Stephanie and Dolly were in their house, seated on a couch in their living room, patiently waiting for Dave to come πππ πππ them.
"Mum, aren't you feeling anxious about today?" Dolly asked her mum. She was really felling anxious about this whole thing.
Dave's plan, her plan, everyone with different plans. She's having a second thought about this whole thing but she has only on choice and she has to use it wisely.
Stephanie herself was scared as hell. Anxiety is an understatement. She was really afraid but she had to keep a fierce stance for her daughter.
"Of course not." Stephanie effortlessly lied. She rarely likes to her exception certain circumstances, like this one.
"And you don't have to be either." She continued. "I trust you, even more than I trust myself or anybody else and you should as well." She held Dolly's hand and squeezed it a bit.
Dolly smiled at her mum and silently thanked her stars for giving her the best mum in the whole world.
Her mum always knows how to lift her spirit whenever she's feeling sad if withdrawn. She's never regretted having her as her mum.
"Thanks mum. I love you." She said with a lot of emotion.
"I love you too hon." Her mum said, hugging her.
A knock sounded on their door, disrupting the mother and daughter moment as they released themselves.
Dolly jumped up, and half ran, half walked to the door, now with a determined spirit, and another to get it over with.
She opened the door and wasn't surprised to see Dave since he's the one they've been waiting for.
She clicked her tongue and looked at him, then to her wristwatch.
"Wondering why you took so long, the planned time was 12:00 PM and this is about 45 minutes pass."
She was looking at her wristwatch as she spoke, not noticing the unusual calm countenance he had on.
"Sorry... Had a lotta things to do." He called out to Stephanie.
"Let's get going." He said as he walked towards his door.
Dolly walked after him.
"Does the lotta things involve you talking with Louis about the plan?" She heaved as she threw herself on the car seat, jamming the car shut abd wearing her seat belt.
Stephanie steeped into the passenger's seat while Dave waited a bit for her to wear her seat belt before stepping on the accelerator and drove off.
"Maybe, maybe not." He drove with one hand, the other, resting on the window as he nodded on the song playing from the radio.
"I don't think I understand that. Maybe you should_" Dolly was interrupted by Dave.
"I don't think you need any enlightenment. If I think you do, I'd gladly enlighten you."
He was looking at her from the rearview mirror as she glared at him.
"Dolly...?" Stephanie called to Dolly.
Dolly took her eyes off him and faced her mum. A look from her mum said it all.
She kept mum as she listened to the song as well.
"π»ππ ππ'π πππππ ππ π πππ π ππ." She thought, placing her head on the car window.
Dave slowly deccelerated the car until it came to a halt. He got down from his side of the car and rushed to Stephanie's side to open the car for her.
"Thank you." Stephanie shyly smiled, getting down from the car.
Dave led the way to his house, the same one Louis set on fire. It was half burnt on one side.
He's never thought much about renovating it but seeing the look his ex-wife and daughter were giving it, he felt he should've.
"What the fuck happened here?" Dolly grimaced.
He had expected that so he wasn't surprised.
What surprised him was when Stephanie spoke up.
Are you this crazy? Is this where you live?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Is this where you expect us to stay with you?" She really was disgusted, more worried than disgusted though. She isn't planning on letting him know.
"Who did this?" Dolly enquired as they walked pass the burnt building into the clean one.
"Who do you think? Me?" He asked sarcastically.
"Don't tell me Louis did?" She gasped. "No way. You were in?"
"Yup!" He answered.
"He could've killed you!" She exclaimed.
"Like you care." Dave rolled his eyes in a lady-like manner, sitting on one of the couches while Stephanie and Dolly did the same.
"Of course I do. We both do." Dolly looked at her mum who nodded in affirmation.
Dave barely paid them attention as he stood up to go get them tea.
He returned to the living room and stretched the drink to them.
Dolly collected hers and inhaled the smell.
"It smells heavenly." She smiled.
Dave heart tripled when Dolly smelled the tea. He had thought she could perceive the poison just by smelling it. Glad she didn't.
Stephanie sipped hers.
"Tastes just the same." She said, her eyes closing shut as she savoured the taste.
"The plan still remains the same right?" Dave asked, making sure they are both drinking the tea.
"Yes. as soon as we finish this drink, we're going to play dead. You'll then take pictures of us being lifeless and send it to Louis."
"You'll take the cops along with you, they'll be outside while you go to meet him. While you're celebrating our death, the cops will get in and arrest you both." She recited.
"But never mind, sweet dad, I'll bail you because you won't be going down with him." She laughed.
A certain emotion passed through Dave's face, hearing her call him dad.
Dolly looked beside her and saw her mum motionless on the couch.
It wasn't yet time to play dead so she was surprised. She tapped on her but she didn't move an inch.
Dolly looked back at her and widened her eyes in realization. Dave had poisoned them!
Her eyelids slowly got heavy as she shut her eyes. She fell back on the couch, hearing faint movement of feet then she blacked out.