章 892: Ch 892 - I Hate Mondays
Sunlight crept through the blinds that covered the huge window in Alex's guest room. Yvonne lay in the bed, wrapped up in a quilt with a bag of mushy peas under her head. When she rolled over on her side, a sharp, intense pain shot up her torso. Her head pounded.
Memories of the past twenty-four hours all started to come back to her. Alex's house, the attacks, and, worst of all, Debbie. She took a deep breath that turned into a yawn. Yvonne stood up and stretched. She could barely wait to hop in a warm, relaxing shower.
As she shuffled into the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. "I don't know what's worse, the gnarly cuts or the bags under my eyes."
She realized she was totally unprepared to stay overnight at Alex's house. Her skin felt dry, as if it could crack at any moment. Much to her dismay, she didn't see any moisturizer in the bathroom.
After ridding herself of Alex's oversized clothes, she turned on the water in the shower. As soon as she stepped under the water, she felt a hundred times better.
She let her thoughts wander. Her encounter with Debbie on the backroad played in her mind on a constant loop. I know that was her on the road. Why wouldn't she say anything about it? I have no clue what Alex sees in her.
Yvonne grabbed the shampoo bottle off a shelf and squirted some on her hair. After she rinsed her hair, she glanced to the side, looking for a bottle of conditioner. Nothing was there. Does Debbie not use conditioner? That is impossible.
Without haste, Yvonne shut off the water in the shower. She grabbed a towel, wrapped it around herself, then threw Alex's clothes back on.
As Yvonne walked out of the bathroom, there was a knock at the door. "Coming!"
She whipped open the door to see Debbie. She leaned on the door frame. "Good morning."
Mirroring Debbie's stance, Yvonne leaned on the opposite side of the door frame. "What do you want?"
Debbie stood up straight and pointed down the hallway. "I figured you might need some new clothes. Would you like to borrow anything?"
Yvonne glanced down at the oversized shirt and pants she was wearing. "I'm fine with this."
"Well, alright. Did you find everything okay in the bathroom?" Debbie asked
Yvonne shrugged. "You didn't have any conditioner, and I didn't see any lotion."
Debbie flipped a long lock of hair over her shoulder. "So sorry. I have this condition where my hair and skin remain soft and hydrated no matter what I do, so we typically don't have much use for those."
Yvonne tightened her jaw. "Is that so?"
Debbie nodded. "Well, I'll let you get ready, Yvonne."
Yvonne slammed the door in Debbie's face. After she heard Debbie's footsteps move down the hall, she let out an anguished sigh.
Yvonne sauntered in front of the mirror next to the door, posing with her hand on her head. "Look at me. I'm Debbie! I'm perfect! My skin never gets dry! Not even when I stalk people in the woods."
Her stomach grumbled. "I hear you. We'll get some food."
She lazily made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She thought she could smell coffee brewing. I can use caffeine right now.
When Yvonne entered the kitchen, she saw Debbie, pouring herself a warm cup of coffee. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Yvonne. "Want some?"
Yvonne wanted to say no, but her caffeine addiction wouldn't let her. "Yeah, I'll take a cup."
Hesitantly, Yvonne took a seat at the kitchen island. She noticed a brand new, giant bowl of fruit sitting on the countertop.
Debbie opened a cabinet above her and grabbed a mug adorned with Garfield the cat and the saying, "I hate Mondays." After closing the cabinet, Debbie filled the mug. "Do you take cream or sugar?"
Yvonne watched Debbie. "I'll take both."
Debbie opened up the fridge, pulling out the creamer. She fixed Yvonne's coffee, then slid it in front of her.
Debbie reopened the fridge to put the creamer away. Yvonne raised an eyebrow in Debbie's direction. "Wait, you didn't put creamer in your coffee."
Debbie peeked over her shoulder. "Oh, yeah. I drink my coffee black."
Grabbing her coffee, Debbie took a small sip. Yvonne cringed, bringing her cup to her face. She mumbled into the coffee, "Of course, you do. Psychopath."
Debbie set down her pink, glittering coffee. "Is everything alright, Yvonne?
Yvonne slammed her coffee cup down. "No, Debbie. It isn't. What the hell happened last night? Why were you on the dirt road? And why did you try to attack me?"
Debbie reached out. "Yvonne, you have it all wrong. I didn't try to attack you."
Yvonne shot up out of her chair. "So that was you!"
Debbie tried to reason with her. "I never said it wasn't!"
Yvonne slammed her hands down. "Tell me, then, exactly what you were doing out there."
Debbie kept her cool. "I came back last night to see Alex, and before I went to his house, I went on a little hike."
Yvonne felt her face turn red. "Convenient story, Deborah. While you were on your hike, did you hear any blood curdling screams? Because they would have been MINE."
Debbie shook her head. "I didn't hear it because I was listening to music."
Yvonne's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "In the woods? At night? That's so fucking stupid."
Debbie blew out her cheeks. "Yeah, well, I'll never do it again now."
Yvonne could sense that her anger was getting the best of her, but she didn't care. "I don't freaking buy it. You freaking stared at me like you were the grim reaper."
Debbie's face sank almost like she was running out of ideas. "I don't know what else to tell you, Yvonne. I froze when you were running down the street, covered in blood."
Yvonne rolled her eyes. "Where'd you go after, then?"
Debbie threw her arms up, slightly losing her composure. "I went searching in the woods for what happened."
Laughing, Yvonne threw her head back. "Oh, my god. And what were you going to do if you found the super soldier? Smother him to death with your ultra soft skin?"
Debbie pressed her palms to her forehead. "Okay, I'm genuinely sorry for what you had to go through, Yvonne, but I promise you, I had nothing to do with the attacks."
Yvonne leaned over the kitchen counter. "Bullshit. You're a liar. I don't know how, but I'll prove it.."
Alex rushed into the kitchen. "Hey! What in God's name is going on?"
With all of the tension in the room, his massive kitchen somehow felt more like a shoebox.
With her eyes wild like a maniac, Yvonne pointed at Debbie. She started to cry. "She's the one I saw in the woods, Alex! I know it! I don't know what kind of witchy woman spell she has you under, but I'm not buying it."
Alex positioned himself between the two women. "Alright, let's calm down."
Yvonne's teary eyes darted toward him. "Alex, when has telling someone to calm down ever calmed a person down?"
Alex raised his hand. "Yvonne, this isn't what it seems."
Yvonne shook her head in disbelief. "It isn't what it seems? Alex, I know what I saw. Are you trying to gaslight me?"
Alex clenched his jaw and turned toward Debbie. "Baby, did you tell her what you told me last night?"
Debbie gave her boyfriend a reassuring nod. "Yes, yes. She won't listen, Alex."
He cautiously approached Yvonne. "I know Debbie better than anyone else, and she would never hurt anyone, let alone someone I care about. She's so caring and compassionate. You have to believe me."
The words cut through Yvonne like a knife. He knows Debbie better than anyone? Are you kidding me? What am I, chopped liver?
"I hope you can forgive me, Yvonne," Debbie said as she walked toward Alex and embraced him.
No longer in control of her emotions, Yvonne glowered at the couple. She wiped the tears out of her eyes, knowing the words she was about to say were a blatant lie. "Well, I guess there's nothing to forgive, then. Is there?"
Smiling, Alex gently shook Debbie's shoulders. "See? It's all good. We can work through this."
"Yes, we can, honey bun." As the words left Debbie's lips, her eyes shifted toward Yvonne. "So, are the two of you hungry for breakfast?"
Alex planted a kiss on Debbie's lips. "Starving."
Yvonne grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl in front of her. "I think I'm good with this, and it would be best for me to go rest. So I better leave…now, like right now."
She sped out of the kitchen and returned upstairs. She was disgusted by the whole situation.
At the top of the staircase, she saw the door to Christopher's room was partially left open. She accepted it as an invitation. Christopher lay on the bed, reading a book.
"Hey, there." She walked into the room and sat at the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling?"
Christopher threw the book down. "I'm fine. You're the one we're worried about, though."
After setting down her mug, Yvonne peeled her banana. "I'm fine."
A silence fell over them as Yvonne downed her banana. Then, a genius idea popped into her head. "So, do you know Debbie well?"
Christopher tilted his head back. "Meh."
Yvonne nodded. "I don't know her at all."
Christopher pressed his lips together. "That's not what you said last night."
Yvonne turned her eyes to the floor. She picked up her coffee mug. Garfield's face stared back at her, as if to mock her. "I guess that was just a misunderstanding."
Christopher chuckled. "Alex said Debbie wouldn't even hurt a fly."
Nerves rattled inside Yvonne. "How do you know?"
Yvonne studied Christopher's stoic expression as he spoke. "Well, Debbie wants the best for everyone, according to Alex."
Yvonne stared into her coffee mug. "Great, so she has perfect skin, perfect hair, a perfect body, and she's a saint."
Not being able to hear what Yvonne mumbled, Christopher sat up. "What was that?"
In a panic, Yvonne held up her coffee mug and pointed to the slogan above Garfield. "Uh, I hate Mondays."
Christopher leaned back down. "Uh, yeah, me too."
Yvonne struggled to keep her cool. "So, basically, it sounds like Debbie is an amazing person."
Christopher shrugged. "She's amazing for Alex. He needed someone to always stand by his side. To be there whenever he needed her. And that's not you, Yvonne. You would have never backed down from the Wheeler empire."
Yvonne offered Christopher a ghost of a smile. "I guess she is just perfect, isn't she?"
Christopher sat up, stretching his arm. "No one is perfect, Yvonne. I'm sure Debbie fights her own demons too."
Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "Her own demons?"
Christopher nodded yes, and, with that, Yvonne shot up. "I have somewhere I need to go."
Yvonne ran to Louis's room. His door was shut, and when she tried to barge in, she discovered it was locked, so she knocked.
Louis's voice sounded groggy. "Go away."
Yvonne leaned into the door. "Louis, I have a question."
After a few moments of silence. Louis groaned. Yvonne knew that was Louis's way of saying yes. She lowered her voice. "Is Debbie a member of the Demon Sect?"
"What? Of course she isn't," Louis said.
Yvonne pursed her lips. "Are you absolutely sure she isn't?"
Louis gritted his teeth. "I'm sure. She runs Alex's real estate business, anyway. Doesn't she?"
Yvonne backed away, considering this newfound piece of information. "Yes, she does. Thank you, Louis!"
A million thoughts flashed in Yvonne's mind. While she was able to piece together a clearer picture of Debbie, she still had no damning evidence that she was the terrible person Yvonne knew she was. Yvonne bit her fingernails. Maybe I should Facebook stalk her, but I can't. I don't have my phone.
Upon looking up, Yvonne found her answer. Right in front of her was Alex and Debbie's bedroom, with the door left wide open. Yvonne didn't need to Facebook stalk Debbie. She could just rummage through her things and actually stalk her.
Yvonne rushed into the bedroom. She had some amateur sleuthing to do.
Nothing was out in the open in the room. "Am I really about to stoop to the level of rummaging through their drawers?" On Alex's nightstand, a picture of Debbie, with her perfect smile and cold dead eyes, caught Yvonne's attention. "Yes, I am. This is not beneath me."
Mercilessly, she started tearing out drawers from the cabinet. After she found nothing in the cabinets, she moved through the space, turning everything inside out.
Finally, Yvonne reached what she considered to be the equivalent of discovering Tutankhamun's tomb. She found the walk-in closet.
When she opened the door, she discovered where Debbie kept all of her belongings. She saw a huge collection of shoes. She picked up a pair of Louboutins. "Okay, okay. She has great taste in shoes. I wonder if she's my size. No, she isn't. Of course, her feet are very small."
As Yvonne was surveying the shoes, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a purse left open. Using her detective skills, Yvonne surmised that Debbie had used the handbag that very day. She dove into it without reluctance. Yvonne came across a brochure with Debbie's picture on it. It was for Alex's real estate business and advertised an open house for the villas at Birchwood.
"Wait," Yvonne said as she flipped through the pamphlet. "I heard about this. Riley planted a bunch of his cronies at this place. And, come to think of it, Alex didn't even tell me Birchwood was for sale."
Yvonne stood up. "This makes perfect sense. She acts nice, but underneath it all, she's just another one of Riley's drones. I knew it!"
Yvonne shoved the brochure in her pocket and ran out of the room.
As soon as she returned to her bedroom, she slammed the door. She paced back and forth. "It still doesn't explain why she was on the path last night, but it does explain why something seems so off about her. Who knows, maybe Riley is behind all of this. All I know is that I don't trust this woman."
A soft knock rapped at Yvonne's bedroom door. She coughed a little, clearing her throat. "Um, who is it?"
The door cracked open, and Alex stuck his head in. "I'm just letting you know Debbie and I are going for a hike in the woods. We're just going to check the perimeter, make sure nothing else is lurking around."
Yvonne shook her head. Alex was gone in a flash, closing the door behind him.
Yvonne threw herself back down on the bed. "I hate men."
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