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In the wake of his departure, I ventured back out into the kitchen whereHis sat almost finished

I shot a dirty look in the direction of the hallway What a dick "Martyr," I er toward hi the meal he’d cooked In fact, I cleared both the plates and for the first tily full

Pissed off

But satisfyingly full

IT WAS ODD TO NOT wake up with birds chirping around me I actuallyI didn’t needI’d done the previous day, I woke up around five thirty

I showered, nearly slipped and fell trying to get out of the bathtub with only one good hand, and got ready for the day as best as I could My bruising was turning that ghastly yellow color, whichbut it alsoa

Putting the hair dryer down after a vigorous one-handed blow-dry, I consideredbecause Micah asked me to The rainbow colors were Gayle’s idea She wanted me to look "adorably alternative" I didn’tto rown out My hair hung down to my bra strap, lifeless I was naturally blonde, kind of , which hy I didn’tall the color at it

I fingered the ends, conte

And suddenly I knehat I’d ask the hairstylist to do

To e of excitement about it Like it mattered It didn’t matter

"Maybe it does," Ion"

Moving on

That sounded exhausting

A little while later I was in the sitting roo buttered toast (it had never tasted so good!) and drinking English breakfast tea when I heard the lock turn in the apart myself for another encounter (and possible altercation) with O’Dea But the footsteps walking down the hall weren’t his It sounded like a pair of heels clacking along the floorboards

And I was right

Staring up over my shoulder, I froze with a piece of toast toin my doorway "Who the hell are you?"

She blindedwhite-toothed smile "I’m Autus "And I bring lots of goodies!"

Ah Okay This was O’Dea’s sister I ate the toast, getting to my feet Her eyes widened a little as she took me in "I know I’m a mess," I mumbled around the toast

Autuether "You’re justKillian told rinned because the word sounded so odd co out of herand char auburn hair curled into waves, her perfectly arette trousers, and four-inch stiletto sandals, she was all class

Her , wareous brown eyes--exactly like Killian’s--stared at o on forever Were those real?

Of course O’Dea’s sister was gorgeous That faenes

"If you think I look bad, you should see the other guy," I joked

"Killian said you were a smart arse But I won’t joke about this, Skylar" Autu s on the floor at our feet "Those little fuckers deserve a long stint in prison for doing this to you"