"Hello, I'm home." Lauren yelled in the entrance.
No one answered. She turned to Katie.
"Take those bags to my room and go clean that cum up, you smell horrible."
"Yes, your Majesty."
If she wasn't going to get her best friend back, she at least wanted a loyal subject. Lauren checked the rest of the house, but her family was no where to be found. It wasn't an unusual time of day for her family to go out. She joined Katie in her room and instructed her to start putting away her clothes. A knock at the door interrupted her duties.
"Go answer that."
"Yes, your Majesty."
Katie left the room and Lauren grabbed her phone and sent a mass text message to her family telling them to come home. She had no idea where they could be, but the anticipation of seeing them bow before her made the wait seem terribly long. She looked up and stared across at herself in the mirror. Her drab wardrobe was not an outfit a Queen would wear. A Queen would be wearing something majestic, something that highlighted her beauty so her subjects were in awe. She had the perfect outfit in mind to compliment her blond hair and tanned skin. An outfit that would make any person fall to their knees and submit to her.
***
Patrick swerved around the corner. The glove box vibrated loudly. Myra went to reach for it, but Patrick slapped her hand away.
"Do not open that."
"But it could be..." Myra said.
"It could be no one."
Myra clasped her hands together to keep herself calm. Ashley sat silently in the back. She hadn't said a word since Lauren told her to shut up and Patrick was hoping it would wear off. They originally intended to go buy a new bed for their room but as they drove, Patrick felt he could think and act independently. Myra still had residual affects and Ashley hadn't changed at all. The different levels of reactions lead him to believe there were emotions at play. She was always happy around him and his wore off first. She was angry at Ashley and she was still clearly under her spell.
The glove box buzzed again. Myra maintained her restraint. Ashley leaped forward and opened the box. The phones fell forward with the messages from Lauren. Patrick avoided looking as both Ashley and Myra saw the message.
"Honey, we need to go home now." Myra said.
"We aren't going home until we figure out what's going on."
Myra grabbed the wheel causing Patrick to swerve. He regained control of the vehicle and pushed his wife back. This was going to be a battle he wasn't going to win and if he did fight, it wasn't going to end well. Patrick pulled off into an empty parking lot. He turned the car off and exited immediately.
Myra and Ashley got out.
"Honey, Where are you going?"
"You want to go home, go. Take the vehicle."
Myra and Ashley looked at each other. He could tell there was urgency from the text. They walked back to the car and left him in the parking lot.
***
The water splashed over Nikki's face. She noticed a blemish on her right chin. How embarrassing while she was with Tom. Her concentration was interrupted by noises from the living room. She opened the door lightly and crept through the halls. The voices got louder. It was Tom talking to Lauren, who was wearing a revealing white and gold outfit. Her tight white pants, gold belt and low cut white top were extremely flattering on Lauren's perfectly skinny frame. Nikki was always a little jealous how Lauren got most of the attention when her name was brought up. The way she easily flaunted her beauty. The way Tom talked about her. The way he got on his hands and knees and kissed her feet.
Nikki blinked. Kissing her feet was something Tom would voluntarily do. But not something Lauren would let happen unless it was for a reason. She thought of how Josh explained the situation. A second glance at Lauren revealed, even if it wasn't true, that she was a lot more confident in herself. She didn't want to join Tom. Katie grabbed her from behind. Nikki fought to get free and the commotion caught Lauren's attention. Nikki heard her approaching and closed her eyes.
"Well well, what do we have here?" her soft voice said.
***
"Come home now!" Josh read the text out loud.
"That's a little aggressive." Said Colin.
Beth paced. "They've been gone too long. Something happened."
She walked over to Josh. "You should go check it out. It's your house."
"Check what out." Tom stood at the door. There was an awkward silence.
"My house." Josh said.
Tom laughed which eased the tension. He nonchalantly walked in and sat down on the couch.