{"id":879,"date":"2012-01-31T06:00:04","date_gmt":"2012-01-31T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=879"},"modified":"2013-10-01T12:35:18","modified_gmt":"2013-10-01T19:35:18","slug":"season-5-episode-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=879","title":{"rendered":"Season 5: Episode 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The lunch rush had died down in the cafe and the only people left sitting there were Ana and some guy dressed in black tapping intently away on his MacBook Pro. He had a look of earnest concentration on his face and Ana had been trying to figure out what he was working on. It certainly seemed to be something very serious.<\/p>\n

She crammed a forkful of salad into her mouth. It was good salad – fresh and crisp with a perfectly balanced sweet\/tart dressing – but it didn\u2019t stop her wishing it was cake or, better still, cake with ice cream. But ever since the proverbial shit had hit the fan, Ana had been enjoying a bit too much cake. The too-tight waistband of her skirt was a constant reminder of that.<\/p>\n

She tapped her foot repeatedly on the ground, which earned her a disapproving frown from her companion. She was jittery as hell and the second coffee had perhaps not been a wise choice. Pull yourself together<\/em>, she chided after managing to repeatedly send her fork clattering to the floor, earning her another disapproving frown. It wasn\u2019t like Tom was a total stranger; he was her husband for goodness sake!<\/p>\n

Although, you wouldn\u2019t have known it at the moment. She\u2019d been living with her parents since Tom had given her her marching orders and, even though they\u2019d seen each other a few times, they were both unwilling to concede to the demands of the other. He wanted Ana to apologise to Sarah; Ana wanted him to support her accusations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry I\u2019m late,\u201d he said breathlessly, when he eventually rushed in. \u201cWe had this meeting that went overtime and then\u2026\u201d He trailed off.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me guess,\u201d Ana said before she could stop herself, \u201cSarah needed you for something?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom\u2019s shoulders sagged. \u201cI don\u2019t know why you can\u2019t just admit that you acted badly and apologise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause she\u2019s a lying, stealing, plotting bitch, who has made it her mission to ruin my life,\u201d Ana hissed at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, grow up!\u201d Tom rolled his eyes. Every single time they met it was the same thing. \u201cIf I do recall, Ana, you stormed into her house\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026It\u2019s my house. I own it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine, you stormed into the house that she rents from you and tore her bedroom apart looking for some fictitious underwear that you claim she stole to\u2026 what? To destroy you?\u201d He gave a weary sigh. \u201cWhen are you going to realise Ana that the world doesn\u2019t revolve entirely around you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she did it,\u201d Ana said, folding her arms across her chest. \u201cAnd until you support me, then this – we – aren\u2019t going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever you want Ana.\u201d Tom pushed his chair back and stood up. He didn\u2019t need this right now. \u201cI just hope you realise that you are throwing away your life based on something that you have no proof of. Sarah is willing to drop the whole thing; I don\u2019t know why you can\u2019t behave in a mature manner about this too.\u201d With that he turned and walked out of the cafe, casting a sad glance towards Ana on his way through the door.<\/p>\n

The guy in black had obviously heard everything. His disapproving frown had changed to a small smirk. Ana ignored him. I\u2019m going to prove it to Tom<\/em>, she thought angrily. And then he\u2019ll come grovelling back to me<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But how? What on earth could she do?<\/p>\n

All of a sudden it hit her. Of course! It was a sneaky, nasty plan, but she really was at the end of her tether. Sarah had taken her husband, her housemates and her career. It was this or nothing.<\/p>\n

The guy in black was still smirking as she snatched up her handbag.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you smiling at?\u201d Ana snapped at him.<\/p>\n

He looked her cooly in the eye, but didn\u2019t say anything. Ana stuck out her tongue at him and stormed out the door.<\/p>\n

It was time to go shopping.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

She glanced about her as she walked quickly towards her old house. She was pretty sure that no one would be home. Willow had gone to her parent\u2019s place for a while and both Mia and Sarah would be at work. Ana felt a pang for her friend – how horrible that she had finally found someone as wonderful as Robert and he had died. Ana couldn\u2019t even imagine what that would be like.<\/p>\n

She put her key in the lock and turned it slowly, pushing the door open. She winced, waiting for the familiar creak, but it didn\u2019t come. Someone must have oiled it<\/em>, Ana thought. She called out, a contingency plan forming quickly in her mind should someone actually be home.<\/p>\n

There was no answer. Good.<\/p>\n

She took the stairs quietly up to the top floor and pushed the door to Sarah\u2019s room open. It looked innocuous enough, but Ana knew that evil lurked within. She dismissed the thought of rummaging through the draws again: the lingerie hadn\u2019t been there last time when Sarah wasn\u2019t expecting anything; she would have made sure it was even more well hidden now.<\/p>\n

Ana opened her handbag and took out her brand new purchase: a tiny spy camera. Amazing the things you can buy these days. She\u2019d ditched the packaging at the shop, just in case someone was home and wanted to see what she\u2019d bought, but kept the instructions and read them carefully. She knew that she\u2019d probably only get once shot at this and had to get it right. She looked around the room and wondered where to put it. The dresser was too obvious; attaching it to a picture was risky. The ceiling rose! Of course! Ana grinned as she climbed up on the the bed and affixed the minuscule device to the light fitting that hung from the centre of the decorative ceiling rose. Ana lay on the bed and stared up. The camera was barely visible amongst the light globes; you\u2019d only see it if you were looking for it and she hoped that Sarah wouldn\u2019t be doing that.<\/p>\n

Feeling very satisfied, she stuffed the instructions in her back pocket, and made sure the room was exactly as she left it. She gave one last glance up towards the camera. The guy she\u2019d bought it from had assured her it was the best on the market for the money, and even though it didn\u2019t transmit sound, all Ana needed was one shot of Sarah doing something dodgy and she\u2019d have her. She couldn\u2019t wait to get home and check the live stream.<\/p>\n

There was a creak in the hallway and Ana froze. Another followed shortly after. Someone was coming up the stairs!<\/p>\n

Ana cursed whoever had oiled the front door.<\/p>\n

Please let it be Mia, Please let it be Mia<\/em>, she begged silently. At least then she\u2019d be able to slip out once Mia jumped in the shower, as she always did after she finished work.<\/p>\n

Footsteps paused outside Sarah\u2019s room. The door swung slowly open. Ana stood there, clutching her bag, searching desperately\u00a0 around for somewhere to hide.<\/p>\n

This was bad.<\/p>\n

Really bad.<\/p>\n

For the first time Ana wondered whether breaking into someone\u2019s bedroom and planting a hidden camera was a criminal offence. She suspected it was.<\/p>\n

Sarah was looking down at her mobile phone and smiling as she walked into the room. She didn\u2019t see Ana immediately. But then, she did. She screamed and dropped the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell are you doing here?\u201d she yelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026 I just\u2026\u201d Shit<\/em>. Ana didn\u2019t have a contingency plan for being caught in the act of breaking into Sarah\u2019s bedroom.<\/p>\n

Sarah grabbed her phone from the floor and pressed a number on speed dial.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat,\u201d Ana said. \u201cCall the police. I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll love to hear about how you stole a credit card.\u201d<\/p>\n

Someone on the other end answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cAna\u2019s here,\u201d Sarah said, hysterically. \u201cShe\u2019s in my bedroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana could hear mumbled words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Sarah replied. \u201cShe was in here when I got home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana was starting to think it wasn\u2019t the police at all. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew who it was, and if she was right, it was way worse then the cops.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Tom? Please hurry. I don\u2019t know what she\u2019s going to do to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Tom arrived in record time. Ana and Sarah were in exactly the same positions, neither wanting to make a move in case the other one did something crazy.<\/p>\n

He shook his head sternly. \u201cWhat are you doing here, Ana?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI left something last time,\u201d Ana said cooly. \u201cI was looking for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s lying,\u201d Sarah cried. \u201cShe was trying to steal something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs anything missing?\u201d Tom asked.<\/p>\n

Sarah shook her head. \u201cI don\u2019t think so. I think I caught her when she just arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOpen your bag,\u201d Tom said to Ana.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou heard him,\u201d Sarah piped up.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you just shut it,\u201d Ana said furiously. \u201cOtherwise I\u2019ll hit you again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarah was about the protest but a look from Tom stopped her. She smiled sweetly at him and went and stood my the door, folding her arms across her chest.<\/p>\n

Tom rifled through Ana\u2019s bag. \u201cShe hasn\u2019t taken anything,\u201d he said finally, giving Ana her bag back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a relief,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cThank you for coming over Tom. I was so scared. I didn\u2019t know if she was going to hurt me or\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, this will not happen again, will it?\u201d Tom said, cutting her off and turning to Ana.<\/p>\n

She shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d he said, taking her arm. He led her downstairs like a naughty child and opened the front door.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so disappointed in you Ana,\u201d he said. \u201cThis really is the last straw.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTom, if you\u2019ll just let me explain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard it all,\u201d he said brusquely. \u201cYou need help, Ana. And I can\u2019t give it to you. I think that we should consider getting a divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana\u2019s mouth dropped open. \u201cNo! You can\u2019t, I mean, we can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pleaded with him, tears welling up in her eyes. She had never wanted it to go this far. But Tom was having none of it. He looked at Ana as though she were a blip on the face of the earth, an annoyance that he\u2019d much rather be rid of.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mind is made up,\u201d Tom said, closing the door in her face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The lunch rush had died down in the cafe and the only people left sitting there were Ana and some guy dressed in black tapping intently away on his MacBook Pro. He had a look of earnest concentration on his face and Ana had been trying to figure out what he was working on. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[202],"tags":[211,210,212],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=879"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1289,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/879\/revisions\/1289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}