Danielle’s POV
*****
There are only so many times a woman can wake up after sleeping with a mysterious six-armed stranger before she starts questioning her sanity.
The first thing I did when my eyes opened was look at the terrarium.
Bobby sat on the same piece of wood as always, looking about as threatening as a dusty pom-pom.
Which should’ve been comforting, if not for a few troubling details.
For starters—how the fuck did I get to my bed last night?
I sat up groggily, pulling my legs closer to my chest as the bed sheets slipped off my body.
Of course, I was naked.
And considering how I don’t remember stepping out of the shower to begin with… I was also surprisingly dry.
Slowly memories of last night began racing through me.
From the way I’d stepped into the shower, to when HE showed up in all his six-armed glory.
Plus, he apparently gave me his name.
“Anzari,” I uttered it without realising, rubbing a hand down my face a few seconds after.
“Doesn’t sound totally made up at all.”
Just when the thought of going back to sleep crossed my head—my phone buzzed.
It was all the way on my reading table with the terrarium.
Which meant I had to get my lazy ass up after all.
With a light grunt, I hopped off the bed and strode to the phone.
However when I lifted it to my face my eyes bulged.
It was Kimberly.
She’d already called me five times before this alongside four messages.
“Uhm, good morning girl,” I mumbled awkwardly when I picked up, pressing the phone against my ear.
“Sorry I didn’t hear any of your calls. I just—”
“Bitch, it’s past ten AM!” She screeched loud enough for me to pull the damn thing away from my face.
“When exactly did you sleep last night? Don’t tell me you let everything that happened with Simon and that blow-up doll get to you?”
For a second I considered telling her about my new nightly companion.
And how lightheaded each encounter with him left me.
But then I realised how crazy that would sound and could already imagine myself in a white padded room.
“I wasn’t,” I exhaled through my mouth.
“I guess I just needed the extra rest.”
“I find that hard to believe,” a pause long enough to make me pensive.
“But it’s no matter. The jerk won’t be a problem for a while. Have you seen my texts yet?”
“Literally just waking up. So no.” My forehead wrinkled.
“And what do you mean he won’t be a problem anymore?”
“Girllll,” she drew the word with an enthusiasm that instantly caught my attention.
“You will not believe the news I’ve got for you.”
“Bitch, if you don’t quit beating around the bush—”
“Simon’s house burned down!” Kim screamed with pure glee.
“It was even on the news. Check channel fourteen. You should’ve seen the shot of his sorry ass face! He—hello? Babe, you still there?”
For a moment, I genuinely thought I’d misheard her.
I stared blankly at nothing, my mouth opening and closing repeatedly.
“What?”
“Girl, you heard me. The house is gone!” Kimberly practically cackled.
“Not completely gone, but enough to make the local news. They said the fire department got there in time to stop it from spreading to the neighbours.”
I searched for the table’s edge, needing something to ground myself.
This felt like a dream.
Or rather an extremely convenient coincidence.
My eyes wandered to the terrarium.
Then I recalled something Anzari told me last night.
Mostly the part where he asked me if he should get rid of Simon and Tanisha.
Could this—dear God.
“Was he hurt?” I hated the way my voice quivered.
“Pfft.” Kim let out a breath oozing disappointment.
“I wish he was. And more. He might’ve gotten a few burns though. Nothing major.”
“Kim, you can’t just wish Jeremy’s father death.”
“I can and I will. Jeremy could do without his bum ass. And so could you.”
I took one last look at the terrarium.
It was getting harder to ignore how all these crazy things began since I brought that damn spider into this house.
The most annoying part was that every time I looked at it, hoping to catch a glimpse of something unnatural… little Bobby just remained sitting on his stick with absolutely no care in the world.
“Danielle?” Kim’s voice rang again.
“Please tell me you’re at least smiling right now.”
“I’m not smiling.”
“You should be.”
“Kim, you—”
“I’m serious, babe. For once the universe handed that man an L and you’re acting like someone died. Heck, what if he died? Then what? You’re going to beat yourself up for some cheating asshole?”
I sank onto the edge of the bed at last.
The problem wasn’t Simon.
If I was being honest I couldn’t care less about what happened to him—at least if I cancelled the fact that he’s my little boy’s father.
The real problem was that a small, terrified part of me thought about Anzari.
What if he was behind this fire?
Did that mean he could just go around hurting people?
Perhaps… hurting me?
“God, this is fucking ridiculous.” I groaned out loud.
“… Danielle?”
“Girl, what now?!”
“You need help.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Excuse me?”
“No, hear me out.” Kimberly barreled on.
“You spend all day working. You spend all night sulking. You haven’t been on a date in months. You barely leave your house unless it’s for Vesper.”
I was left stunned by her words.
Because deep down I knew she wasn’t wrong in the slightest.
“You need a distraction.” She added.
“Please don’t tell me that pet spider you got is one of them.”
I glanced toward Bobby.
She had no idea…
“I wasn’t talking about Bobby.”
“Oh, great. You already gave the thing a name.”
I rubbed my forehead.
“Kim—”
“Nope. Decision made. We’re going out to a club tonight.”
That made my stomach drop.
“Absolutely not.”
“Absolutely yes, babe.”
“Kim, I’m thirty-two.”
“Okay, and? You’re never too old for the club.”
“B–But I’ll get exhausted,” my cheeks burned.
“And I can’t dance.”
“Like that ever stopped you before you met that bag of dicks.” Kim snorted.
Then her voice lowered.
“Come on, babe. Just one night. I promise you won’t regret it.”
I caught my bottom lip between my teeth.
Somehow those last words felt like a bad omen.
After a little more persuasion—I gave in.
“Fine. Just one night, as you said.”
“Yes!” She giggled.
“Girl, we’re going to shake up LA tonight!”
My brain short-circuited.
Tonight?!
“Wait, hold up—”
“It’s settled then. Catch you later, boo. Love you!”
Before I could scold her ass she hung up on me.
I cursed under my breath, flinging the phone aside.
“God help me.”
A club.
A whole ass club at my big age.
The thought alone drained me.
Still, Kimberly wasn’t the type to take no for an answer.
If I backed out now she’d probably show up at my house personally and drag me there herself.
“Whatever.” I threw my hands up.
“What’s the worst that can happen?”
Yet when I angled my head to the terrarium for probably the umpteenth time this morning—I noticed something that made chills crawl down my spine.
The lid was slightly open.
Which was weird as fuck.
Because I distinctly remembered sealing it before taking my shower yesterday.