“Is it almost done?” Diana asked eagerly.

“Almost,” giggled Nadroj. “Just be patient.”

With skillful maneuvering, Nadroj jerked the pan and flawlessly flipped another pancake over to reveal a perfect golden brown color. There were bits of chocolate chips in there which were melting slightly on the pan. Nadroj smiled and slid the pancake onto a plate, on top of two other ones.

“How do you do that so effortlessly?” Diana asked, grabbing her fork and knife.

“Oh well, I have lots of experience in being precise in my methods.”

“These are so good too,” she laughed with her mouth full.

“Don’t choke, honey,” Nadroj warned. “Chew and swallow.”

“I’m not a kid,” Diana said, rolling her eyes.

“No,” she admitted, kissing her forehead. “But I can treat you like one.”

“Oh, do you have a phone I can use?” Diana asked, eagerly taking out a small slip of paper. “I promised Ann I’d call a couple days ago, and I just forgot.”

“Oh, a phone-”

Nadroj froze up. She had been keeping Diana there for three days now, and it was getting harder and harder to keep her from wanting to go out or contact other people. Every time she reached out would be another risk of a family member or friend finding out she was being housed with Nadroj. And she couldn’t have that getting out.

Nadroj had still  been taking good care of Diana though. She made sure she was fed, had her bandages changed, got plenty of rest, and tried to keep her in bed, but she just wanted to be walking around.

“I think you need a bit more time to rest before-”

“But I wanna talk with-”

“Not right now!” snapped Nadroj. Diana recoiled before Nadroj took a deep breath and looked at her with a softer face. “Maybe later, ok honey?”

“O-ok…” Diana whispered. Nadroj gave her a hug and started cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Meanwhile, Diana tried to just shrug off the outburst. Everyone gets angry, and her girlfriend just cares about her. Still, she just wanted to maybe talk to someone else too…

*   *   *   *   *

“Be back in a few, babe!” Nadroj said eagerly. “Anything else you want from the store?”

“Maybe some nice chocolate?” Diana asked, thinking of anything to keep her at the store for longer. “Like, the really nice chocolate.”

“Which chocolate is that?” she asked, confused.

“Um… I don’t remember…?” laughed Diana uncertainly. “Amnesia, am I right? Just ask around and see if you can find some really good stuff.”

“Well, if it’s for you,” chuckled Nadroj. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Nadroj gently shut the door, and Diana watched all the locks click and turn as all the locks were secured. It was a bit scary how she managed to get two deadbolts installed on the door, but maybe Nadroj just really liked to feel safe. Diana watched Nadroj drive away, then got to work.

Carefully, she undid all the locks and poked her head out of the front door. Diana tiptoed outside and took in a nice faceful of autumn breeze. It was nice and cool, but not too frigid. Just right to relax in. Already drunk on her two seconds of freedom, Diana decided she wanted to take a walk around the block. Her ribs and legs were still sore, and about halfway down the road she realized it was a dumb plan, and she should probably go back to laying in bed. Hindsight is 20/20. Maybe she could go back and find a phone to call Ann with. 

On her way back to the house though, she noticed this odd couple slowly following her in their car. She would’ve just ran away if she could run without feeling like her body was on fire. Though, Diana was getting worried. She didn’t exactly want to get kidnaped by strangers on the street and kept hostage or something. The car window rolled down.

“Diana?” said a trembling voice. She stopped and turned around.

“You know me?” she asked.

“Honey?” said a man’s voice in the passenger’s seat. “Pumpkin, it’s us. Mom and Dad.”

*   *   *   *   *

“I can’t believe you kept your girlfriend a secret from us,” scolded Diana’s dad as they sat in the living room.

“I didn’t mean to,” she defended. Her memory had started coming back more, but most of the details were vague. But Nadroj was in none of them really. At least, none of the memories other than the ones Nadroj herself had reminded her about. “You probably would’ve background checked her or something.”

“Yeah, I would’ve,” he admitted. “It’s my job.”

“I think we should just be glad Diana’s back,” laughed her mom, hugging her daughter again. “We didn’t know where you were, and when your father found out you’d been at a hospital we were so worried, and-”

“Oh wait, can I call someone?!” Diana interrupted. “I want to call Ann.”

“That’s our daughter,” sighed her mom. “Back home and the first thing she wants to do is call a friend.”

“You don’t have your phone?” asked Thomas.

“Nope. Or a wallet.”

“Hm… Well, we’ll have to fix that later. Just go relax for now and your mother will bring the landline in, ok?”

“M’kay.”

Diana went to go up the stairs, but painfully paused at the first few steps. She hadn’t needed to walk up stairs since before the hospital, and it made her entire body burn. She had to hold on to the railing to not fall back down the stairs.

“Hey Mom,” she called out. “Can you help me up the stairs?”

“I’m really going to have to take a look at those cuts later, young lady,” her mother said, concerned. She took her daughter's hand and helped her climb the steps. “I’ll have to clean them again too.”

“Nadroj cleaned them and replaced the bandages last night.”

“Well, that’s sweet of her,” Chloe said fondly. “But I still want to do it myself just to be sure. Mother’s job.”

“Well yeah, but good thing Nadroj could take care of me though.”

“Yeah… I wonder why she didn’t call us though,” she said, worried.

“She said if you guys found out about us, you might split us up.”

“I don’t think we would,” her mom giggled. “We don’t exactly have a problem with your cousin having a girlfriend. And we pretty much already knew boys weren’t your thing.”

“Oh. Well, better safe than sorry with these things. Especially with so many other parents not sharing those ideas.”

“I understand, honey,” Chloe smiled, kissing her daughter’s forehead and setting her down in bed. “Just don’t disappear on me again, ok?”

“I promise,” Diana nodded, emptying her pockets and taking out some paper. “Oh, can you get the landline? I really can’t keep forgetting about Ann.”

“How about you invite her over if you can?” her mom proposed. “I’d like to meet this new friend.”

“You like to meet all my friends,” she laughed.

“Well, I like to know them. And, well,  if I haven’t baked them cookies, I think I hardly know them.”

“Oh of course.”

“Hush. You just lay in bed and I’ll be right back.”

Chloe went downstairs and brought up the phone for her daughter. When she was ready, Diana dialed Ann’s number and waited in anticipation while it rang.

“Hello?” answered a young voice.

“Ann?” Diana asked.

“Yeah, it’s me!”

“Ann, what did I say about making friends with the telemarketers?” scolded Lonnie in the distance.

“It’s Diana!” Ann said back.

“Diana?” She heard Lonnie take the phone from Ann. “That really you?”

“Yep.”

“Your… girlfriend treating you ok?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, she was. My parents found me and took me home though. I should call Nadroj later and tell her, actually-”

“Don’t feel pressured,” Lonnie interrupted.

“Huh? But she’s my girlfriend.”

“I know, but remember you’re still recovering.”

“It’s my turn to talk to Diana!” whined Ann.

“Fine,” sighed Lonnie. “I’ve got to get ready for work anyway.”

“Woo!” cheered Ann, claiming the phone for herself. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Do you live close?”

“Where’re you at?” Diana gave her an address and a minute to punch it into a map. “I think I can make it as long as I don’t tell Lonnie.”

About a half hour later, Ann was knocking on the Hawthorne family’s front door, where she stayed for a majority of the day. The two girls chattered and gossiped and did all those typical teenage girl activities while Mrs. Hawthorne made them both cookies. Ann didn’t have many friends, so it was probably the best Saturday she had been able to enjoy in her life. Or at least she felt that was the case.

Through all the fun and laughter, Diana completely forgot about calling Nadroj. By the time she realized it, she was already about to crawl into bed. Nadroj wouldn’t mind though, right? She was an understanding girlfriend. They could talk in the morning.

*   *   *   *   *

Nadroj came to the house on the street. The one she’d tracked down. The young woman steadied her breathing as she circled around it. She wasn’t great at home invasion, but she had to be tonight. That girl was a liability that she couldn’t afford to leave out in the world. It didn’t matter what feelings Nadroj had developed for her. She had a knife strapped to her leg under her pants leg, ready to be put to quick use. She didn’t want this one to drag out. Not like all the others.

She climbed up a tree next to the house and jumped to a window, where she silently grabbed on and looked inside. Seemed to be an office or study of some kind with the lights off. Not the bedroom she was looking for. Nadroj shimmied around the roof until she found what she was looking for. Childlike, cute, and also pitch black inside. She quietly used her knife and broke the lock on the window and opened it.

When she was inside, Nadroj immediately darted her eyes to the bed. She pulled the knife out and gripped the blanket. In one quick motion, she flung the blanket up and held her weapon, ready to strike. But… the bed was empty. The door squeaked open and Nadroj hid the knife behind her back.

“Nadroj…?” Diana groggily said, opening her bedroom door and rubbing her eyes. She had used the bathroom in the middle of the night, and it had probably saved her life. “What’re you doing here? In… my room… at two in the morning…?”

“I- Well-”

“Are you here… to see me?” she asked, with a hint of flattery. She stepped closer to Nadroj, which made her own blood run cold. What was happening?! Nobody had ever made her feel like this! Especially when she was so close to taking their life! She hated how Diana was all in her head now!

“Yeah… I came to see you…” she breathed heavily. All she needed was one quick motion. Just a second or two, and it would all be over. Nadroj could practically see the vein in Diana’s throat she had to cut.

“What for…?”

When Diana was less than an arm’s length away, Nadroj made her move. In a flash of movement, Nadroj threw the knife under Diana’s bed and wrapped her other arm around her, pulling her into a kiss. The move surprised them both, but neither resisted. When Diana pulled away, she had an excited grin on.

“That was… heart racing,” she breathed, playing with her tangled hair.

“I have a way of triggering that fight of flight,” smiled Nadroj, tucking some of Diana’s hair beside her ear.

“You wanna… cuddle up, honey?” Diana smiled, crawling in her bed and patting beside her. 

Nadroj’s heart fluttered. When Diana was over, she had to sleep on the couch the whole time, but now she was inviting her into her own bed! How could she say no? Nadroj slipped under the blanket next to Diana, and she put her head to Nadroj’s chest, making her blush. Never in her life had she had an experience like this. It was more exhilarating than a fresh kill.

Nadroj put her hand on the back of Diana’s head and held her close. No, she couldn’t kill Diana. She couldn’t. How could she have been so blind? So stupid? Diana was the only thing that mattered, and everyone else was the liability. She’d go through every man, woman, and child if it meant they would be together. Forever.