━━ CHAPTER SEVEN / unlikely companion

The bookstore was quiet as Ronny walked in. A box of Biscoff doughnuts in her left hand and her phone in her right. She had texted Kaylea to ask her if she was on shift yet but hadn't received a response. Ronny wanted to come anyway because - rightly so - Kaylea might be ignoring her or not on her phone because she was stacking shelves.

Ronny weaved through the shop in search of the curly-haired blonde and then she appeared, knelt down in the horror section as she put copies of Stephen King's new book onto the shelf. Ronny slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and moved the doughnuts into her right hand instead.

"Kaylea?" Ronny asked. The blonde's head shot up and she stared up, her mouth opened slightly. She jumped at Ronny, wrapping her arms tightly around her neck. Ronny hugged her back, making sure not to squash the doughnuts and unable to stop the smile that appeared on her face. She buried her face in Kaylea's curls before the blonde pulled back.

"Jesus, I thought you were dead," Kaylea said as she checked over Ronny for any injuries. The brunette shook her head and offered out the doughnuts.

"Work called me away for a few days and they have that bullshit no phone policy. I'm so sorry. Will these make up for it?" Ronny had a hopeful look on her face and her British accent had slipped back into place with ease. Kaylea nodded and grabbed the box, gesturing for Ronny to follow her towards the counter.

"I finish my shift at 1. Do you want to go out for lunch? You can tell me about your work trip and who you got off with." Kaylea had a teasing smile on her face as she placed the doughnuts underneath the counter. Ronny rolled her eyes.

"Of course. Call me when you're done." Ronny responded, ignoring the comment about the night at the club. It would be easy enough to lie about what had happened but she didn't like doing it. She pushed her fingers through her hair before turning around and heading to the door. She caught a glimpse of herself in the window and her eye was slowly swelling and turning black, "Kaylea," Ronny called and the blonde lifted her head up from under the counter, "Come to mine. I'll make us lunch." Kaylea nodded and then they parted ways.

Ronny took the bus back to her apartment and as soon as she got in, she went straight for the freezer. She grabbed an icepack and wrapped it in a cloth before collapsing against the sofa. She pressed it against her face, only just realising how much it throbbed. Her skin felt like it was on fire and she was exhausted.

"Marc Spector is coming home." Thoth's voice made her jump but she didn't move the ice pack from her eye. She didn't even want to look at the ibis-headed God, it would just hurt more.

"I'll follow him when he gets in," She mumbled. Thoth nodded and sat down on the armchair across from her. He seemed to want to say something but he didn't. Ronny shuffled and turned over onto her side to look at him. The ice pack still pressed against the left side of her face, "Spit it out, beaky."

"The tablet you failed to steal was not as important as I was led to believe. There is something more important that Harrow is after," Thoth explained. Ronny hummed in response as she rolled onto her back again. Her right hand draped over her face, keeping the ice pack in place, "I am still attempting to locate the artefact."

Ronny sat up and lifted the ice pack away to look for a laptop and was surprised to find it sat on her coffee table. She had left it in Brazil - completely unintentionally - so Thoth must have brought it back to her, maybe he had brought that gorgeous dress as well. She paid too much to lose it so quickly.

"Do you have any ideas about what it is?" She asked as she opened the laptop lid, logging in. She then pulled up a fresh tab and glanced at Thoth.

"I have been led to believe that it is a scarab," He responded. Ronny nodded and pressed the icepack against her eye as she typed with one hand. Pages and pages of scarabs came up and she sighed, beginning to scroll through.

"Anything more?" Thoth shook his head and she nodded. She tried to keep the ice pack in place as she searched but eventually abandoned it when it became annoying. Thoth had disappeared at some point as she tried to narrow her search down but nothing was coming up. She knew she had to wait it out for now and Kaylea was coming around for lunch so she got up and prepared.

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The museum was quiet as Ronny wandered around the Egypt exhibit. Despite how many times she had watched Marc walk into work, she had never actually looked at the artefacts that had been collected and put on display. Every hieroglyph was translated automatically in her head and part of her loved it, another part of her hated it. There was no mystery to them anymore. Even before she was Thoth's avatar, she could barely read hieroglyphics. It made it more fun but now she understood everything, knew everything. It took everything in her not to correct the information boards and tour guides.

So many artefacts had been misunderstood over the centuries but she didn't say a word. She couldn't because nobody would believe her and she had no way of proving that she was right. Nobody believed in the Egyptian Gods anymore and she'd be locked up if she claimed that they could talk to her. Only Harrow and his cult of fanatics would believe her and they were not a crowd of respected archeologists.

Ronny's head lifted when she heard the meek voice of Steven Grant - Marc's Londoner alias. His British Accent was smooth, disconcerting but completely authentic. Everything about Marc changed when he was pretending to be Steven. She almost didn't believe it was the same man but it had to be the same person.

She moved out of the way of Marc - ensuring that she wasn't spotted and he headed into the gift-shop and that was where he stayed, all day, every day. There was never a change in Marc's routine when he was pretending to be Steven. Everything was the same, exactly how he liked it.

Part of her wanted to see Marc as Steven, go up to him and tease him or ask him if he was okay and how he got out alive. If it was even him that was trapped with her and had given her the bruises that covered her body. It didn't seem like him and he could speak Spanish. She had never heard Marc speak Spanish as anyone, to anyone. He was incompetent at languages as far as Ronny could tell but he was fluent in Spanish.

"Do I know you?" A voice made Ronny jump and she twisted around, coming face-to-face with a tall blonde. Her hair was short, cropped at her shoulders and she had a friendly face. Her lips were full and her eyes were a dazzling blue.

"Sam?" She asked gently. The word was short enough that her American accent didn't become immediately obvious. Ronny couldn't even remember what accent she had used around the blonde. She was drunk, in a club.

"You disappeared before I could get your number. This is such a coincidence," Sam said and Ronny nodded her head. She pushed her fingers through her hair and stepped back, feeling trapped.

"It is. I'm so glad I'm seeing you again. You were so lovely but my friend... she got so drunk and I had to take her home and God, it was a nightmare. I can give you my number now?" Ronny asked, sticking to her British accent. It was the most likely one she had used and they were both drunk so a switch might not be that noticeable. Especially considering how loud the music was and that they had to shout just to hear each other.

"I went home with Kaylea..." Sam responded, her eyebrows pulled together, "Did someone else come with you?" She added. Ronny's face fell for a split second before she nodded her head.

"Yeah. My mate, Talia, came with us. She broke away from us pretty quickly and I went to find her towards the end and she was off her head outside the club so I just picked her up and we headed home. Ran into some... questionable characters but we were fine. All safe and sound." Ronny hated lying. She absolutely despised it. She hated everything about it but she liked Sam. Sam was lovely, wonderful. Not a gross man who touched her up but sweet and sexy and worth her time. They hadn't exactly had any deep discussions but Ronny could see the potential.

"I have to go and meet my dad for brunch in the café but here's my number. Call me or.. well text me," Sam said as she pulled a receipt and pen from her pocket. She then scribbled down her number before handing it over. Ronny smiled and nodded, slipping it into the pocket of her jacket.

"I will." Sam then disappeared to the museum café and Ronny turned around, trying to relocate Marc. He was still in the giftshop. The idea of teasing him now suddenly felt so unappealing but she walked over to the entrance and watched him for a few moments. He was talking to his supervisor and looked beyond uncomfortable. Ronny turned away before he met her gaze and she strolled out of the museum, hoping to catch Kaylea finishing her shift.

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