Miss Meurte
Act 1
Part 1
“Girls! Come help with dinner!”
Elliot gave Sadie a helpless glance. “I know you’re used to helping my mom prep dinner, but I still feel like I should apologize.”
“Eh. I don’t really mind.” Sadie shrugged.
They left Popeyes Drive-through to nap and climbed down the trapdoor (since, being the only child, Elliot had the entire third-floor attic all to herself) to get to the kitchen, where the smell of turkey and pasta blessed their noses.
Currently, Mave, Elliot’s mom, was hunched over the countertops, staring at her phone. The side of her jaw twitched in annoyance.
“Uh…Mom?”
Mave’s head shot up when she saw the two girls hovering nervously near the kitchen entrance, and broke into her smile. She slipped her phone back into the pocket of her apron. “Oh! You guys are here. Go ahead and help me wash and peel the potatoes.”
Like always on Christmas, Elliot washed and Sadie peeled at the sink while Mave made the rest of the dishes, though without her usual energy.
Sadie bumped Elliot’s shoulder, subtly nodding over at her. “What’s up with Mrs. Blackburn?”
“Oh. You don’t remember?”
Sadie shrugged.
Elliot sighed. “Every Christmas, Dad goes to pick up Aunt Lizzie from the mountains to celebrate Christmas with us, and every time, Mom tells him not to go. She probably saw his message about picking her up after work and was a little annoyed.”
“Well, honestly, I agree with her,” Sadie remarked. “She eats food, takes up oxygen, and generally doesn’t bring a lot to the holidays other than her laments about Mother Nature.”
“You get a good laugh out of it, though,” Elliot pointed out.
Sadie shrug. “Not worth it for how much she pisses me off. Did you know last year Lizzie tried to shove a stick of celery—”
There was a ring at the door.
“I’ll go get it!” Mave hustled off, returning later with a tall man in a pressed suit, an overnight duffel bag in his hand, his startling green eyes similar to Sadie’s.
Sadie stiffened. “Bane.” Her tone was forced and stretched, like a rubber band about to snap under tension.
Bane nodded back. “Sadie.” He glanced at Elliot, who, forever faithful to Sadie, glared at Bane. If Sadie hated Bane, then so would Elliot. He grimaced at her stare.
Mave, oblivious to the tension in the kitchen, bustled around. “The girls were just helping me with dinner! You’ll be sharing a guest room with your mother upstairs, the first room to the right. It’s a little dusty since we’ve been using it as a storage room these past few months, but….”
Bane smiled at her politely as she led him to the second floor, still chattering away. Elliot watched them go, her heart dropping.
“Elliot? Elliot? Hello?” Sadie waved a hand in front of her face. Elliot jumped back to reality, swatting the hand away.
“Are you okay?” Sadie narrowed her green eyes.
Elliot sighed, nodding at the direction of the staircase that Bane and Mave had disappeared up the stairs. “Shame my mom seems to like your brother. More than me.“ The icy words hung in the air.
“Oh…” Sadie cringed. They both settled against the counter, one feeling tinges of jealousy in her veins, the other feeling hatred.
