Chapter 17 #2
Granny pats my good arm, and I relish the distraction to break Zac’s intense focus.
She walks around me and then around the front of the car, making her way up the stairs as she holds onto the handrail.
I watch her as she climbs the steps, knowing that she’d swat at me if I hovered over her, and my heart breaks again at seeing her once proud stature slightly hunched with grief.
“Anything for you, Lark,” Zac says in a low voice as he passes me, shaking me out of my thoughts.
I do a double take at his retreating back. At the same time, a sliver of unease slides down my spine. What did he mean by that? And why is he saying something like that to me? Especially when he’s with Khloe, not me.
Glancing around, I frown when I realize he said it so low that neither Ma nor Khloe heard him. Granny’s already inside, so I know she didn’t hear him.
I give him a tight smile when he looks back at me over his shoulder as he walks over to Ma and Khloe.
Exhaling, I try to calm my nerves, but this little interaction has already proven that staying here is going to definitely try my patience with Zac.
I just hope that he isn’t around that much.
I don’t think he’d do anything to hurt me, but you never know.
With him already being creepy, I should be careful around him.
And try not to be alone with him.
Taking another deep breath, I follow Ma and Khloe up the stairs and close the door behind me.
“I set Granny up in the bedroom down here, so Emma and Lark, you can pick which bedroom you’d like upstairs.”
Heavy footsteps descend down the stairs, and on instinct, I look up in time to see a sheepish look cross Zac’s face.
“Ah, sorry, Babe. I figured you’d want Lark in the room next to yours, so that’s where I put her bags.” He clears his throat as he rubs the back of his neck.
Uh, yeah, that’s going to be a hard no. There’s no way I’m going to take that room and hear my bestie getting fucked. No way, no how. Especially not by Zac.
“Uh, thanks, but I always liked the green room because of its view of the forest, so I’ll claim that room.”
Khloe turns to grin at me, so she misses the scowl that crosses Zac’s face before he stomps into the kitchen. What was that about?
“Kind of figured that’d be the one you chose since that’s the room you always pick.
Now, you three look dead on your feet. There are fresh towels in each of the bathrooms and Lark, I put some bandage supplies up there for you as well.
I figured after going to your guys’ house today that we’d order in comfort food tonight. ”
“That sounds perfect, Khloe,” Ma tells her as she gives her a hug and heads upstairs.
Walking over to her, I wrap her in a hug. “Thank you, girl, comfort food sounds perfect after today’s whirlwind and Aiden stopping by. I’m going to freshen up and then take a small nap before dinner.”
Khloe pulls back abruptly, though her arms stay wrapped around my waist, and she narrows her eyes at me. “What the fuck did that cunt licker want?” she hisses.
Sighing, I shake my head. “I think they’re still after us, but his excuse was, and I quote ‘he wanted to make sure I was okay’,” I say as I make air quotes with my hands.
Khloe scowls. “Only took the bastard a fucking month.”
I huff. “That was my reply as well, but Reaper and Devil put him in his place.” Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Zac’s muscles tensing in his back and his arms. Determined to ignore him, I refocus back on Khloe.
“He left after I threatened to put a few extra holes in his body.” I don’t tell her about the threats Reaper and Devil gave him.
For some reason, I feel like I need to keep mum on those details.
Khloe smirks. “Good. Now head on upstairs. I’ll come wake you in a couple hours if you aren’t up already so we can figure out what we want to eat for supper.”
Nodding, I head upstairs and grab my luggage off the bed in the room next to Khloe’s before rolling them down the hall to the room I always use whenever I crash here.
Since most of my stuff didn’t survive the fire, Ma and Khloe wanted to go out shopping for new clothes, shoes, makeup, and other bathroom supplies for me about a week after the fire.
Knowing I’d want to get the bulk of the supplies later myself; I just had them get me a week’s worth of clothes and two pairs of slip-on memory foam shoes.
I knew it’d be a while before I could easily tie my shoes again, so I decided to go with ease and comfort for now.
Hearing Ma in the room next door, I walk through our adjoining Jack and Jill bathroom and knock on the doorframe to her room since her door to the bathroom is currently open. She looks up at me and gives me a small smile.
“Want me to help you wash your hair?” she asks and I nod as a return her smile.
“Yeah, I want the smoke off me, but I don’t want to have to redo my bandages until tomorrow. With Reaper helping with everything, I didn’t get any soot on them, so they should still be good.”
She walks over and shuts and locks the main door to her bedroom and I go and do the same to mine before grabbing fresh clothes and my bathroom supplies out of my bag.
Walking back into the bathroom, I strip. While at first it was weird to be naked around Ma after the fire, I’ve gotten used to it seeing as I still can’t do everything on my own yet. That and at the time, I much preferred having her help rather than some random nurse.
Twenty minutes later, I finish combing my hair and slip into a baggy t-shirt and leggings. Crawling into bed, sleep claims me almost instantly.