This Lawless Love [wlw]

Chapter Twenty: Porcelain

Her cell phone rang incessantly as Almenira almost buried herself into the crevice of Claudia's leather sofa. She sat timidly, unsure of what to do next. If she picked up the phone, what should she say? Who should she call afterwards? She didn't know what to do. About anything.

Claudia, bless her, conversed with the firefighters on her behalf and interpreted Almenira's muttered answers to their questions without missing a beat. She barely registered the talk on it possibly being a gas leak and when asked whether she would like to be checked out at the hospital for poisoning, she could only blink.

"I think it's best if we take time to calm down first," Claudia dismissed, flashing a polite but tight smile towards the men in heavy gear.

As everyone began to filter out of the woman's home, dead silence began to take their place. Neighbors had retreated to their uncharred shelters, secretly thankful that it hadn't been them. Even the lights and sirens had retired for the night. The fire had been quelled and outside was completely darkened, the smoke having blotted out the moonlight and Almenira's beloved stars.

When Claudia returned from seeing the emergency personal out, she let out a deep sigh and stood silently, waiting for Almenira to be ready. She looked at her as if she were a frightened animal and the girl hated that so she met her eyes boldly while desperately trying to suppress the emotions that would justify Claudia's pity.

"Well..." she said simply.

"Well." Now it was Almenira's turn to sigh in distress. "What do I do now?" Despite her intention to keep her voice leveled, it came out whimpered.

"Answer the phone, perhaps."

Almenira looked down at her abandoned cell phone that remained quiet in that moment. Sighing again, she picked it up and turned it on. There were four distinct contacts that were responsible for 43 missed call and text notifications. A few were from an unknown number. Many were from Mei-Song in dismay at seeing her house being broadcasted as it actively burned. Many more were from Rafael and Esther Russo.

"Jesus," She stood up and walked upstairs without another word to her forced companion.

She quickly typed out a message that read "I'm fine. Call soon" in response to a thread of panicked texts from Mei-Song. She hit send and let her finger hover the other alerts but she couldn't bring herself to respond just yet. She shut the phone off and continued to climb the stairs.

A strange knot formed in her stomach as she stood in the foyer. She felt like throwing up as a strong anxiety suddenly gripped her. Vaguely, a terrifying scene flashed through her head as fear coursed through it as well.

The man...the smoking man. Antonio. He had come for her. She saw it in her mind's eye like it was a dream from long ago but this time it felt undoubtable that she had seen it. It didn't feel like it had actually happened but fuck she saw it somehow.

What else, there's something else.

The bathroom. Why did she feel like she knew what the bathroom looked like despite never being in there...No...Yes, the tiles. Claudia had porcelain tiles...the shower was glass.

Oh God, the shower was glass.

Her hands dropped. Slowly, she crept over to a door on her right on instinct. She almost gasped when she felt the of cold the handle. This is the bathroom...she knew it was. Why?

When the room was revealed to her, the answer wasn't but it certainly made everything feel more concrete. The images that her brain was valiantly trying to conjure up seemed to gain life.

Porcelain tiles, like she thought it would be. Something within her told her to walk further in. She spun around and looked at every corner. She was getting closer. There was a deja vu that just wouldn't go away.