Elijah opened his eyes the next morning and found himself looking into the still sleeping face of Lilith. As with the previous night, they had parted with her going into the spare room. He had no idea when she had snuck back in, but there she was. He was starting to think he would be better off tying a bell around her neck so he would hear her coming. He was less startled at finding her in his bed, but he wasn't prepared to discover that her ankles were wrapped around his when he tried to sit up. This was a completely inappropriate situation, yet for a moment he had no desire to untangle himself. It had been a long time since he had shared his home or bed with anyone. The last person was Ruby and while he was glad the relationship was over, his home and his life had both become empty. His cat, Mr. Jingles was a comfort of course, but hardly the same thing.
Pulling back the blankets, Eli caught a whiff of Lilith's natural fragrance and for a brief moment he was tempted to lay back down with his arms wrapped around her waist and hold her to him. He had missed waking up to a warm, soft feminine body next to him as well as the morning flirtations that inevitably lead to morning sex. Of course, Lilith was not his girlfriend or in any sort of relationship with him. She was a guest and nothing more. With that in mind, he pushed those thoughts out of mind as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and shook his head. There was nothing between them, there could be nothing between them. He was just trying to help her out, nothing more.
Mr. Jingles jumped up on the bed and meowed a good morning to his owner. He would like to think the animal was greeting him out of affection, but he knew his pet better than that. The cat was hungry and had come to remind his human servant that his first duty was to fill his dish. Eli put his finger to his lips and whispered 'shhh' to the cat, then carefully slipped his leg out from between Lili's and slowly got out of bed, trying hard not to wake her up. After all the stress from the day before, he could only imagine how exhausted she was and how badly she needed sleep.
Pulling on a pair of jeans, he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and noticed one of the light bulbs above the sink had gone out. It was an easy fix and he had plenty of bulbs in the garage. It would take less than five minutes. Finishing his teeth, he was all set to go to the garage when he saw Lilith emerging from his bedroom once again wearing his robe.
"You know, if you're going to keep sneaking into my room, it might make things less awkward if you at least wore a nightgown or something," he suggested, thinking back to the errant thoughts from a short while before.
"Ewww," she answered, twisting her nose up at the very thought.
"By the way, I was thinking last night, why don't you post that video of The Preacher-man shooting Millie on social media. That should garner a lot of attention. He couldn't possibly make that kind of exposure disappear." Eli's idea had merit, but Lilith had already been down this road before.
"I tried that. The major news agencies wouldn't return my calls. The social media outlets all removed it for showing violence and false information. I was attacked and accused of trying to destroy someone doing good in the world. Some said I was using an actor to defame him and extort money. The most popular response was that I was a liar and just trying to get my fifteen minutes of fame. Since he also has so many high-powered political connections there were a few claiming I was trying to push an agenda. Like I give a shit about any of that. Some of the more kind hearted ones simply pointed out that the camera was at a distance and I might be mistaken and wouldn't it be a shame to destroy a man over an error. I have no doubt his money and connections were the tools used to get the social media platforms to do his bidding. The rest is just people wanting to show that they are part of the 'in crowd'."
This was disappointing to hear, but not entirely surprising. Still, Eli was confident that they would figure out something so Lilith could either leave town or stop the Preacher-man's advances. With a heavy sigh he started to turn to go down stairs when he suddenly stopped and looked back at Lili, his blue eyes sparking with a touch of mischief.
"So, which of my shirts are you planning to wear today? I believe there are a couple of Carhartt shirts in there that are fire resistant. They might look good on you."
"No thank you." she answered with a smirk.
Eli gave a slight chuckle then went downstairs leaving her to her morning ablutions. He started a pot of coffee then went out the back door to the garage in such good spirits that he was even whistling as he punched in the door code. As the door rolled up the track his pleasant mood vanished with the discovery of his motorcycle and the rubber carnage that had once been its tires. They weren't just punctured, but slashed repeatedly until they had been shredded beyond repair and one of his own screwdrivers was still sticking out of the front one along with a piece of paper duct-taped to it. He stepped inside and approached the bike then carefully removed the paper. Walk away from her, it said. It was a message from the Preacher-man, there was no doubt in his mind. Noticing all the fragments of glass all over the floor he looked up and saw the shattered window. This, he surmised, was how they got in.
