Chapter Ten
Rhett
I groan the moment the hot water hits my skin, not caring how loud I am or who hears.
This feels so good. It’s been years since I’ve been in the shower—years.
I’m not sure why we didn’t consider taking showers before Daisy got here.
We snuck in to look around, we could have enjoyed it while we were here.
But no, one-track minds because the only thing ever on our minds is this stupid curse and how to get rid of it…
even though we’re all pretty sure there is no way to get rid of it. It’s beyond obsession at this point.
Though, that isn’t entirely true now. Not since Daisy showed up. I have had other things on my mind since then—things I haven’t considered in years.
She’s beautiful and very simple. I like that about a girl.
I was never into all the makeup and hairspray and boob jobs.
I like a natural woman, and Daisy embraces that.
Her hair is always a mess, there’s always smudges of dirt on her face or hands.
Her shirts are baggy, and her jeans have holes in them.
She isn’t trying to put on a show. She’s practical.
Gus has already gotten friendly with her, and I’m… trying. I’m not as sociable as he is, it’s not as easy for me to talk to people.
And don’t get me started on Wade. If he could have her banished, he would.
Gus thinks he’ll come around, but I’m not sure. He knows how to hold a grudge, and I can understand why he’s so upset. I see both sides of it.
But Daisy isn’t responsible for this. She wants to help. Isn’t that enough? Our lives are miserable as is, shouldn’t we take a little bit of joy when we can? If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if it’s a pinprick, we should go toward it.
Daisy could help us. She could. We just have to hope a little.
I guess the good thing is we don’t need Wade for that.
Gus is doing a good enough job with her, and I’m trying my best. Between the both of us, it should be enough to keep her wanting to help us.
And if she by chance figures something out, we can bring that to Wade.
Right now, we need to focus on that safe.
We need to get into it. We tried prying it open, and we were electrocuted.
Gus ba-cawked for two hours straight after that, so we didn’t try again.
Poor guy… he’s so sensitive to the triggers.
They go off even when he’s out of earshot of his trigger word.
Wade and I aren’t as sensitive. We have to actually hear it before we ba-cawk.
God, what a stupid thing to do.
Agnes really was a pain in the ass. But I’ll give it to her… what a way to curse someone.
Since I’m the third one to take a shower today, the water doesn’t last half as long as I’d like it to.
It starts to get warm and then suddenly very cold.
I hiss as I frantically turn the knobs back and forth, unable to figure out which way is off even though I managed it just fine for Gus.
The water finally stops coming out, and I’m shivering when I grab my towel.
A few feathers pop out of my skin, and I focus on staying human, which causes them to fall out and float to the floor.
Sometimes they disappear. This time they didn’t.
I pick them up and toss them into the trash, then dry myself off and put my clothes back on.
Gus opened the door with just his towel on, on purpose. I know he did. He’s totally into her and it’s clear she’s into him. But… I can’t do things like that. I take the towel with me as I leave the bathroom. Daisy and Gus are sitting on the couch, very close to one another.
“Where do you want me to put this?” I ask, holding up the towel.
“In the laundry room.” She points to the room by the back door. I toss it in the hamper in there, then come back to sit on the couch.
“Thank you,” I say.
“For what?” she asks, smiling at me.
“The shower. It’s been a long time.”
“Any time you want it, it’s yours. And my offer still stands with you sleeping inside.
You may turn into ch—uh, I mean birds, but that doesn’t mean you have to be treated like animals.
Though,” she laughs. “I did beg Grannie to bring the horses and cows in when I was a little girl because I felt bad they were outside all the time.”
“That’s cute,” Gus says, putting his hand on her thigh.
She looks at it, then back at the TV, her cheeks going red.
I’m not sure what we’re watching on the TV. I never liked TV much, even when I was younger, so I didn’t watch a lot of movies. They keep chuckling though, so I assume it must be funny.
“Oh, shoot,” she says, glancing at the clock on the wall. “I didn’t realize it was so late.” She gets up. “I hope you’re staying for dinner tonight. I took out steaks.”
Gus and I share another look before looking back at her and nodding.
“I’ll help you,” Gus offers.
“I’m going to talk to Wade…”
“Tell him he’s invited too,” she calls over her shoulder.
Gus smiles at me as he follows her into the kitchen.
I won’t lie… I could get used to living a normal life in the house with Daisy. I’m just so worried about getting ahead of myself and it all being pulled out from under our feet when we least expect it.
Wade is by the barn, standing with his hands in his pockets.
“You missed out,” I say, stopping beside him.
“It’s just water.”
“Hot water, Wade. It’s hot. And it feels so good.”
He glances at me. “I’m not going to be friendly with her after what she did.”
“She didn’t do anything, you should probably remember that. And you haven’t been nice to her, and she’s still offering you things. So…”
He scoffs, glancing out at the grazing cows.
“I’m only going to say one more thing, and I hope you really think about this.
If this is going to be our life forever, if there is no cure for this curse?
I’m going to take whatever good I can get.
If that means a few weeks of hot showers, home-cooked meals, and sleeping on a couch, I’m taking it.
And maybe you should too… it may be the only good thing we get in our lifetime.
And we have our grandpas to thank for that—no one else.
So, if you want to be mad at someone, be mad at them. ”
With those words, I walk away.