A Bitter Pill To Swallow

"A wheelchair would be nice..." Dave shot a 'I can't place your face' look at her until it dawned on him who she was. "And probably let the front desk know we have an unresponsive male, mid-twenties, out here. That'd be great." He'd heard a bit about the woman from Augusta and got the creepy-crawlies when she'd inquired about helping the support group. She was a politician through and through, even before she'd actually gotten into the field, and it set off every warning bell Dave had. He adjusted Brock to keep him from sliding off into the floor from the fireman's carry Dave lugged him around in.

GRAYBRIDGE, 5 NOV 2023
Dark Lips Books
Augusta loves this store, and feels immediately at ease. She spends a lot of time here, especially when she was working on TANC rights. When Eva tenses up though, she looks around, only her eyes moving. She sees the man then, and nods and walks to her side, providing a very small amount of cover between him and the massive blond.

Sitting down, she nods, and says, "Hi, Tanya, yes, you remember!" she beams. "Eva has a more important question, but just quickly, do you recognize this uniform logo?" she shows her the pic on her phone of the A.S.S. guard uniform. "I'm trying to track down someone who dinged my car. I thought it might be the group that works at the lake."

"Thanks ... uh ... Peyton. I want my customers to be happy."

Melissa feels the vibes in the air and remains quiet, not wanting to offer anything she shouldn't. She allows herself a moment to fantasize about being actual friends with Peyton. That would be a step in the right direction in her quest to climb the social ladder. But, if her relationship with Dave pans out, she might end up with the means to become a wealthy socialite herself and with the added benefit of some fancy powers.

GRAYBRIDGE, 5 NOV 2023

"I think he got a hold of some bad mushrooms and passed out. It's either that or chronic explosive hemorrhoids. We're not sure which just yet." Dave covered for the unconscious Brock and irritated Anna simultaneously. The less the councilwoman knew the better. "What brings you to hospital, Councilwoman Smythe? Nothing penicillin won't cure, I hope." Every time he said her last name he had to resist the urge to affect an upper-crust British accent and stick his pinky out as if taking tea with the Queen.

GRAYBRIDGE, 5 NOV 2023
Noticing a sarcastic glint in Dave's eye and his formal address to Peyton, Melissa had to stifle a giggle at both that and the mention of penicillin, She was glad she had said nothing to the councilwoman, her instincts being correct in not revealing the real reason for their hospital visit. She didn't know what the woman's relationship with Dave was exactly. He had a lot going on. So she nodded along.

"That's odd." Dave harrumphed innocently looking Smythe in the eyes. "We were all out for some morning coffee when Anna called us about her boyfriend. We certainly didn't see anything..." As if to drive home the point, he took a slurp of the now cold and sludgy coffee from the Dark Lips cup. "Nope, saw nothing at all out of the ordinary. For Graybridge, anyway... Surely the authorities would've been right on top of any 'monster attack', even if it was in Graybridge, right?" He used 'finger quotes' to address the supposed attack. It probably wasn't too hard for someone like Smythe to see right through Dave's stonewalling but he knew she'd see through it.

Eva draws a deep breath, as this is exactly the response from Tanya she's been worried about. Sitting down as well, she tries to catch the nervous woman's eyes and settle them a little with a weighty stare, saying, "She knows. I mean -- she doesn't know much because I don't know much, but she knows a bit about Wyvern Lake. She's recently discovered that she has... that she might be mixed up in... well, there are some things we don't understand that are going on.

Hesitating, Eva tilts her head a bit as she continues. "Like what was in the blue pills you gave Brock?" Her voice drops, softens. "They didn't suppress her powers, Tanya. She lost control."

GRAYBRIDGE, 5 NOV 2023
Graybridge Hospital

"Certainly," Melissa replies using a word that she normally doesn't use. "I would, yes."

Melissa tries not to show the conflict she's wrestling with in her mind. She wasn't so uncouth as to ask what that contribution might be being the social climber she was, but what she wouldn't give to be in that crowd. Right now though, she wasn't sure what was going down, and she wanted what Dave was offering, so she stopped there and let Dave handle things.

GRAYBRIDGE, 5 NOV 2023
Dark Lips Books
Augusta wondered if that would happen, but she can't let her get away without telling them. She nearly plows into someone as she jumps from the table, saying, "Hello," reflexively as she goes off after Tanya.

"Tanya, please tell us. I need to know, something's happening to me, too. Please, I'll do anything!" Her pleas surprise her as the rush of emotions bubbles from within. She knows nothing, and she fears everything.

GRAYBRIDGE, 5 NOV 2023
Dark Lips Books
"I promise. No one but Eva. Tell me what's in those pills. And maybe I'll find out what Floyd did to me." Her own eyes burn with a thousand questions. "I'll try to get her out." The last promise escapes her lips with no idea how to accomplish it.

Despite worrying that Tanya was going to react negatively, and knowing that Mike was in the book shop, Eva is taken off-guard when suddenly the two very different parts of her life collide, sending her careening. She doesn't know how to handle Tanya's tears and anger, she doesn't know how to handle Mike suddenly being right there -- so it's good when Augusta thinks faster on her feet and is up and after the smaller blonde as she makes to leave. Eva doesn't even get a word out, and then she's face to face with the guy she's been flirting with (as best as she knows how) for weeks now.

Shit, he smells good.

"Um, Mike! Hi. Hello! Sorry, I'm -- uhhh. This isn't what I... I mean..."

Out of the corner of her eye, the woman sees Ang catch Tanya, and there's some conversation happening near the door. Thank God!

"Fuck. I mean -- wait, that's not what I mean. What I mean to say is hello and I'm sorry I'm tripping over myself. I was just getting ready to have a tough conversation I wasn't really ready for, and then... well, here you are. How are you?"

Beyond looking good, that is, she thinks to herself, unable to settle hormones that are suddenly surging. Fuck fuck fuck. How do I look? she wonders, briefly fussing with her hair and smoothing the hem of her plaid skirt. Her tights now have holes in them, but that's... that's a look. Right?

"Erm, I can sit and chat, sure, but let me make sure this other thing is handled first, okay?"