Freaks in the City by Maree Anderson Page B

supposed to be.
“Crap! You startled me.”
    Jay considered not giving a response.
Vanessa had made a statement not a question. In addition it was a
correct statement, because Vanessa had made it very obvious that
she had indeed been startled. Logically, no response was required.
But none of Jay’s dealings with Vanessa thus far had been based on
anything remotely resembling logic. In the end she settled on,
“Sorry.”
    She yanked the sweats on over her shorts and
then thrust her feet into the sneakers before performing some basic
stretches. She didn’t need to stretch to warm up her muscles before
a run, but it was considered beneficial for humans to do so.
    Vanessa had managed to locate the carton of
milk and a box of cereal in the pantry. She brought both items over
to the breakfast bar before nosing inside a couple of cupboards,
searching for crockery. She appeared to be making herself very much
at home.
    For some indefinable reason Vanessa’s
actions irked Jay. Father’s programming had instilled a knowledge
of far more than mere basic etiquette, and Vanessa was showing her
up as an ungracious hostess. Or perhaps it was simply that Vanessa
royally pissed Jay off—had done ever since their first rather
disastrous meeting when Vanessa had taken it upon herself to punch
Jay in the stomach.
    “Help yourself,” she said, injecting a
degree of sarcasm in her tone. “Just make sure you leave some
cereal for Tyler. Apple Jacks are his favorite.”
    Vanessa flushed. She ducked her head and
toyed with the spoon she’d gotten from the cutlery drawer. “Thanks
for letting me stay here.”
    “I’d say, ‘You’re welcome,’ but you and I
both know I’d be lying.”
    Surprisingly, that sally provoked a wry
laugh. “Yeah, I kinda got that. You do ‘bitch’ real well, Jay.
You’d give Bettina a run for her money.”
    Despite herself, Jay’s lips twitched upward
in appreciation of Vanessa’s comment. At Greenfield High, Bettina
had cornered the market on bitch and reigned supreme. “I’ve been
practicing.”
    Vanessa fiddled with the closure of the UHT
milk carton, finally figured it out, and poured milk into her
cereal bowl.
    “About last night,” Jay said. “I’m sorry. I
don’t know what came over me. The nightmare was….” She closed her
eyes and sucked in a bracing breath. “I dreamed Tyler died and it
was my fault. I couldn’t wake up. I just kept dreaming him dying in
front of me over and over.”
    When she opened her eyes it was to find
Vanessa staring at her, mouth slightly agape, like she couldn’t
believe what she’d just heard.
    Jay reviewed her statements. She’d only
wanted to make it clear that even if she didn’t like Vanessa very
much, she didn’t intend to make a habit of assaulting her—well, not
without major provocation, anyway. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been
so honest. Perhaps she shouldn’t have tried to explain herself. She
rubbed her temple and sighed inwardly. Too late now.
    Vanessa shut her mouth with an audible snap.
“That must have been awful.”
    “It was.” Before the silence could grow
awkward, Jay changed the subject. “How’s your throat? Do you need
me to pick you up some arnica cream for the bruising?”
    Vanessa massaged her neck. “I took a couple
more Tylenol when I got up. It doesn’t feel so bad. But thanks
anyway.”
    “Do you wish to press charges for
assault?”
    Vanessa shook her head a little too
emphatically. “No. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. It was an
accident, right?”
    Jay nodded. She grabbed a marker and
scribbled a note for Tyler on the whiteboard she’d fixed to the
wall by the phone. “I need to get out of the house for a bit. I’m
going for a run. If you like, I’ll take you shopping for clothes
when I get back.”
    Vanessa ducked her head again, hiding her
expression. “Thanks.”
    Jay strode from the room and let herself out
of the house. It was a relief to shut the door on Vanessa, and the
nightmare, and all the