Almost Home

When they sat down in their respective seats again, she opened her laptop. Report cards due the following day, and all she had left was to write the comments.

"This quarter, we have been working on social emotional skills such as empathy and perseverance. Joe is such a kind friend to others. He is working on showing perseverance in his classroom assignments. I look forward to our continued partnership this year so Joe can be successful in third grade."

She knew it was a cop out. Most comments were a copy and paste with minimal changes to the content. They weren't a good form of communication with parents anyway. Most parents knew what their students struggled with. They met with her every other month anyway. It was required by the state.

Nick treated his head on her shoulder. She sat stiffly for a moment then relaxed. What was she going to do with the insatiable creature? She decided she would cross that bridge another time.

A few hours later, report cards we're finished. Nick was out cold and her phone had buzzed about a half dozen times.

CALL WHEN YOU LAND.

IMPORTANT INFO.

CASE NUMBER 123456 ARCHITECT...PENDING PROOF OF DEATH. 10 DAYS REMAINING.

STAFF MEETING MOVED TO THURSDAY AFTER SCHOOL.

NEWS HEADLINE: NICHOLAS JOHNSTON DID NOT SLEEP IN HIS OWN HOTEL ROOM IN PARIS. WHO COULD THE LUCKY LADY BE?

"For fuck's sake." She whispered.

TRANSCRIBED VOICEMAIL: HI LIA, IT'S MOMO. YOUR CAT SHIT IN YOUR TUB AND I AM NOT CLEANING IT. I DON'T MIND HOUSE SITTING WHILE YOU'RE AWAY BUT THIS IS WHERE I DRAW THE LINE. HE MUST REALLY BE PISSED AT YOU. HE HAS BARELY EATEN AND GROWLED AT ME TWICE. OF COURSE HE WARMED UP BY THE SECOND DAY. WE ARE CUDDLING ON THE COUCH NOW. CHECK YOUR TEXTS, I'M SENDING YOU A PICTURE NOW. HAVE FUN THIS WEEKEND, MISS YOU!

IMAGE CANNOT BE DOWNLOADED

She smiled at her phone. Momo was another the closest thing to a friend she had. She was a teacher at another school. They'd known each other since college and basically Momo has forced Lia to be her friend. Long story short, Lia wasn't upset about it.

She made a mental note to buy Momo a bottle of wine on her way home. Nick stirred and she slipped her phone back into her bag.

For a moment, she let herself daydream. She forgot about all the evidence that proved she was a monster. She forgot she was dangerous. She let herself believe that sitting on this plane, thousands of feet in the air, with Nick breathing heavily at her side, she was safe. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.