Chapter 30
Deejay
Ungh. I am so sore, but in such a delicious way. I haven’t felt this good in so long, I’d forgotten how good the day after a rambunctious night of sex feels. I’ll want to nap with the littles later, but right now, coffee in hand, with maybe three hours of sleep altogether and a bone deep satisfaction, I am completely happy. I fell asleep with Matt curled around me and woke up with him inside me.
Such a perfect way to wake up.
The rest of the early morning passed in a blissed-out state of euphoria. Now the twins, Cary, and I sit outside, playing in the cool morning while the gardening crew I pay to keep the grounds pretty work on keeping up with the changing season.
“Look at this funny rock I found, Papa,”
Cary calls as he runs up to me, showing me his open palm.
“Ah, that’s not a rock. It's a snail,”
I tell him, rolling it over to show him the sticky foot of the poor thing. Slugs and now snails—Cary’s education may cost more than a few bugs their lives before we get him taught how to be gentle with the smallest creatures.
“Wow! Awesome!”
he exclaims.
“Go put it in the flowers. Gently. That way it won’t die and maybe you can find it again later,”
I instruct, pulling a bit of grass out of his hair. Not sure how that got there before eight in the morning.
“Yes, Papa!”
Cary has three volumes: asleep, sad, and awake, but I love it. Jasper is the same way: loud if he’s awake, quiet when he’s in trouble, and silent when he’s asleep.
My phone chimes from the blanket next to me, so I pick it up, answering when I see Chanda calling. “Chanda,”
I greet him, tensing for bad news from him.
“Hello, Mr. Aquino.”
He pauses for just a moment—why is he back to calling me Mr. Aquino? “I am currently in the worrisome situation of having no memory of anything that happened since Saturday morning, and am in possession of your vehicle that happens to have a crime scene’s worth of blood in it. If I have done something to you or yours, I sincerely apologize and will do whatever it takes to make reparations if it is possible.”
“You don’t remember what happened since Saturday,”
I parrot back, very, very concerned by this development. “I don’t know what you did yesterday, but Saturday you were at the Hub—”
Cary runs into the bushes near the small fishpond on my property. I jump up to chase him down. “You know what, Robbie knows better. What I know is the blood is Matt’s, he’s fine and has already left with everyone for school, and you have my vehicle because you drove it back to the Hub after bringing Matt home. You were supposed to be figuring out the best way for Loretta to make reparations for forcing Matt into the position of Headsman on Saturday. He nearly died killing a Demon. If you have no recollection of this, Loretta likely did something to you. If you come to me, I might be able to bring back your memories, but curses are finicky bastards, and it might backfire in some unpredictable way. I don’t have any practice with memory recovery.” I explain all that while running the kid down and grabbing him just as he slips on the rocks surrounding the duck pond. I lift him onto my hip, putting my hand over his mouth so he can’t interrupt the conversation with Chanda.
“Let’s leave that option as a last resort. Did I do a reading for you? Or Matt or Robbie?”
he asks grimly.
“Not that I am aware of, but you spent some time with Robbie alone, and he doesn’t talk about his private business with us.”
Not that we’ve had a whole lot of time with him, but I believe eventually he will open up to us.
“Does Robbie have a phone? Can you give him my number and ask him to call me? I won’t be at school today.”
“Yes, I will do that. Let me know if you need my help, Diviner. You helped save my—Matt’s life; I will repay that.”
Still don’t know what to call him, though ‘lover’ might be a good label, just not in front of the littles.
“You may regret those words, Maledict,”
he warns me.
If it has to do with my family, that won’t happen. “I will never regret anything I do for those that belong to me.”
“Text Robbie. And thank you. I will let you know if I need that repayment.”
“Do.”
I end the call and slip my phone into my pocket, looking at Cary. “What have I told you about getting too close to the fishpond?”
I ask seriously.
Cary looks at me wide-eyed, tears brimming. “Not to go over there.”
“Did you listen to the rules?”
I question.
He shakes his head. “I forgot.”
“Well, we have to do something to make sure you don’t forget, right?”
“Please don’t! I promise I will remember!”
he cries, struggling to get out of my arms.
Oh god. I hate that reaction. I will never say those triggering words again. I pull him into a firm hug. “I would never harm you, Cary. I swear it. Don’t be afraid. I am not going to hurt you.”
Cary freezes in my arms, sobbing. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Sometimes Jasper does this too. Someone hurt them before I got them, and while I know that Matt is not the one who hurt this precious boy, I know someone did, and I would put money on it being his bastard of a sperm donor. “I forgive you, baby boy. I just want you to remember and I think we should play a game to help you. Is that ok? Can we play a game to help you remember the boundaries?”
Cary sniffs in my arms and squeezes me tightly. “I like games,”
he whispers like a confession.
“Me too. I like games a lot,”
I encourage him. “So, we’re going to play a game of tag and the winner gets to pick dessert for lunch. You can have cookies, or ice cream, or cake, or anything you want for dessert, but you have to win. Got it?”
“Got it,”
he repeats, relaxing again.
Fuck everyone who ever hurt this boy, I will make sure he never fears anyone in his own home again.