Chapter 5 - Cup Of Tea

Rhiannon

I held my cup of tea in my hands as I zoned out while staring at the triple moon tea infuser that was hanging on the side of the homemade brown cup, my thoughts racing through my mind the entire time.

"That's had plenty of time to steep. You best drink it before it gets cold," Gram instructed as she continued to wash the dishes in the sink.

"You know I'm more of a coffee person," I replied as I removed the mesh ball from the dark tan water, placing it on the empty brown saucer that matched the cup.

Gram sighed and shook her head, "How many times must I tell you that coffee won't help you relax? How about you fill me in on how life has been?"

I took a long sip of tea, swallowing the bland warm beverage that had a faint lavender scent before I answered, "Oh, you know. SSDD. Everyone looks at me like I just walked off of a wooded ship, loaded with lice and leprosy. I'm graduating with honors but it's not like that matters to anyone. Catherine is still completely insufferable ....."

"What about college?" Gram asked as she turned around to lean back against the counter while she dried her hands on a towel.

"I was accepted to every one that I applied to," I smiled before finishing my cup of tea, which Gram then immediately brought me another. I had to admit, it had a slightly funky aftertaste, but it sure did help to ease the tension in my mind and body.

"That's wonderful, Rhi!" Gram said as she picked up my empty cup, but before taking it to the sink she laid a hand on top of my forearm, "And what about your anxiety?"

I looked down at her hand that was resting on top of my scars. Gram was the only person I willingly talked to about my issues. There were many times I wished I could simply call her to talk about things, but she never had phone lines put in, and wasn't savvy enough with technology to get a cell phone. I finally turned to look up into her gray eyes, "It's not as bad as it once was. The only things that seem to keep me grounded are spinning my ring and the scent of this place."

Gram tilted her head to the side as a confused expression formed on her face.

I couldn't help but smile as I played with the tea infuser, "The smell of your herb garden seems to come to me when I need it the most, specifically lavender and lemon thyme. It's like, I don't know, the wind just blows it to me when I need it."

Gram simply patted my arm before quietly walking to the sink.

"Hey, Gram ..... I got to thinking about what you said earlier, and I think you might be right," I calmly said as I removed the infuser from my second cup of tea before taking a few large sips.

"Oh?" Gram's voice had a questioning tone as she prepared another cup of tea, even though I didn't ask for a third.

"Yeah. It probably was a husky, or maybe a mix. Either way .... trees blocked out a lot of sunlight so the woods were on the darker side, I had been riding all morning so I was a little drained, and I do have a lot on my mind right now. I just, I don't know, I need to go talk to whatever neighbor owns it and apologize for shooting their dog despite the ...."

"YOU WHAT?!" Gram uncharacteristically yelled out as she spun around to face me with wide eyes.

I immediately became defensive, not understanding what the big deal was, "Gram! It was stalking us! I'm not going to let a wolf .... dog .... ANYTHING attack my horse!"

"Oh, this is bad. I can't believe that Kaj and Delilah aren't over here knocking on my door. This is so bad ...." Gram mumbled to herself as she placed the warm cup of tea in front of me.

I quickly finished the tea that I still had, yawning as I handed the empty cup to Gram. The stress from the day must really be getting to me ...... "Who?"

"Huh? Oh, Kaj and Delilah Salvatore. They're, the ..... neighbors ....." Gram trailed off as she walked away.

"The ones who own the wolf?" I asked with a raised brow as I watched Gram go back to the kitchen while I drank my tea. There were way too many red flags about this entire topic.

"Owners? Kind of ...." Gram's body suddenly stiffened as she stared out the window above the sink, knowing she just fucked up.

"So I was right! It was a wolf!" I yelled as I stood up a little too quickly, creating a horrible vertigo sensation.

"Well, yes. Rhi, is his body still in the woods?"

I closed my eyes as the wooden walls started to spin, hoping that doing so would make the sensation go away, "Body? No .... no body. It was a rubber ..... a rubber bullet ...."

"Ok. That's good. Rhi, we have a lot of things to discuss, but I think you need to go lie down first ....."

I rested my hands on top of the table to steady my swaying body, not understanding why the vertigo was holding onto me the way it was.

"I'm ...... not ..... " I opened my eyes, trying to force them to focus on the cup of tea that sat on the table, but it wouldn't hold still ..... tea ..... the tea!

My eyes went wide and I whipped my head towards where Gram was standing, making the dizziness even worse than it was, "You bit ......" my eyes closed as my body became heavy. The last thing I remembered was a tingling feeling across my body before the darkness finally consumed me.