Dos.

In which Stela is poisoned.

When Cordelia got home, Stela was passed out on the couch. Every breath she took was moist and rattled in her chest. Cordelia sighed and picked up the blanket Stela must have kicked off her. She draped it over her sister and started clearing up the detritus from Stela’s sick day.

 

She picked up a couple of empty water bottles and put the leftover fruit juice in the fridge before padding down the hall to the bathroom. She showered, letting the hot water beat some of the tension from her back and shoulders.

 

Cordelia towelled herself dry and changed into the cotton pants and the t-shirt she slept in. She walked around the apartment, tiredly flicking off lights and appliances before she went to see her sister again.

 

“Stel,” she said softly, kneeling down beside the couch. Stela had burrowed underneath the blankets and Cordelia could only imagine how hot and stifling it must be under the covers. “Stela, wake up, sweetie.”

 

Her sister made a strangled sound then shifted slightly. Cordelia snickered and gently pulled back the blankets. Stela’s cheeks were flushed red but she looked washed out. She hadn’t been sick like this in a long time and Cordelia was starting to worry. She’d only suddenly come down with the flu " yesterday she’d been fine apart from a cough she’d woken up with.

 

“Stela, you need to go to your bed,” Cordelia said, trying to rouse her sister from sleep.

 

“No,” Stela groaned. Cordelia, impatient, prodded Stela in the ribs and flung the blanket completely off her. Flailing from the sudden blast of cold air, Stela woke violently. She almost fell off the couch but Cordelia managed to keep her still.

 

“Come on,” Cordelia sighed, helping Stela sit up. She practically picked her younger sister up and half dragged her to her bedroom.

 

“Codi,” Stela said, awake enough to push away from her sister. She fell back onto the bed with a wince. Cordelia grabbed her blanket from the living room and spread it over her sister.

 

“You need anything?” she asked and Stela shook her head but then paused.

 

“Water?”

 

Cordelia slipped into the kitchen and filled a glass from the tap, taking it back into Stela’s room and setting it on her bedside table. She was already asleep, hair completely messed up and face slack. Cordelia seriously contemplated taking a picture but she knew that Stela would have her revenge if she did.

 

Instead, she went across the hall into her own bedroom, closed the door and climbed into bed. She fell asleep thinking about the man who’d come into her bar like a threat and disappeared again just as quickly.

 

- - -

 

Stela woke up feeling like she could run a marathon. She was in her bed, though it took her a while to remember how she got there. When she did, she sighed but smiled anyway.

 

She slid out of bed, grimaced at her reflection in the mirror but ignored it to sneak into her sister’s room. Cordelia was still asleep and Stela smirked, taking a running leap at her sister’s bed.

 

She flopped onto Cordelia who jolted awake, swearing. “Stel!” she exclaimed, pressing her hand to her heart. She sat up and glared at Stela who was lying on the bed, laughing.

 

“Sorry,” she said, chuckling. “Couldn’t resist.”

 

Cordelia scowled and scrubbed her palm into her eye socket. “Jesus...” she muttered darkly and Stela smiled.

 

“I’m feeling better,” she said innocently.

 

“I can see that,” Cordelia replied. She smiled despite herself. Stela’s good-humour was as infectious as the common cold. “Was it just a 24-hour bug?”

 

Stela shrugged and rolled off the bed. “I don’t know, but I feel great,” she said, doing a few star jumps to prove her point. Cordelia pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

“Please. Get out,” she groaned. Stela left, her laughter echoing down the hall.

 

She had a shower, brewed some coffee and paced the kitchen, feeling like someone had injected her with adrenaline. Her bones felt like they were vibrating and she wanted to run. She poured black coffee into a thermos and changed into her running clothes; a grey shirt, lightweight and long-sleeved and black sweatpants. She slipped on her socks and sneakers and left a note on the kitchen bench for Cordelia to find.

 

- - -

 

Cordelia was reluctant to get up. Her sleep had been plagued by nightmares and she’d woken multiple times in the night, gasping and shaking. Now, in the morning light, she couldn’t quite remember what her dreams had been about but there was a face she kept seeing. It was indistinct but for the eyes and they were cruel. Old and dangerous.

 

She didn’t know what it meant and didn’t want to look into it. Her dreams had always been strange.

 

After an hour of staring up at the ceiling in her bedroom, Cordelia got out of bed. She pulled on a hoodie to ward off the cold (reminding herself she needed to get their landlord to fix the radiator). She found Stela’s note and smiled to herself.

 

Gone for a run. Crisis is over. I’m healthy again!

 

She stuck the note on the fridge with a magnet and set about finding something for breakfast. She spent a lazy morning on the couch, reading tabloid magazines that had been sitting on the coffee table. By the time she had showered and was dressed for the day, Stela had been gone for an hour and a half.

 

- - -

 

Her run had been worthwhile. Stela’s legs felt strong again and her lungs were full of cold, morning air. She felt like singing but she settled for humming as she slowly jogged back to the apartment. She greeted the doorman with a smile and headed up the stairs for some last minute cardio.

 

When she stepped through the door on her floor of the building, she paused to stretch. She closed her eyes and pulled in a few long, relaxed breaths. The back of her neck prickled and suddenly, something heavy hit her in the side and she sucked in air, eyes snapping open. An arm like a vice held her around the neck and a knife was plunged into her chest.

 

The poison on the blade thrust straight into her heart and the organ pumped it frantically around her body.

 

She screamed but a hand over her mouth muffled the sound. In Stela’s ears, she could hear the slow beats of her heart. It got louder and louder, her eyesight went in and out of focus. She felt like she was on an intense and terrifying high but at the same time it was as though her eyelids were being ripped off with a pair of pliers.

 

Stela couldn’t even comprehend that she was moving, being jostled in someone’s grip. Her body felt like it didn’t belong to her. She slipped into unconsciousness, an almost welcome relief to the warring sensations inside her.