Chapter 34
Deejay
I open my eyes, turning to see Matt snoring softly next to me. I did not get enough sleep last night—I’m barely able to keep my eyes open. The clock tells me the alarm is going to go off in two minutes and for a moment I hate my body for cheating me of those two minutes. I reach over and turn the alarm off and force myself to sit up, wishing I could get an extra hour. Some days, parenting just sucks, but this is the life I wanted and the life I am living, so I get my soggy ass out of bed and get into the shower, which helps wake me up. After I dress, I go to the kitchen where I find a coffee pot full of the nectar of consciousness and Chanda sitting in the breakfast nook, looking at me over the top of his mug as he takes a sip.
“Good morning. What are you doing in my house?”
I ask bluntly—I don’t have a filter before caffeine especially after not enough sleep.
“Brought Robbie home late and stayed because we drank a bottle of wine. I was assured you wouldn’t mind.”
He sounds as rough as I feel, which gives me a small amount of schadenfreude.
“I don’t,”
I grunt, sitting across from him. “What happened yesterday? I only know what Matt and Tio did.”
He furrows his brows questioningly. “Tio?”
“The Chaos Eater running around Houston,”
I explain. “He substituted your class yesterday.”
Chanda nods in understanding. “Yes, I heard about that, but I didn’t know his name. Good to know.”
He sips his coffee before clearing his throat. “I found Robbie, cut the friendship strings between Darius and his buddies, and put Darius to the floor. I cut an anchor string for him and I hope that you will sit on that information for now. I would have an exceedingly difficult time proving that Robbie’s life was in danger and I couldn’t take care of Darius by any other method.”
He gives me a level look, one that tells me he’s giving me power over him for a reason.
“Cutting anchor strings is problematic for Diviners, not me. You took care of a member of my family, and I don’t take those kinds of debts lightly. Unless you do something that makes me need to use this information, it’s safe with me.”
Robbie is mine, and Chanda cut the strings of Fate that he did to protect what’s mine; I won’t betray that debt because of a law that doesn’t affect me—I don’t feel that morally obligated.
Chanda flashes me a brief smile. “Thank you. I’m just going to finish my cup and head out. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“You’re welcome anytime,”
I assure him. “Is Robbie ok?”
Chanda gives it some thought before responding. “I think if he’s not, he will be. He’s determined to become the person he wants to be, and I think that helps him process his experiences instead of burying them.”
“What is he? He hasn’t mentioned it.”
I have tempered my curiosity over the last few days because I don’t want to keep piling on shit Robbie has to deal with. The kid is fragile, and while he works toward his own self-improvement day by day, I don’t want to pressure or burden him. He deserves to get his feet under himself one minor stress at a time.
Chanda’s gaze goes out of focus for a moment; I’ve seen other Diviners do this: introspect or converse with their spirit helper or read Fate or something. I don’t know exactly how a Diviner’s process works, but I do recognize the look. He returns fairly quickly and blinks at me. “It’s not my secret to tell, but I can assure you that I will help him until he decides it's the right time to tell you.”
“You were going to tell me on Friday,”
I point out skeptically.
Chanda smiles enigmatically and shrugs. “That was before I got a glimpse at the bigger picture.”
“Did you ever get your memories back?”
He nods. “I did.”
He sips at the last of his coffee, clearly unwilling to say more at this point.
I huff out my disappointment and nod. “Well, if you need anything, let me know. I’m happy to provide resources, should you need them.”
Chanda sits up and sets his cup on the table. “Actually, you wouldn’t happen to have a book on the laws and traditions of the Kingdom of the Triton? That would be the most helpful thing right now.”
“Really?”
I ask, surprised at the coincidence.
Chanda nods. “I know it’s an out of the blue request, but I have some business with the Mers and don’t want to fuck it up.”
“Yes, I have a book. I’ll send it to school with Robbie.”
I reread the thing recently since I signed an ally agreement with Primus. I change my tone, taking on a formal form of address that will indicate to him the seriousness of my request and my willingness to see it through. “I just signed an ally agreement with Primus. Also, Erroll of Morgaine tried to stop that from happening. He’s apparently targeting Matt for an unknown reason. If the Ntu Waamelika happens across some information to help me resolve the problem with Erroll, I would surely appreciate any insight he has.”
Chanda takes my tone and request seriously and switches into his professional Diviner mode. “If the Maledict would agree to offer his demesne as a safe-haven should I need it, the Ntu Waamelika would keep an eye on his strings of Fate and offer helpful advice as he can.”
I offer him my hand. “I offer a place in the Demesne D’Aquino to Chanda Marduke regardless of his title because you saved my nephew. If you are willing to read the strings of Fate in regard to my demesne, you do not have to negotiate safe haven. I will pay your standing fee.”
Chanda shakes my hand. “I will offer advice for free because you have offered me a place in your demesne, and I know that everyone you take under your wing you consider family. I don’t charge my family for my services.”
He smirks and corrects himself. “Well, except my brother, and only because it fucks with him.”
I chuff at that. “Thank you, Chanda. It’s a relief to know you’re on our side.”
“I am. Don’t forget it,”
he smirks. “I’m off. Send the book with Robbie and thank you.”
I nod, thanking him as well then walk with him to the front door and lock it behind him after he leaves. As I turn, I see Matt coming down the stairs, showered, dressed, and ready for the day. I wait for him to alight the landing, then wrap my arms around his neck, tilting my head up to press my lips to his. His arms come around me and he pulls me into a tight hug, licking my lips open. We share a sweet and soft kiss, that makes me feel about twenty times better than the coffee did.
“Mmm, coffee,”
he growls against my lips.
I smile, pecking his lips once more. “In the kitchen. Made by Chanda,”
I inform him.
He looks confused for a second. “Chanda?”
“Stayed the night, but just left. He won’t tell me what Robbie is. I asked.”
Matt releases his hold on me, taking my hand and walking me to the kitchen. “I don’t know. Robbie hasn’t mentioned it to me either. He knows, though. We could just ask him.”
“He’ll tell us when he’s ready. I don’t want to add stress to that kid. He’s so delicate.”
Matt grunts, pouring himself a cup from the carafe and bringing both to the breakfast nook. “After yesterday, yeah. It would be nice to have a few days of shit not hitting any fans. I’d like to take you on a date.”
I sit back, surprised by that. “A date? Like a real date? No kids, just you and me?”
“I know, it sounds like a pipe dream, but there’s no reason we can’t have an actual date. Go to a nice dinner, do something or see something together—I’ve never been to a play, but I’d like to. I noticed you have multiple play scripts in your library.”
My heart goes badump at that. He took notice of the fact that I like plays. I don’t think I’ve taken the time to notice anything like that about him. I feel both affection for him because he cares about what matters to me and terrible because I care but haven’t shown it. Not really. I’ve let him take the lead. It’s nice, but I need to put effort in too.
“You’ve got that look you get when you’re second guessing your parenting skills. Please don’t try to parent me; that would be seriously awkward at this juncture,”
Matt teases.
“It’s not that,”
I huff, chuckling. “I was just thinking that you’re good at this and I kind of suck. I just jumped your boner and didn’t even think about an actual date. I know you like combat sports, but I don’t really know much about your other likes and dislikes. I love plays, I used to go by myself when I could, but haven’t had time since Den started college. I would love to go see one with you, but what about you? What kinds of things would you want to do for a date?”
Matt arches a brow at me. “Yes, I am going to expect the man with seven kids and me living at home to make an effort to figure out what I like somewhere in between the diapers, bottles, home cooked meals, trauma, family and individual therapy, grocery shopping and all the other shit that goes into running and maintaining this home, and that on top of all the shit we’ve been dealing with for the demesne.”
I screw my lips into a smirking frown. “Well, when you put it like that…”
He reaches across the table and weaves our fingers together. “Let’s just agree that of the two of us, I have more freedom to put the effort into our romance that it takes to make it grow. For now, just enjoy the ride and let me romance you. I’ll make sure we’re both satisfied.”
“I can do that,”
I breathe as my heart races at the implication in his tone. Now I want to get naked with him, but of course, it will have to wait because he’s right, there are just too many things I have to do first.
He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my palm. “Good.”