Chapter Twenty-Five
Small Town, Big Gossip
Bellamy
The barrier has barely been up five minutes and the gossip is already flying, quite literally, around.
The crows dive-bomb overhead screeching, “Did you see the wolf grounding the dark witch? Without him we all would have perished in the fires of doom!”
Ghosts are zipping around, whispering amongst themselves loud enough they might as well have just given up trying to be quiet. “It seems fate found the perfect counter balance for the evil twin!”
“Hey,” I snap at one of them as they drift past me. “I am not evil.”
“Look away Neil, you don’t want her to take your eyesight for looking too long.” One of the ghosts grabs his arm and pulls away from me.
Rolling my eyes, I’m about to find an exit out of this hellscape when Maisie all but shoves a cinnamon roll in my hand. “For strength and endurance.” She winks at Miles, who is standing next to me with a bewildered look on his face. “Take real good care of our dark witch.”
Moon and stars, can the cobblestones open up and swallow me whole? What is happening to everyone?
Miles, on the other hand, looks like he was just given an enormous gold star badge that says ‘Boyfriend of the Year’. He’s beaming, chest puffed out, and his damn dimple on full display.
Throwing his arm over my shoulders, he leans against me, a mischievous smirk plastered on his face. “Since…” he drags out the word, “I was such a good boy today and I didn’t ruin any spells or touch anything…does that mean I can come home with you?”
I scowl up at him. “No, you overgrown sheep dog. I already have a full house. Somehow even Sir Hops-A-Lot has managed to move in. So now there’s no vacancy. Sorry, not sorry.”
“You say that,” he says as his dimple deepens. He leans even closer. “But all I’m hearing is ‘Yes Miles of course you can.’”
Before I can even form the words on my tongue, Matilda pops into existence next to us with hearts in her eyes. “Let the pup stay! Come on, he helped save the town, surely that deserves a treat.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I seriously hate this town. Is there a clause that says I can go back to being hated?”
Miles leans ever closer, his nose practically touching mine. “So…that’s a yes?”
“Fine,” I growl. “But, you’re on the couch! I swear if you shed, you’ll be cleaning it up!”
His grin could outshine the barrier we just built. “Deal.” He loops his arm around mine and damn near drags me down the path towards my once quiet home.
I’m practically having to jog to keep up with him. If I had known he would have been this eager about it, I might have said no. Who am I kidding? I might not have wanted this whole fated mate thing, but I can’t deny that he is wearing me down.
“So…” Miles says without turning around. “Is your couch a two-seater or…a full sofa? Just trying to decide how much space I’ll have to spread out.”
“It’s actually more of a chair, you know, those high-back ones from the Renaissance era? Extremely uncomfortable, and likely to give you neck pains.”
“That’s alright.” He shrugs his shoulders. “With my wolf healing, I won’t even notice, really.”
For some reason, I have the distinct impression that nothing I say will dull his shine. As if every problem has a solution that comes so easily to him.
“Nothing seems to bother you, does it?”
He looks at me with a wink. “Well, the way I see it, life is all about its adventures. The good ones, that people will brag about the rest of their lives. And the bad ones, that people wish to forget. But at the end of the day, it’s all about the adventure through the good and the bad.”
I stop in my tracks, my arm jerking as he keeps walking.
He turns around, confusion marring his face.
I’ve never thought of it like that, all too often consumed by the negatives of my life.
Being the dark twin, the curse, and even how my parents treated me.
I’ve never once stopped to consider any of the good things in my life.
Like Nyx, Elora, my business, and my home.
Maybe…maybe having him around will be good for my mental health.
“You good, Trouble? Surely I didn’t break your pretty little mind already?” Miles ribs as he tugs on my hand again.
“You wish,” I say as I follow behind him.
Three crows are sitting on the power line dangling above the path as we walk towards my road.
I can already tell they are gossiping because one of them tilts their head towards us and they start whispering furiously.
For the love of coffee, please let us make it back to the house without anymore meddling creatures.
Right before we pass under them, I hear one say, “Just do it. It’s your turn,” before another one says, “No, I did it last time.” I can’t help but roll my eyes. We live in a world where this is a normal occurrence and honestly, I don’t know that I want to know what life is like without it.
I think we’ve safely made it when I’m assuming the crow who didn’t want to do it finally speaks up.
“Go, Dog Boy! You’ve got this! Go, Dog Boy! Don’t fail us now!”
To make it even more embarrassing, Miles throws a fist up in the air, pumping it a few times. The crows caw loudly and flutter their wings exaggeratedly.
I groan, dragging my hand down my face. “You’re encouraging them. It’s people like you who make them more of a nuisance than they already are.”
Miles, beaming with pride, says, “What can I say? Gotta show my fans some love.”
“They’re crows,” I deadpan.
“They’re Pumpkinridge crows,” he corrects, his dimples flashing, and my stomach flutters as the butterflies take flight. I refuse to acknowledge it.
When we get to my house, Lady Bandit is perched on the porch railing, holding the soft pumpkin cookies with cinnamon cream cheese icing that I made for my after-Samhain recovery in her little paws. She’d better not have eaten them all or she will be homeless tonight.
She licks her paw clean of the icing as she chitters.
“See? Even she thinks this is a terrible idea. She’s asking why I brought the smelly dog home?”
Miles crouches down, whispering furiously into her little ear. His eyes flick to mine before he goes back to negotiating with the fur ball. “C’mon, Lady. I’m housebroken. Mostly. What if I shower before bed?”
The raccoon tilts her head, unimpressed as she brings the cookie back to her mouth, resuming her pre-interruption night.
I don’t have a chance to warn him before Nyx pops into existence on the porch, reeking of kettle corn and carnival smoke.
He blinks between us and smirks. “Just fantastic. As if this night hasn’t been long enough, now the wolf is moving in.
Lady Bandit, looks like you and I are sharing the guest bedroom tonight. ”
“There is no guest room,” I snap. “There’s a couch. That’s it.”
Miles fist-pumps the air. “Looks like a slumber party to me. Who’s grabbing the snacks and who’s picking the movie?”
Both Nyx and I groan in unison as Miles swoops Lady into his arms, waiting by the door for me. How is it four in the morning and he is still this sunny and energetic?
He sprawls dramatically across the couch the second we’re inside, tucking his hands behind his head like he owns the place, his long legs dangling over the edge by a good foot or two.
He doesn’t even look like it bothers him that the couch is too small for him.
“This is perfect. Best night of my life.”
He tucks Lady into the crook of his arm, and she snuggles closer, purring as he strokes her fur. Hops leaps onto the couch from his terrarium, which he is supposed to be in, over to Miles, joining the apparent slumber party happening in my living room.
I toss a blanket at his face. “If you snore, you will be out in the yard before you can say, ‘pumpkin spice for life.’ Do you understand me?”
He peeks at me over the blanket, eyes warm and far too damn soft. “Goodnight, Trouble. Sweet dreams.” He practically purrs those last words.
I feel my cheeks warming as I spin around, hoping and praying to the moon and stars that he didn’t see it.