "I wasn't paying attention."

"That's stupid!"