10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Violet
I looked at the clock on the computer screen. I needed it to be time for dinner already. Then time for Adam’s bedtime. I wanted my girls’ night with Bells to start. I had questions.
“Am I waking you up at the usual time in the morning?” Chris asked out of nowhere.
“Why wouldn’t you?” I asked.
“If you’re drinking with your sister tonight, are you going to be up at our usual time?”
“Yep. Wake me up and whip me into shape!” I answered.
Shortly after that last nightmare, I took Chris up on his offer to train me and, over the last week and a half, that’s what he’d been doing.
Except I was still scared of people. So, after I barely made it out of the pack house on our first day, only to run back to my room when I saw how busy the training grounds were, we changed tactics. Chris started waking me up at four-thirty in the morning so we could train while everyone was asleep.
It wasn’t that big a deal, except I was working while Bells was working and I was asleep by nine, which gave me no time to talk to Bells after she was done with Adam. She was still refusing to join us for breakfast or lunch, and I was beginning to understand there was some undercurrent with her and Cade. I needed to know what that was.
My eyes flickered to Chris, who was back to reading a book on his usual chair by the door. I also wanted to talk to her about him. Dr. Campbell was of no help. She simply told me my budding feelings for the man weren’t imprinting and refused to tell me what the heck I could do with them.
After he trusted me by telling me what happened to him with Traci, something felt like it shifted between us. Every morning, after training, I’d come out of the shower to find a new text with a joke on it. Chris thought he had a point to prove about what a fun guy he could be, but he was sending me nothing but Dad jokes. On purpose? Possibly, but I was beginning to suspect my mighty protector was a dork at heart.
I’d come to understand a lot about him. The reason he was so hard on himself, and tried so hard to be an elite warrior, was because his mom never had more pups. He felt the need to make his parents proud of the one they had.
He argued he was the only one who could carry on their legacy, and he felt that responsibility to the bottom of his soul. When I asked why Brenda didn’t have more pups, he said she simply didn’t want anymore. She told people she already had the perfect son, inadvertently putting more pressure on him to be good, I thought.
Brenda and Gabriel were wonderful people. They were fiercely protective of Mom and us for almost thirty years, never leaving her side until she retired along with Dad. I could not think of another mated couple that exemplified the role of loyal warriors more than them. But, I surmised growing up with that example in his own home made it hard for Chris to be himself around them. I asked him a few days ago if he even liked fighting, and all he answered was that he was good at it and it made his parents proud to have their son following in their footsteps.
Still, I wondered if they knew how their decisions affected their son. I was confident they would love him no matter what he chose to do. Though, I guess I should be thankful. What would happen to me without him?
You would still make it. You are stronger than I am, Violet, Nenetl told me.
I froze. This was only the second time she’d talked to me since we were taken.
When I didn’t answer back, my wolf gave a deep sigh that felt like it was coming from the bottom of her soul, and began to retreat.
No wait, please, I begged her. When she stopped and stared back at me, I saw this as my only opportunity. Please stay. Talk to me.
I-I don’t know what to say, Violet. I can’t make up for everything that happened. I couldn’t protect you and I’m even weaker now. I’m useless as a wolf.
But you’re not. I need you. I’m not strong without you. We complete each other.
Our mate completed us, and I couldn’t save him either.
No, our mate complemented us. I can live without a mate, I can’t live without you. And his death wasn’t our fault. Please, Nenetl. Please don’t go back to how it was before.
“Violet, are you okay?” Chris was standing in front of the desk now.
I watched Nenetl staring at him from the back of my mind. She didn’t say anything at first, and I didn’t want to break this moment with her. Finally, she lay down closer than where she used to lie before.
I’ll try. I still get a little tired. Everything was... too much. I fought to stay because I couldn’t bear to part with you, but a part of me still thinks you’d be better off without me.
I’m not. I promise. I need you here. I’d die without you, physically, but mentally as well. You’re my best friend, Nenetl.
You have me, Violet, she said, nodding, but then let out a yawn. I need to sleep.
“Nenetl talked to me,” I finally answered Chris. I wiped the tears from my face and smiled. “She’s talking to me.”
Chris graced me with one his genuine smiles, and returned to his chair. He didn’t say anything, but there was no need for him to. His smile said it all, and I knew he understood the significance of what having your wolf speak to you meant.
Bells showed up at my room at eight thirty that evening, but instead of carrying a bottle of wine. After I opened the door for her, she walked in with two six-packs of Delphi Brew.
“I thought we were having wine?”
“I thought this would be more fun.” She shrugged.
I eyed my sister. I already suspected she needed this girls’ night as much as I did, but maybe there was more going on with her than I was aware of.
“Alright, then. Did you bring snacks?” I asked.
“Nope. I’m going back to get them momentarily. I just wanted to make sure this was okay with you.”
“It’s not like my boss will fire me if I’m late in the morning,” I joked.
“Great! Hold these, I’ll be back!”
Will you be okay with these? I asked Nenetl.
I only just convinced her to stay, I didn’t know how these would inhibit her. Delphi Brew held traces of a flower called Delphinium, which was a sister flower to Wolfsbane. It allowed our metabolism to be suppressed enough to allow us to get drunk without causing us pain or suppressing the presence of our wolf.
They shouldn’t do anything to us other than suppress our ability to heal even more than it is in my weakened state. Just don’t plan on breaking a leg and we’re okay, she answered.
I grinned, more at the fact that she was responding than what she said.
Got it, boss.
Nenetl gave a tiny sneeze in response and curled up to nap.
Bells came back up a few minutes later with a bunch of snacks overloading her arms. I giggled, taking what I could and dumping it on the bed.
“I thought we could catch you up on Loki,” she said, grabbing the remote and signing into her Disney Plus account.
“I don’t want to watch Loki tonight, Bells. I doubt we’re going to pay much attention to it.”
“That’s true. What do you want to watch, then?” she asked, handing me the remote.
“We need something we’ve already seen, but that will entertain us once we’re drunk,” I said, flipping through the options. “How about Lilo and Stitch?”
“Goddess, no, Vi. I’ll bawl like a little bitch.” She laughed, opening the first Delphi Brew and taking a long swig of it.
“Coco?”
“Bawling, Vi,” she answered, opening a box of pecan swirls.
“Tangled? There’s some good songs in it.”
“Sobbing.”
“Princess and the Frog?”
“You kidding? You are my Evangeline...” she said dramatically.
“Frozen?”
“Bawl”
“Brave?”
“Nope, the mama bear kills me,”
“Wrec—Never mind, that one makes me cry. Ummm, Emperor’s new groove?”
“Nope.”
“How does that one make you cry?” I demanded.
“The llama alone in a raining rainforest? No, thank you.”
“Encanto?”
“Two words, Vi. Generational Trauma. Pass.”
“Moana?”
“The grandm—Actually, I could watch that one. I think only one part makes me sad.”
I chuckled and pressed play. We weren’t fifteen minutes into the movie, when Bells started sniffling.
“Let’s put something else on, I forgot about this part,” she said, reaching for the remote, but I pulled it out of her reach.
“Nope. We’re watching this. I’m into it.”
“Come on, Violet. I don’t want to cry.”
“You’re a big, tough werewolf. I believe in you,”
“But, but...” My older sister pouted and I patted her arm, hiding the remote from her.
Half an hour later, we were on our second brew and singing along with Maui, giggling whenever one of us messed up the lyrics.
“I love you, Vi,” Bells giggled and sighed.
“I love you, too, Bells. When was the last time you drank?”
“A year ago? Like three weeks before Evie’s luna ceremony.”
“Not the night before when we were all at that bar with Mom?”
“No. I had just found out I was pregnant and switched all my drinks with Aunt Maya.”
“Oh, my goddess, is that why she was so smashed?” I asked, making Bells giggle uncontrollably.
“I tried to get Evie to cover for me, but she didn’t want to be hung over for her ceremony.”
“I don’t blame her.”
“Me either, but a girl needed a scapegoat for all that booze, and Aunt Maya sat next to me.”
“Fair,” I giggled. “Hey, Bells?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s going on with you and Cade?” I asked and watched her sit up straight.
“What do you mean? Nothing. There’s nothing going on with Cade and me. Why? Did he say something?”
I giggled.
“Outside of how stubborn and overworked you are? Not really. But I’ve seen the looks you guys sneak and you looked like you wanted to cry and kill Ada today.”
“Who’s Ada?”
“The woman that came to the park?”
“Oh. You saw that?”
“I did. What’s going on?”
“I... I kissed him a few weeks back. Well, technically he kissed me. Well, technically we made out and would have probably fucked if his phone hadn’t rang.”
“A few weeks back? What’s happened since?”
“Nothing. I told him it was a mistake and we should leave it before it started. He‘s been a total gentleman since.”
“But why?” I asked. “If you like him and he likes you, why not see where it goes?”
“I don’t want to get involved with another alpha, Violet. Look where that got me the first time.”
“Brandon dying wasn’t your fault. I know Cory and Dad think Nickolas sent the rogues, but there’s no proof.”
“Yeah, well... Let’s just watch the movie. Cade took the news well, and now we’re back to just friends.” Bells shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but that look earlier said otherwise.
“So, if he wants you to be his luna, you’ll say no?” I asked.
“It’s a thankless job, Vi. I don’t know how Mom did it for thirty years. If I can’t be alpha, I’d rather just live out my days in peace.”
We turned back to see the coconuts chasing after Moana and we watched in silence for a while as we started on our third brew, and I opened a bag of spicy peanuts for us to share.
We were back to singing and giggling by the time the crab showed up.
“What about you?” Bells asked out of nowhere.
“What about me?” I asked.
“Adam called you Chris’ mate and neither of you corrected Adam.”
“I—What? When?” I asked.
“When Ada showed up and they brought you back to the table?”
“What did they say?”
“You don’t remember?”
“I wasn’t paying attention. I was trying not to freak out,” I answered, but didn’t add that Ada had started accusing me of taking Cade’s attention when he had a pack to look after. Cade already had enough to deal with. “What did they say?”
“You know when Adam whispered something in the luna office to Chris?” she asked, turning onto her belly with a conspirational look on her face.
“Yeah?”
“Well, apparently Adam told Chris that he would help protect his mate so you would go out more and Chris didn’t correct him. When he protected you from Ada, he came back and asked Chris if he saw him keeping his promise. Chris still didn’t deny it. He only said he didn’t get a chance to correct Adam while blushing. I can’t believe you missed it!”
“He probably didn’t mean anything by it,” I said, looking away and feeling my face heat up.
“I see that blush! Do you like him? Do you want him to be your mate? I think he would make a great mate. Except, I don’t think he can be a second chance mate unless he lost his own mate and Cory never mentioned...”
“He could be my second-chance mate,” I whispered, my eyes flickering to the closed door that connected to his. I didn’t feel comfortable sharing private information about the man to my sister, so I hoped she didn’t try to ask for specifics.
“That’s perfect! I mean, not that he lost his mate, but that maybe the Moon Goddess will give you both another chance.”
“I don’t think so, Bells. Chris doesn’t look at me like I could be his mate. I’m his job. His assignment. That’s all.”
“He could. I could find out? You like him, don’t you?”
“I-I do,” I admitted quietly. “But the Goddess wouldn’t be so cruel as to pair him with someone like me.”
“What? Why would that be cruel?” Bells looked confused.
“You know why,” I answered.
“What happened to you wasn’t your fault. Has Chris ever told you otherwise?”
“No. But Bells, I can’t be a good mate, and Chris deserves a good mate, not a broken one.”
“How are you broken? Because you were raped and are healing from it?” Bells asked.
“No, I—”
“Do you know how many women get raped per year?” Bells asked, suddenly very angry. “One in three women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime. One in seven will be raped by their partner. Do you think all of us are broken and undeserving of a happy life? Just because the Goddess made a mistake and paired you with an asshole who thought your only purpose was to please him? Do we not deserve happiness, Violet?”
“Us? Bells, di-did Brandon force himself on you? Did he rape you?”
Bells stared at me for a while, and I could see her trying to make sense of things in her inebriated state.
“Don’t be silly, Violet. I was speaking in hypotheticals,” she said before she drank the rest of her fourth brew and reached for another. “Let’s keep watching, yeah?”
I was going to push, but Nenetl chose that moment to speak up.
Don’t, Violet. Denial may be the only way she’s coping right now.
I can’t just do nothing.
You can ask Dr. Campbell what she suggests you do.
Bells seemed to forget the conversation minutes later and after Moana was done, she put on another movie. I laughed and drank with her, but after our conversation, it was like even the alcohol wasn’t doing anything to me. Bells gave me a bear hug near midnight and left, leaving me wondering what kind of hell my sister had lived through alone for the last eight years.
“ T ime for training, Little Warrior,” Chris’ voice woke me up.
I hadn’t realized I fell asleep. I couldn’t have slept more than an hour or two. I groaned, not from a hangover but from the lack of proper sleep.
“Do I need to go get a hangover cure?”
“No, just tired,” I answered, yawning. “I’ll get ready.”
“Alright. I’ll be back in ten, then.”
I groggily got up, changed into the workout clothes I’d ordered online and braided my hair. I sat back on the bed and waited for Chris, only to be jolted awake by a snort.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked, trying to hide his laughter.
“What? Yeah, of course! I was waiting for you! Let’s go!” I answered, standing up and stretching.
“You were snoring sitting up.” He chuckled.
“I don’t snore!” How dare he? I was brought up a lady!
“Must have been breathing exercises then. Deep, loud breathing exercises with your eyes closed and a little bit of drool just there on the corner.” He pointed to the corner of my mouth and I wiped at it furiously, my face heating up with embarrassment.
He laughed, opening the door to my room to lead me out. He was different at night, I’d noticed. More relaxed and friendly. More talkative.
Once the warm-up was over, I felt wide awake again. He was teaching me the basics to start. Self-defense moves that I appreciated more than he could understand.
For the last year, all I’d felt was fear and helplessness, and he was slowly helping dissipate that state of mind. I still couldn’t win in a fight against anyone, mind you, but there was a tiny part inside of me that was beginning to feel I might be able to one day.
I always liked to joke I was the runt of the litter. Even the baby of the family, Areli, was taller and she had a fighting spirit. I was shorter and slimmer. My personality never lent itself to fighting. Even my power was passive. Defensive.
But that was who I was, not who I needed to become. It was something I was beginning to accept. I would never again be who I was before I was kidnapped. There was no reset button on trauma. But, I could keep some parts of who that woman had been, if I was willing to become something different. I could keep some remnants of my life this way. I would become stronger.
Nickolas would not win. I couldn’t keep being the victim that reminded my family of what he’d taken from them.
We were getting close to the end of the workout, when the door opened and three women walked in. One of them had come in a few nights ago, and noticed us working out. They’ve shown up twice since, trying to catch Chris’ attention. Too bad for them. Chris was so dedicated that he didn’t even bat an eye their way.
“Hey Chris, if you’re done with your training, can you help us with a move we’ve been struggling with?” One of the women asked.
Chris looked over at me.
“Do you mind waiting a moment?” he asked.
“Not at all. I’ll wait by the door,” I said, smiling, though inside I was filling with jealousy. Especially seeing the wide grins and tiny giggles the girls were having while Chris’ back was turned.
I stood there waiting for about five minutes, watching them throw themselves at him while he tried to show them how to pull the move. Even I could tell, with my limited knowledge, that they were purposely doing it wrong to keep him around.
I shouldn’t feel jealous. Chris wasn’t mine and he would probably be happier with one of them, even if he was looking slightly annoyed right now. Unable to continue watching, I decided to wait outside the door and try to use the fresh night air to cool down.
It wasn’t long before I started hearing a weird sound coming from the forest behind the training grounds. It sounded really similar to a nasally baby crying.
What the hell is that? I asked Nenetl.
I don’t know.
Could it be an actual baby?
I hope not. I don’t think so? Unless the baby’s got like the flu or something. It’s a little too weird to be a baby, I think.
Should we check it out?
Maybe we should tell Chris.
I opened the door to the training grounds, but Chris was on the floor with one of the girls straddling him. I gritted my teeth and closed it.
The man is busy. If it’s a baby, we have to help.
But... she paused and took a deep breath. I got your back.
I walked to the edge of the woods slowly and took a deep breath that mimicked Nenetl’s. With a quick look toward the door, I stepped through the trees, following the sounds. Less than a hundred feet later, there was a rustling sound ahead, and the distressed sounds increased in frequency.
I paused, unsure if I should keep going, but the idea that a baby might be in trouble wasn’t letting me give in to my fears. I finally pushed into a small clearing and gasped. Near the end of the clearing was a snow-white rabbit covered in blood. The cries coming from it as I approached confirmed the rabbit to be the source of the noise I followed.
I picked it up and cradled it to me. The poor thing panicked until it realized I was trying to help. It went still as I checked it over to see where the injury was. There were a couple of double punctures through its body, as if it was poked with a BBQ fork. A few of them were torn into bigger scratches, being the source of most of the blood.
‘Violet, where are you?’ Chris’ voice pushed through the mind-link.
‘In the forest. There was a noise and—’ A sudden rustling from behind startled me, and I squeaked. Shockingly, my shield slammed down very quickly.
“You shouldn’t be out here, Violet. There’s something in the woods.” Elim came out of the shadows and I relaxed a smidgen. But only a tiny bit, because didn’t vampires have fangs and leave BBQ fork indentations in their victims?
Yet the rabbit in my hands didn’t react in panic to him so I was hoping that meant he wasn’t who hurt it.
“What do you mean?”
“Something I’ve never seen before ran south when it heard you coming near. I was tracking it, but it’s so damn fast. I was afraid it turned around and came back for you.”
“Oh. I’m okay. Thank you for coming to check on me.” I answered, hoping he didn’t see the small blush I could feel on my cheeks.
“Is the rabbit okay? I can put it out of its misery,” he stated, coming closer to take the rabbit from me, but he hit my shield with some confusion.
The rabbit started squirming when Elim started feeling the edges of it, as if knowing he was coming to end its life. I considered lowering the shield, but this was the first time it’d stayed and I didn’t really know him very well. I also didn’t want him to kill the rabbit.
“What is this?” he asked.
“My shield. It’s a gift I have,” I explained.
“Neat,” he smiled, stepping back, and not taking offense. “Are you not afraid of the germs?” he asked, looking at the rabbit.
“Germs?” I asked.
“You said you were a germaphobe.”
Right, Bells’ lie this morning. I felt my face heat, and was trying to think of an explanation when a roar startled us both from the side. Titan jumped toward me, to protect me I was sure, but the shield was still in place and he collided with it, bouncing off it like he’d jumped on a trampoline. The poor wolf landed a few feet away with a yelp, but he scrambled up and ran to me regardless.
I knew it wasn’t supposed to be funny, but seeing Titan’s face being squished against my shield and knowing he hadn’t gotten grievously injured sent me into a fit of giggles. I lowered my shield as he approached more cautiously, growling lowly at Elim. Elim took a step back with his hands in the air, but he was trying his hardest not to laugh at Titan, too.
‘Are you okay? Why couldn’t I link you?’ Chris asked as Titan checked me over for injuries, sniffing and huffing at the rabbit in my arms, which began to squirm as he got near.
‘I’m okay. Elim startled me and my shield came down. I have to remember to lower my mind-link block to use it, but it’d been so long since it worked that I didn’t even think about it,’ I explained.
It worked a lot like Areli’s invisibility, except her scent also disappeared with her. Seeing that I was okay, Titan walked over to the nearest tree that contained tearaway clothes and he shifted back to human.
“What the hell were you thinking? It’s the middle of the night and you ran into the woods after a noise? What if you’d gotten hurt?” Chris yelled at me after he pulled on a pair of shorts.
Only the panic in his eyes kept me from slamming the shield back down to keep him from reaching me, but my jaw dropped at the fury in his voice.
“I tried to get you to come investigate, but you were too busy getting straddled by the women in the gym.” I glared back at him.
“You shouldn’t run off by yourself. Not many here know you, Violet. What if they thought you were a rogue or an intruder?” He counterargued, but I could see he’d lost a little steam at my accusation.
“There’s something in the woods, too. You definitely shouldn’t run in here alone. What are you doing up this early in the morning anyway?” Elim added, agreeing with Chris’ assessment.
“We were training,” I answered somewhat snappish because he’d agreed with Chris.
“At this hour?”
“I can’t be around people. This is the only way to train without the training area being crowded.”
“You always train at this time?” Elim asked.
“Yeah,” I replied, still glaring at Chris.
“Mind if I join you occasionally? It’s hard for me to get any training done when everyone trains during the day.”
“It’s private,” Chris answered, turning his glare from me to Elim.
“Actually, I think that’s a great idea. I need to get better, and Chris here seems to be taking on more pupils. Plus, Chris hasn’t trained in a long time and vampires are really fast. Great for wolves to train against. Isn’t it, Chris?”
“That’s not the p—”
“Don’t you want a challenge for once?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “I think those girls can give a lot of challenges but none of those would be in a fight.”
“I’m up for sparring. See how much he’s learned from Aunt Kassie,” Elim added, oblivious to the sparring that was happening in front of him.
Chris’ jaw ticked and I knew he was annoyed with me right now, but ditto. Finally, he appeared to see he’d lost the battle, because he sighed and ran a hand down his face.
“Fine. But my main job is to train Violet. As long as it doesn’t detract from that,” he conceded.
Elim looked happy, but I had a feeling he was the only one who was feeling that way right now.
“We should go back, Violet. If there’s something in the woods, I need to get you out of here.”
“Sure. I’ll see you later, Elim!” I said overly cheerfully to the man.
“Sounds good, Violet. I’ll keep hunting that thing.”
“If you need any help, let me know. I can draw a sketch so people know what to look out for or so maybe someone can identify it.”
“Oh, that’d be nice!” he called back, jumping up to a tree like it was nothing and darting away.
I followed a brooding Chris back to the pack house. I could feel his temper simmering under the surface. He kept grunting at nothing and scoffing without saying anything, walking much faster than usual, making me almost run to keep up with him. Was this his normal pace and always slowed down to mine? There was a certain sweetness to that gesture.
“Don’t run away on your own again,” Chris growled when we were back in my room, erasing the warmth the thought had generated in me.
“I didn’t run away. I walked—slowly— toward what sounded like an injured baby,” I snapped back, motioning to the rabbit.
Chris’ eyes snapped toward the rabbit, and his brows furrowed.
“Why did you bring it inside?”
“It’s injured,” I pointed out the obvious.
“It’s a rabbit. A wolf will eat it and put it out of its misery.”
“I don’t want that to happen.”
“It’s how nature works. The strong eat the weak,” he answered.
I didn’t think his words were meant to hurt, but in that moment, they did. I felt my eyes water, and I swallowed the knot in my throat. I turned away and looked for a storage box inside the closet. I grabbed a few of my clothes and layered them at the bottom. I placed the rabbit in the box and the top askew on it so it had air, but couldn’t jump out. I put my purse on top to keep it in place.
“Then, what the hell are you doing with me, Chris? I’m weak. Just let me die,” I finally said, turning around to find Chris’ eyes widening at my words.
“I didn’t m—”
“Didn’t you?” I asked, then shook my head. Nothing good would come from this conversation. “I’m going to take a long shower.” I grabbed a set of clothes for the day and crossed my arms, waiting for him to move through the bathroom to his room.
“Violet, I didn’t—”
“I don’t need your permission to rescue a rabbit,” I interrupted him. Chris deflated and nodded, walking through the door and shutting the door to his room behind him. I locked it, not because I thought he was going to step through while I showered, but because I felt hurt.
Was that how other people saw me? Like that injured rabbit that maybe would be better if someone put me out of my misery? Nature’s way of culling my weak genes out of the pack.
The thoughts going through my head were going dark fast, so I stepped out of the shower to get ready in the hopes work would get me out of my mindset. I walked into my room and heard my phone ding as I was drying my hair. I walked over and saw I’d received a message from Chris. I hesitated opening it, but Nenetl encouraged me to do so.
The text had an image of a puppy looking sullen with the words “I’m sorry. Please forgive me” accompanied by a single sentence text: I said I was bad with words, right?
I sighed, knowing Chris was probably beating himself up about upsetting me. I finished drying my hair and looked over at the locked door. I walked over and unlocked it, closing my side of the door so he could shower. I heard him enter, but instead of hearing the shower turn on, there was a light knock on my door.
“Come in.”
Chris walked in, looking unsure and scared as if I was the one who could pulverize him, not the other way around.
“Violet, I—”
“I still expect my morning joke when you’re done with the shower,” I interrupted him.
There was no sense in him apologizing twice. I knew he didn’t mean to hurt me and I didn’t want him beating himself up over it all day. Chris’ eyes widened and he nodded, before turning around and walking back into the bathroom. Before the shower turned on, my phone dinged again.
Chris
Thank you. *heart emoji*
The butterflies in my stomach went crazy, but I willed them down. The heart only meant he was grateful I let it go. I couldn’t let myself get attached. Once we were back in Crescent Moon, Chris would be back to his own life and I to whatever remnants of mine that I could salvage. Though a plan had begun forming in my head last night after Bells left, which meant that getting back to Crescent Moon was going to have to wait a few more weeks. The shower turned off and I heard him walk into his room. Moments later, my phone dinged again.
Chris
How do you get a tissue to dance?
You put a little boogie in it.
I chuckled at it. One day, I was going to buy him a book of jokes that weren’t Dad jokes. The man needed new material.
“Do you mind if I go out for a little bit this afternoon?” Chris asked later after lunch.
“Umm, no. That’s fine. I can lock myself in here. You won’t be too long?”
Was he going on a date with one of those girls— was what I really wanted to know.
“An hour at most. I think,” he said, standing up.
“Okay,” I answered, wanting to ask where he was going, but knowing that was not my business.
Chris didn’t elaborate either, he just waited at the door for me to come close and lock it.
“Be safe,” I whispered after he left.
Chris was gone for more than an hour, and I was beginning to get worried. I was about to text Bells when I heard his footsteps approaching. I jumped up and ran to the door to open it, but remembered when Chris got upset that I didn’t ask who it was, so I tip-toed back to my seat and waited for him to knock.
“Who is it?” I asked when the knock came.
“Chris.”
I stood and had to stop myself from running to the door.
I opened it for him, but instead of coming inside, he asked, “Can you take a break? I want to show you something.”
“Sure,” I answered, and followed him up the stairs to the alpha floor. I was growing confused when he stood by the door to my room, and motioned me inside.
“Wha—” I stopped when I noticed the brand new cage where I’d left the storage container.
“I bought food for it. The guy at the store said you have to clean the cage every other day so it doesn’t stink. I gave it a small bath and put some betadine on the wounds so they don’t get infected.”
I was speechless. The rabbit was currently inside a little clear tube, snoozing. Probably tired from being moved and cleaned. After a bit, I was finally able to speak and all I could say was, “Thank you.”
Chris grunted in response, while I continued to look at all the small details in the cage.
“What’s this?” I pointed to a little half-pompon made out of fleece.
“It’s a foraging toy. There are treats in the little box there. You put them in there and it encourages the rabbit to forage.”
“Wow. You thought of everything.”
“I asked. I didn’t know what rabbits needed.”
“Thank you.”
Chris grunted again. “Do you want to go back?”
“No, I think I want a nap. Seeing the rabbit there all cozy is too tempting, and after last night, it sounds like a great thing to do.”
Chris snorted and nodded, closing the door behind him and heading toward his room.
“I’ll wake you for supper.”