Life after Goodbye novel · Chapter 5 of 24

Chapter 5: Folic Acid

I took the mug from Chelsea's hand and held it under my nose.

It smelled of ginger and honey.

I smelled nothing else, and that scared me more than the bitterness had.

"That's kind of you," I said. "I'll drink it in bed. I'm tired."

"Of course." She smiled. "Make sure you finish it. Hot is best."

She went back to the kitchen, and I closed the door.

I poured the tea down the bathroom sink and ran the tap until the cup was clean.

Then I climbed into bed and lay awake, listening to a stranger's footsteps in my house.

On Tuesday I did what I had planned in the dark.

I bought a plain white vitamin bottle and filled it with folic acid tablets.

I stuck on a label that said Prenatal in my own handwriting.

I put it on the high shelf in the bathroom, where anyone looking for a spare towel would see it.

The real vitamins stayed in my sock drawer.

It was bait.

I hated using my own body to catch her, but a hoarse voice had told me what happened when I did nothing.

On Wednesday, when I came home from the bakery, the bottle had moved.

It had been turned until the label faced out.

Chelsea was sitting at our kitchen table with her hands around a mug.

"Calla," she said gently. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

She looked at the bottle in my hand, and her eyes went soft and wet.

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