Chapter 17

RAE

I tried to roll over, but the weight of someone’s arm and leg over me stopped my movement. A smile stretched my lips even before I opened my eyes. Vickie was like a cuddly octopus in her sleep.

It felt good to wake up in my bed. I was over the hump for another month. That was the pattern in the last few months. For several days every month, I feared waking up somewhere I shouldn’t be. Then everything was fine again.

I opened my eyes and turned to face her. The desire to murder her disappeared once the food had arrived. Her lust for Rhys had turned into pleasure at the mountain of food we had to devour. And then that was replaced by her total concentration on her books when we studied. I loved Vickie’s mind. I loved watching her work. She had a love for knowledge that nothing else could surpass, not even the ‘hunky’ neighbour.

My smile disappeared when I remembered I still had to sneak off and talk to Rhys. I couldn’t do it while Vickie was there because she’d asked me several