He shifts to his side, pulling me with him and I stroke his hair.
“Good morning,” I whisper, stretching my legs. “What time is it?”
He lifts his head to the bedside clock. “Ten to seven,” he murmurs, giving me a slight grin. “What time do you have to be at work?”
Oh, yeah, crap…
“Eight,” I sigh, shutting my eyes at the thought.
I hear a soft rustle of blankets as the bed gently moves and look up.
“Coffee?” he asks, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes.
“Please.”
“Leaded or unleaded?”
“Seriously?”
He chuckles, the sound of his footsteps becoming quieter as he leaves the room. I lie still and silent as the sleep-fog in my mind dissipates, wheels beginning to spin after a few moments. I peek down toward the edge of the bed, trying to get a glimpse of the serpent lying within. The aquarium light is fully dimmed from the rising sun, but I can just make out the long side of his black, glistening scales. I wonder if he sleeps, too?
The aroma of fresh coffee grabs my attention and I leap out of bed, still focused on the elegant movement of Ascot’s slithering snake.
“How do you like your coffee?” Ascot calls out and I blink, looking towards the door.
“Oh, a little cream and sugar, thanks,” I glance back to the aquarium. Caduceus is staring straight up at me, head tilted slightly, eyes still bigger than any snake’s eyes I’ve seen. “Morning Caduceus,” I whisper, tapping the glass and he nods. I gasp, palming my mouth.
“What’s wrong?” Ascot rushes in, holding two cups.
“He-he nodded at me!” I point at the aquarium. “I swear, he nod…”
Ascot smiles, handing me a cup and I take it without thinking, wide eyed as I stare at the snake. “I told you he can communicate, Elise,” he says, placing his cup down next to the aquarium. He picks up a small, white bottle of something, opens the lid and I lean in, strangely curious as he squeezes a drop of water on the snake’s body.
“There you are, Cad,” he whispers. “Sorry, I was a little preoccupied this morning.”
“Did you just feed him?” I ask, watching the snake coil into a ball.
He nods, lifting his brows. “Yes, I give him a drop of my uncle’s water every morning.”
“That’s all? Just the water?”
“Mmm, hum.”
“Wait,” I blurt out as a thought comes rushing into my head. “Didn’t you say you had some exotic fish?” my eyes scan around his room. “You know, the water that leaked into my apartment.”
His mouth twists, and he frowns. “Yeah, that’s right. Hansel and Gretel.”
“Did you ever figure out what happened?”
“No,” he picks up his coffee cup and looks away. “They were over a hundred years old.”
Gulp.
“I’m sorry you lost them,” I whisper and his eyes come back to me. “Their aquarium just shattered out of nowhere?”
He shakes his head. “I honestly have no idea. One minute they were fine, the next they were lying on the floor, surrounded by broken glass. I had just replaced the water,” he swallows. “I’ve it done a million times but something…” his voice trails off. “Something must have made it crack. Funny thing was, I never heard a thing.”
“That’s seems pretty weird,” I glance down at Ascot’s snake. “Did you ask him?”
His brows go up and he blinks. “No, I…I can’t believe I didn’t think of that,” he rubs his jawline. “I guess I’ve been more preoccupied than I thought,” he shakes his head, gazing down at Cad’s shimmering, coiled scales. He continues to stare, staying still and silent for another moment. They’re communicating, the head of the serpent shifts slightly. Ascot’s eyes narrow, his lips tightening into a thin line before looking away and taking a step back.
“What did he say?” I blurt out, fascinated.
“Nothing,” Ascot runs a hand through his thick, dark hair. “Nothing you would understand, anyway.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
His eyes glare up at me. “It means just that,” he clips his words.
Whoa, he’s really pissed.
“Ascot,” I whisper. “I know you miss your fis…”
“It’s fine, Elise, just drop it,” he cuts me off, heading down the hallway and I follow him.
“I gotta go anyway,” I grab my purse from the counter, spotting my shoes next to the front door. “Thanks for the coffee,” I huff out, watching him from the corner of my eye as I lean down and pick up my flats.
“Elise,” he whispers but I don’t look up. “I’m sorry, I…”
“It’s okay, no need to apologize,” I say, reaching for the door handle.
“Please wait,” he gets out and I stop as he moves closer. “I didn’t want to tell you because...” he drifts off and I look up at him.
“Because?” I ask, frustrated.
He lets out a long sigh. “Cad tried to stop them,” he pauses, shaking his head.
“Them? You’re right, I don’t understand.”
“Yeah,” he nods. “The ones you try to hide from.”
I let out a quick breath. “Wait, are you talking about Liv and Becca?” I whisper.
His brows push together and he nods again.
“What? Why would they kill your beloved fish? That makes no sense.”
“To send a message,” he closes his eyes. “When they couldn’t get my attention, they decided to get yours.”
“Jesus,” I whisper. “But they already had mine, I knew they were close.”
“Yes, but you protected yourself or your surroundings from them.”
“Hell yeah,” I blurt out, “I told you it was the first thing I did when I moved in.”
“Well it worked,” he says, placing his cup in the sink. “They were pissed.”
“Hang on,” I whisper, glancing around the room. “If what you say about your snake is true, how come he didn’t tell you way before now?”
“Good question,” he admits. “And I don’t have a good answer. It’s as if our communication had been blocked somehow.”
“The portal,” I barely get the words out. “Liv and Becca may not have left with it.”
“It’s hard to tell,” he clenches his jaw, glancing back down at his snake. “But Cad didn’t warn me about them, so, I’m guessing there’s nothing more to be concerned about.”
“God, I hope so,” I whisper and his eyes come back to mine.
“Me too.”
***
By eight o’clock on the dot, I make it to work and thankfully, Adam hasn’t arrived yet.
Tammy is at the coffee machine and looks up, giving me a smile as I walk over to my desk and tuck away my purse.
“Morning,” she says, pouring creamer in her cup.
“Hey,” I smile back. “Where’s Adam?”
“Oh, he had a few inspections this morning,” she opens a drawer and places assorted coffee pods on the counter. “He said he might not make it in today.”