Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
DOREN
The two stayed up admiring the tree for hours. Jake wasn’t in the mood for proper food, which was fine with Doren, so they ate pie and listened to Jake’s Christmas music playlist.
Norman had entered the trade so that he could live away from most folks, so that no one would harass him and Henri. They’d been an adorable couple. Doren had loved spending time with them.
After some years, Doren had been forced to taper off their visits, making up a lie about moving. Norman probably would have been oblivious, but Henri had noticed Doren wasn’t aging.
Doren would check on them from time to time, peering into their little shack from afar. Eventually, the two had moved to Florida in the 80s. They’d lived a frugal life, and Norman had saved enough for them to retire even though they were both still in their fifth decade.
Doren hated the warmer water down south, and Doren’s parents had said it was better to let the couple go.
After all, they were getting up there in years.
Did Doren want to watch their friends age and succumb over the course of the next two or three decades?
That was a significant amount of time in a human life, but a blink of an eye for Doren.
The loneliness had been crippling after Norman and Henri left. Doren had vowed not to get close to a human who would get old and die. They’d kept their interactions with surface people superficial.
Until Jake.
They’d taken a chance, using one of their tentacles during sex, but Jake’s eyes had been closed—the risk had been minimal.
He was too lost to pleasure even to question it.
Doren was glad they’d done it, considering the sounds Jake had made when Doren’s tentacle entered him.
The only things more beautiful than Jake’s looks were his noises when he came apart.
The two of them dozed off while sitting on the couch. Or rather, Jake had dozed off, and Doren covered the handsome guy up with a sturdy afghan. Jake had slept a lot the night before, but he seemed exhausted, and Doren needed to take care of him. To give him the support he deserved.
Doren snuggled into Jake’s side as he snored. They weren’t tired, but being next to Jake as he slept was right. Eventually, they themself slipped off into slumber.
Bang! Bang!
The knock on the door was so loud Doren nearly shifted from fright. It took every bit of effort to stop their skin from changing color and their tentacles from appearing.
“What’s happening?” Jake asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It was morning, but barely. The first rays of the sun were peeking over the horizon, and through the bay window, the ocean glittered with reflected light.
Past the glass on the front door, though, a darker sight loomed. A muscular person with red hair and a scowl on their face.
Bard.
Doren jumped up from the couch, gesturing to Jake that he should stay put. Thankfully, Jake was still groggy enough that he obeyed without questioning.
Doren pulled the door open a crack, not allowing Bard to enter. “What are you doing here?” they asked in a gruff, hoarse tone, upset that Bard had shown themself at Jake’s home.
“Is that any way to greet your sib?” Bard asked. At first, Doren thought it was mere sarcasm, but after a moment, they noticed the hurt in Bard’s eyes.
“What vexes you, Bard?” Doren’s voice was softer, now that the shock of being awakened had worn off. They didn’t want their sibling to be angry. Bard had always been supportive, even if they could be a pain, and Doren treasured their relationship.
“Doren, you haven’t returned home to Mom and Dad in days. They are worried about you. And I’m tired of being sent to the surface to track you down. I don’t know how I ended up as your keeper, but I’m not a fan.”
Doren let out a deep sigh and reached out to grasp Bard’s shoulder, but they shook Doren off, walking further into the house, stumbling a little. Doren’s nose twitched with the scent of something like…turpentine?
“I explained to them. I’m an adult now. They can’t control my whereabouts. And what’s…Have you been drinking?”
Bard spun around, glaring at Doren. “So what if I have? There’s nothing else to do in this Godforsaken town while I’m waiting for you to get done fucking your human so I can be our parents’ little messenger monkey.”
“What’s going on?” Jake was fully awake now. He stood and approached Bard, although he kept a few feet of distance between them. That was probably smart. Doren didn’t think Bard would ever hurt Jake, but their sibling was acting strange, not like themself at all.
“It’s none of your business, human.” Bard waved dismissively at Jake.
Doren took a step forward. They wouldn’t allow Jake to be treated poorly by anyone. “Bard—”
“You’re standing drunk in the middle of my beach house, so you’ve made it my business.”
Bard’s face turned beet red at Jake’s words. They glared at Doren before turning back to him. “Oh, is it yours? Did you buy it? Do you live here now?”
Jake’s demeanor immediately dropped from confident to self-conscious. “Well, no. But I’m here until May…”
Bard was swaying on their feet even as they continued their rant. “See? Just another fickle human, another violent little prick with no conviction or integrity, following their own pleasure and fuck everyone else, I guess. Why do you bother with them?”
Jake had shrunk away from Bard, and Doren would not allow this to continue. Jake had been through enough. He had done nothing wrong. Doren stood between Jake and Bard, towering over Bard’s smaller frame.
Before Doren could say anything, Jake asked in a nervous, self-doubting voice, “What are they talking about, Doren? What is this stuff about humans?”
Doren’s eyes shot daggers at Bard before responding, “It’s nothing, sweetheart. Bard is just being—”
“You haven’t told him yet?” Bard rolled their eyes, and their head followed, lolling about on their neck. “How serious are you about him anyway?”
“I wanted to give it time before things got complicated!” Doren was shouting now.
They’d lost all worry they had about their drunk sibling.
Instead, rage was bubbling up inside, and all they wanted was for Bard to leave.
“Besides, you are the ones who harp on how dangerous it is, how I should never even come to the surface. Now you’re blowing our cover in front of Jake.
I’m tired of justifying my decisions to people who are trapped by fear! ”
Eyes wide now, Bard said nothing. Doren had crossed a line they’d never crossed before.
Doren had always been the peaceful, pliable one, and it wasn’t Doren’s family’s fault they were having trouble adjusting to the change.
But they could have been kinder. Doren had expected more of their sibling, at least.
The anger was draining away, but Doren didn’t know what else to say. They opened their mouth to speak, but Jake’s arm slipped through theirs, and they leaned into their boyfriend.
Boyfriend. Jake was their boyfriend. Even though it was a very human concept, it still had a lovely ring to it. Warmth spread in Doren’s chest at the thought of it.
“It’s okay, Doren,” Jake said. “Bard is having a hard time. They’re drunk. I’ve been there a lot in my life. They care about you.”
Bard’s gaze flitted back and forth between Jake and Doren before they collapsed into a kitchen chair, a defeated expression painted on their face.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“It’s okay,” Jake said, cutting Bard off. “I’ll make you some coffee and grab you a piece of pie. You just stay there and relax for a bit. It sounds like Doren and I have some things to talk about, anyway. Don’t we?”
Doren nodded. This was bad. It was encouraging that Jake wasn’t freaking out, but what did he really know? It was obvious from Bard’s words that they were hiding a big secret. That wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible. Maybe Jake would forget about the whole “human” thing.
“So…you keep calling me a human,” Jake said, flipping on the coffee maker. He spoke with a strange, detached air. “Which would imply you’re not?”
So much for that. Doren sighed.
“Yeah…” The drip of coffee hitting the bottom of the empty pot was like a machine gun. The sound filled the kitchen, along with the bitter smell of hot water running through ground beans. “Bard and I aren’t human. We’re, um, aliens.”
Jake raised an eyebrow, but continued to lean against the kitchen counter and wait for the coffee. He said nothing.
That didn’t make Doren more confident. They didn’t know whether they should continue. Something soft rubbed against their leg, and Doren looked down to see Miranda Priestly snuggling up to their calf. What a sweetheart the kitty was.
If MP believed in Doren, maybe they could do this.
“More than just aliens. Shapeshifters. Sort of. Our true forms are a good deal larger, with tentacles. Somewhat like your giant squids, but not really, other than in size. And all the, um, appendages.”
Bard buried their face in their hands. Doren wasn’t doing a great job. They weren’t prepared for this. They’d thought they would have more time to ease Jake into the idea, so he wouldn’t be disgusted or freaked out.
The expression on Jake’s face wasn’t disgust or panic, however. It was anger.
“The two of you need to go.” Jake’s tone was icy, and he was gripping the counter with both hands, as if he were trying to hold himself back from doing something more violent.
His words were like a punch to the gut, and Doren’s airway tightened in anxiety. “Please, Jake—”