Boring As Usual

Rebecca sighed and took another bite of her tasteless low-calorie salad. The bland lettuce and spinach contrasted sharply with ravenous, gnawing excitement. It was a familiar feeling. The feeling of ideas starting to come together.

*TAP* *TAP* *TAP*

Somebody - a man - was walking down the hall. Rebecca pressed her arms against her smooth blouse, accentuating her rack as she wiggled the mouse with one hand and pretended to type with the other.

"How's that schedule coming for next week, Becca?" Edward Duncan walked past the front desk, carrying a stack of legal documents.

"Making good progress, Mr. Duncan~."

The moron kept walking, sneaking obvious glances towards her as he carried the papers. It didn't really matter how much work Rebecca actually did. As long as she made a few necessary calls and did some little favours, being eye candy for the partners was more than enough. Plus, Rebecca had to admit, she enjoyed the attention. It was always amusing when the women's rights advocates and feminists on TV were stick-thin wretches or fat pigs. All the power they needed was right there in their bosoms and closets, waiting for them to take advantage of it.

*DING*

Rebecca looked up from the salad. Dave, the UPS delivery guy, was standing at the front door holding some parcels. He was cute. Married, too, but it was always fun to tease him. She pressed the button under the desk to buzz him in.

"Hey, Dave. Got something big for me?"

Dave calmly sauntered up to the desk, holding the packages under one arm. Most people's ears would have gone bright red. At this point, Dave was prepared for the teasing. It didn't stop Rebecca from trying, though.

"Just this today, Ms. Davis. Everything else is for the office."

He plopped the envelope down on her desk next to the stack of boxes.

"Just sign here, please."

Dave held out a clipboard and a pen. Rebecca leaned over the desk to sign her name, bending down to make sure that Dave got a nice view down her blouse. His ears went tomato-red as he fixed his gaze off into the distance. Dave was definitely more of a visual guy.

"Thanks, Dave. Have a good one."

She blew him a saucy kiss as he left. It was juvenile, sure, but teasing Dave just made the work day that little bit more interesting. Once he was definitely gone, she picked up the inconspicuous brown envelope. She had firmly expressed her doubts, but Ryan had been correct - at a glance, it was completely normal. The customs declaration simply stated that the contents were "pharmaceutical", and the return address was somewhere in California. She sent Ryan a text confirming that it had arrived safely.

*TAP* *TAP*

More footsteps from the hall. She tucked the envelope away in her purse before anybody else could see it, and returned to her salad.

*****

When Rebecca finally got home from work, the front door was locked.

"Chloe? Hello?" she called out from the foyer.

No response. No sign of Chloe inside the house. No new messages on her phone, either. God, that girl. Nineteen years of blood, sweat, and tears to raise her, and this was how Rebecca was repaid - complete absence of respect. No consideration. Chloe couldn't even leave her poor, worried mom a text.

It all started with that stupid Justin kid. As soon as he came into the picture, Chloe started gallivanting around. Running away to his house. Avoiding her mother. Chloe thought her mother was an idiot; she thought her mother was an old fool who bought half-baked excuses and let her daughter run loose. Rebecca KNEW how these things worked. She'd fooled around with guys when she was in high school. Chloe was probably over there right now, screwing Justin's stupid fucking brains out.

Luckily, she had figured out a solution. A solution to all of those problems. Ryan wasn't so convinced; he wanted to wait a few more days, but the gnawing excitement was too much, and Rebecca had used her best pouty voice to convince him - not that convincing Ryan was very difficult. He was such a pushover. She popped open her purse, taking out the brown envelope that had been waiting inside all afternoon. The contents tumbled out onto the kitchen counter. There was a warning note and a little bottle of blue pills. She checked her phone again and sent Ryan a confirmation text.

RDavis98:

It's here. Everything looks good.

Ryan_B:

I'll be there at 9. Make sure she's out.

*****

When Chloe arrived home around dinnertime, she was pleasantly surprised. Even though she hung out at Justin's every Tuesday, there was usually a tornado of verbal waiting at home. This time, however, her mom was pretty amicable. Maybe she was finally getting used to it.

"Same as always, mom. Went to Justin's after school," she explained, warming up some leftovers.

Her mom just raised an eyebrow and shrugged. It wasn't much of a response, but it was better than getting yelled at. Chloe headed upstairs with the food. After she finished eating, she worked on homework for an hour or so, played some games with Justin, then logged off to go shower. She took her time, enjoying the warm, relaxing water. After toweling off, she went to her room and started to change into some comfy pajamas.

"Chloe?"

There was a little knock at her door. She walked over and opened it, still half-dressed.

"I made blueberry tea. Want some?" her mother asked, thrusting a steaming mug into Chloe's hands.

"Sure, mom."

She took a sip of the tea. It was a little sweet, but blueberry tea was hard to argue with.

"Uh, goodnight, I guess."

"Goodnight, sweetie," her mom replied. She walked down the hall, turning towards the bathroom.

Chloe closed her bedroom door and took another sip of tea, then let out a yawn. It was still early, but her eyelids were starting to feel heavy.

*****

Half an hour later, Rebecca knocked on the door again.

"Chloe? You awake?"

No response. She slowly turned the knob and cracked it open. Ryan shot her a thumbs up from down the hallway.

"Chloe?"

Still no response. She pushed the door open wide enough to look inside. Her daughter's frame was just visible, laying on top of her sheets in the dark room. The bootleg sleeping pills had worked perfectly.

"We're good," she whispered.

Ryan gave her another thumbs up and tiptoed down the hall. Chloe was unlikely to wake up, but it was better to hedge their bets. With caution, they lifted her sleeping body from the bed and carried it down the hall. The pills would keep her out for an hour or two, long enough to get her to the clinic. Once she was there, Ryan could always administer something stronger.