Passionfruit

8.

  Len had turned the heater up to keep me from shivering, but it only helped a little. My phone shook in my hand as I tried navigating him to the address on Vee's driver's license. The girl in question was still in the back seat, snoring.

I was thankful for that. If she hadn't been making noise, I would have been a lot more worried.

Len rolled his window down just a bit but didn't say anything. The heater was probably killing him.

"And then a right up here," I told him. "The next one."

Of course, the directions had taken me around the Hills. We were about walking distance from Len's house, which was lucky, since he knew the area much better than I did.

"Oh, shit," He said, turning onto the instructed road.

"What?" I asked, my nerves already agitated and on edge. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he dismissed. "I just always wondered who lived up here."

"Huh?"

But he didn't have to explain. We came around a curve, revealing a massive home perched over the side of the hill ahead of us. It wasn't modern, like Len's. It was more of a country french-style, with beige stone walls and white columns, a wide array of trees and flowers surrounding it. There were also fewer windows, and they were smaller, but there were more balconies: at least three. The branched off a variety of rooms. I thought of my own deck at home, which dwarfed in comparison.

And, like Len's, there was a gate. But no attendant. Just a keypad.

"Shit," I said, looking back at Vee. The rise and fall of her chest was the only thing telling me she was still with us. "Hey! Vee!"

To my surprise, she let out a sigh. "What?" It was the clearest word she'd muttered all night.

"We're home," I told her. "But... do you have a code?"

She picked her head up, pushing herself slightly up to peek out the window. Her eyes were bright purple. Has to be contacts.

As soon as she confirmed where we were, she slumped back down. "Four, six, twelve," she told us, her voice low and exhausted.

Len rolled the window all the way down, punching the numbers in. Sure enough, the gate opened. He pulled up the driveway, turning with the road as it curved before the entrance: a set of double doors with two bright lamps on either side.

"Just wait here," I told Len, stepping out of the car. "I'll bring her inside."

"Are you sure?" He leaned towards me as I stepped out of the car. "You think her maids are gonna think it's a little weird?"
"What?"

He looked away. "...Nevermind."

I furrowed my brow, waiting for him to elaborate, but he didn't. Instead, I opened the back door, tugging on Vee's foot. "Hey, Vee. Let's get you inside."

"Ugh," she said, rubbing her head. She slowly sat up, grabbing my arm as I helped her out of the car. She seemed to be sobering up. And she didn't seem happy about it.

"Come on," I told her, slowly guiding her up the front steps.

"Jesus, I didn't think I had that much," she said, squinting up at the front doors as they opened.

I blinked my eyes at the figure that emerged from the house.

My first thought was that she looked like some sort of goddess, with the lights from the house outlining her impressive figure. She wore a silken robe that fluttered around her mysteriously, along with her oddly-colored hair. Sunset orange at her roots and the crown of her head, blending into a light blonde and ending at a sky blue at the tips, which reached easily down to her waist. Her features looked hand-sculpted, with high, pointed cheekbones and narrowed blue eyes.