If Scared of Blood, Why Kill?

Milan’s fingertips tapped against the keypad of an old-looking phone. It didn’t have a touch-screen, so it was fine if his hands were a little wet. Moreover, it was water-resistant. Because of its appearance and model, one could infer that it was not the only phone he had if he could access the Internet.

The signal over Lasair was abysmal. During rainy days, even the Internet would not be available to its people. However, with a military-grade satellite phone, what kind of normal storm could Milan not ignore? He even received this because Mauve, his stepmom, wanted to hear from him despite the distance they had between them.

However, since Mauve was already asleep right now, he only needed to answer her earlier texts. Milan then placed the phone on the floor before leaning on the tub’s rim. He stared at the ceiling and thought about the things he knew about the situation.

Corey called him and asked him to come to his mother’s funeral. He was told that it was a home invasion, and his mother was left with an open gut. She bled out by the time the village’s doctor arrived. He was also told Florence was in the house, but she was trapped in her room.

“…did they lie to me? I should probably ask the sheriff about her case file.” Milan pinched his forehead. “I don’t care if she acted in self-defense. I just want to know the truth.”

After thirty minutes, Milan had gotten out and changed into clothes Corey prepared for him. They had also dealt with all the wet belongings of the newcomer. Milan didn’t mind; it wasn’t like there was anything hard to explain about what he took with him for the trip.

Perhaps he only needed to explain why he didn’t bring any spare clothes. He didn’t know how Corbin would react to the fact that Corey was buying clothes for him instead.

He walked into the lounge-cum-dining room and saw how Corey was sorting through the drying effects. She was very interested in Milan’s wallet. It was actually thin for someone who claimed to have a rich step-mom. He was not even carrying any of those credit cards she read about.

“Oh, sorry, I was just curious about what you keep in it.” Corey chuckled and handed him the wallet. “I didn’t take any of your money.”

“I know. This is a small household. I won’t have a lot to suspect if someone did.” Milan counted the money inside and knew he wasn’t missing any big bills. “I only brought cash. It didn’t seem like stores in Lasair accept credit cards or support cashless transactions.”

Corey nodded and went over the things that were already dried after having an electric fan go over them. “Do you mind sleeping in Corbin’s room instead? I would lend my room, but Corbin didn’t like the idea. Uh, Florence really like keeping to herself at night, so I don’t want to intrude, too.”

Milan received the items and nodded at her. “Thanks a lot, Corey. You didn’t have to take care of me and Florence, but you still did. Your brother told me you’d hate it if I cut Mom’s funeral short. I figured you’re being kind to her, too.”

“…not really. I just… don’t want it to look suspicious.” Corey’s eyes fell to the floor. “Everyone agreed Roma had lost her mind recently, and what happened was an accident. If you didn’t grieve like proper children before taking Florence away, I have a feeling everyone will think she killed her mother just to escape Lasair. After all, Esperanza kept on running away… and she’s from that rich family.”

Her eyes suddenly turned cold. “I’m sure they would deflect the responsibility again.”

Milan didn’t know what was happening, but he didn’t ask her anything. With that smile she gave after realizing her mistake, he figured she wouldn’t talk. After all, she had a point.

He was happy the mother was finally out of their lives. He didn’t want her to die, but she held Florence hostage for so long. His sister wasn’t even allowed to marry anyone because their mother didn’t want Florence to leave her side. She also didn’t want to see Milan, the son who could take the daughter with him to his fantastical mansion on the mainland.

The night soon turned into day, and Milan didn’t even dare to sleep inside Corbin’s room. He was more comfortable lying on the couch as if crashing a friend’s house for the night.

“Good morning, Milan,” Florence greeted her brother the moment he walked into the kitchen. She then brought over two cups, one for her and one for Milan. “Let’s find a seat at the table. I’m sorry for not talking to you a lot when you arrived.”

“It’s okay. I got here so late last night.” Milan took a sip of his coffee and gambled with Florence’s mood. “If they weren’t looking for that girl last night, they wouldn’t pick me up, either. What was her name again? Anne? Do you know her, Florence?”

As expected, Florence paused in her motion to sip on her coffee. She then continued before smiling at him again. “She’s not called Anne. It’s Esperanza. She was supposed to be the bride this year, but she kept on running away. If not her, I wonder which pitiful maiden would have to take her place.”

Milan blinked. “Bride? Who is she marrying?”

“Lasair,” Florence answered as if Milan knew what she meant.

“Good morning, man, Florence!” Corbin stretched his arms overhead and walked to the coffee machine. Since it still had enough for one more cup, Corbin poured himself one before making another pot for Corey and his seconds. “How’s the couch? Comfortable?”

“It’s all right.” Milan chuckled and held his tongue for the incoming joke. He would say something more, but he was not close enough to tease Corbin and Corey like that. Well, not anymore.

Corbin only hummed to acknowledge his answer. The man then walked to join them at the table. “Yeah, Milan, the chief pestered me first thing in the morning. He wants to see you. There’s also this thing about Anne. You didn’t tell me you injured her when you took her down.”

Milan lifted a brow. “She wanted to kill herself. If she feared a little blood, why was she on the railing?”