Chapter Two
Nomi
“Oh, Dean, you saucy beech. You better get spanked by Castiel in this chapter. It’s time,” I whispered to my phone, already scrolling through the new chapter of For the Love of a Winchester.
It was my most present obsession. A fan fiction shipping of Dean Winchester and Castiel and absolutely filthy to boot, the way I liked them.
I glanced at my surroundings, hoping I didn’t run into another pole today. I’d smacked right into one while nose-deep in the last chapter, which always accompanied my walk home from the bakery café, Dolci Caldi, whenever the author posted an update.
Sure enough, the offensive pole in question was barely a foot away and at risk of issuing another smackdown if I hadn’t been paying attention.
I sidestepped and glared at it. “Not today, pole. You’ll have to be sneakier next time.”
I was yanked out of my threat by a series of raspy barks. Felix, who I always affectionately called Old Man, nearly fell on his way down the front steps, his adorable French Bulldog scrambling around his feet to attack whatever he’d caught wind of.
“It’s a damn squirrel, you overfed goober,” he yelled at Mr. Pugsworth as I rushed to keep the aging man from falling over. “Ah, my back,” he crowed. Then his eyes flew to me. “Oh, hello there, Nomi. It’s late. Again. I told you to leave early today.”
Mr. Pugsworth, undeterred by us, skittered across the pavement to chase his long-standing nemesis up the nearby tree, barking offensive insults and chuffing his anger, while his tiny paws gripped the bark. I laughed and made sure Felix didn’t lose the bag of food he’d been carrying out.
“It’s early for me. I had to finish a few things for you tomorrow. Clara kept me company.” He scoffed, not believing me at all, so I quickly pivoted. “Are these for Maude? Wooing her with apples today?” I teased.
His eyes went wide before he huffed petulantly and readjusted his grip on the bag. “She’s as thin as a rail. Of course they’re not apples. The woman needs carbs.”
I noted he hadn’t denied the wooing part. Maybe because it’d been three months of him wandering over to her place down the street with treats and he’d given up the fight to pretend otherwise.
I hid a smile and nodded my head in agreement. “Lots of carbs.”
His eyes dashed across to Mr. Pugsworth who was still attempting to murder the critter who’d taunted him for nearly two years. “I bet you didn’t eat all day. Again. You hadn’t before I left. You want some of the croissants I made earlier?”
I waved him off after making sure he wasn’t at risk of a fall. “I’d never take from Maude’s spoils.”
His gentle blue eyes had seen the world and hadn’t lost their affectionate gleam no matter how long he’d been dragged through the mud. After losing Mary several years ago to cancer, I’d been checking in on him every day.
Felix and Mary had been the only people in the world to notice the bruises when my father’s anger turned to blows and my body took a beating for it. Their apartment was always a safe place to run.
Felix would bake my favorite treats and let me watch anything I wanted on their television, sometimes for hours so I could wait out whatever fury summoned my father’s particularly destructive mood. Mary gave me a gentle place to rest my head and would dress any of that day’s wounds.
Felix never pried too much into the injuries that scored my body—the cuts, the bruises, the burns—but they both had tried a number of times to get the authorities involved. Unfortunately, in those days and this part of the city, my suffering was largely ignored.
I found ways to cope, and he and Mary were one of them for a very long time. Not everyone had a Felix and Mary, so I made sure to take care of mine even after all these years.
Because they’d become my family.
My mother had never been in the picture, and my father had never told me why.
After the beating I got the night I braved asking, I never asked again.
But I could guess the abuse didn’t start with me, and I couldn’t blame her for running.
Even now, I still didn’t know if she was alive or dead.
I only knew he’d made sure I never knew who she was or where she’d gone.
When I was sixteen, my father died. It was the first time I’d ever felt free. The first time I’d breathed. But then I worried I’d be put in the foster care system and end up in a similar situation or worse. But Mr. Baker and his wife took me in.
They taught me what a real home was. The battered and bruised child I’d been during those years was suddenly given all the love and affection I never knew I needed, and the scars my father left both inside and out faded over time.
Now at thirty-two, I never strayed far from Felix.
He’d grumbled about me moving out, but the joy that enveloped his face over my big step into adulthood gave him away.
He might play the grumbly old man on the block, but Felix was my hero.
He saved me in so many ways, and to me, he’d always been more of a father than the one who died.
I only moved a few blocks away and always chose to walk past his apartment building to check in on him. And somehow he always knew when I’d walk by, because he found someway to be outside.
A smile tugged at my lips as I patted Mr. Pugsworth, who’d since given up his battle with the elusive squirrel and sniffed around my feet before licking my leg in greeting.
“Did you hear back?” Felix asked after we took to walking toward Maude’s.
I sighed and shook my head. “I told you that it would take a while, Old Man.”
“Yeah, yeah,” was his noncommittal reply. “But you will hear back?”
I shrugged and checked my email for the millionth time.
I’d been on pins and needles over a story I’d submitted to an agent.
So far, nothing. It was my dream to have my name on a book cover, but it wasn’t easy to chase my dreams when there were bills to pay and Felix to watch over.
So, I worked at the bakery café Felix ran and kept waiting for my dream to come true.
Maude was already outside her place, and it was absolutely adorable how much she lit up at the sight of Felix. Her whole face glowed in greeting.
I leaned over and whispered, “Thy lady doth calls, Old Man. I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early.”
He scowled at me. “You will not. Take tomorrow off. You’ve been working yourself to death, and I won’t have it.”
His bark had no bite, but I agreed because Felix was more stubborn than I was.
He’d barely allowed me to work at his place as it was, insisting he pay my rent and whatever I needed until the day he died.
He’d already done more for me than I could ever do for him, so supporting him as the town baker was about all I had.
I’d do it until the day he died, and then long after in his name.
My heart clenched at the thought, because Felix was already in his seventies. That day was fast-approaching, and I couldn’t imagine a life without him. But seeing him blush and try not to smile at Maude was my favorite thing. I was glad I hadn’t missed it today.
I dropped a kiss on his cheek and gave the huffing and puffing dog a scratch behind the ear. “Go get you some hot lady booty, Old Man. And Mr. Pugsworth, no cock-blocking.”
A noise got garbled in Felix’s throat as he struggled to respond. I laughed and ran off before he could curse me out. All in good fun, of course.
Felix had never, not once, made me feel scared the way my father had for sixteen years of my life. And now I’d been loved for as long as I had been brutalized. I doubt I would’ve trusted men at all if it hadn’t been for Felix. He deserved every bit of happiness he could get his hands on.
I dashed out of eyesight and giggled to myself as I took the longer route home to avoid Felix’s humiliated wrath.
Pocketing my phone, I decided that the dangers of running into another pole while I read were too great, so I’d wait until I got home.
I had a date with a halfway full casserole dish of lasagna.
Which was another thing Felix continued to gripe about—my lack of boyfriend or girlfriend.
The last guy I dated was nearly five years ago.
Right after Mary died and my happy found family imploded.
We’d broken up because he didn’t understand how important it was for me to be there for Felix, and that asshole made a gross comment about me being practically married to the guy who I regarded as my father.
Suffice it to say, he got slapped and kicked out the very second the accusation left his mouth. It was a rare day I got angry or resorted to violence, but that was one of few ways to do it.
I brushed away a renegade dusting of flour from my shoulder and took another corner, but the sight of white hair made me pause as I moseyed down the sidewalk. I leaned back and caught sight of a lone figure looming between the buildings, leaned against the wall.
Who’s that?
The stranger’s face was quickly hidden under a black hood and I checked around me for signs of a break in, but it was quiet. Whoever this was, they’d taken to standing alone and looking incredibly suspicious while they did.
Like a goof with a terrible stranger danger meter, I continued to stare until his eyes rose to meet mine. My mouth dropped open at the sight of them. His irises were bright red and his hair was as white as I’d first thought. But holy was this dude gorgeous.
It took a lot to take my breath away, but his face was absolutely arresting. Perfect in ways that didn’t feel human. His pale skin also didn’t give the impression of life, it was so white.
A very pretty ghost.
I blinked. He blinked. This went on for several minutes before the ghost stood taller and my neck had to crane back a little to take him in.
I wasn’t short. I was five-ten and towered over most women, so cranking my neck to meet someone’s gaze wasn’t necessarily a problem I faced often. But this one was tall—and very, very pretty. Like, otherworldly pretty. I was at serious risk of drooling if I stared too long.
His eyes tracked my movement when I failed to inconspicuously take a step back. The impression I got from him was he didn’t know what to make of me either.
“Hi,” I said in a much softer voice than usual. I was bubbly by nature, but the look and feel of this guy put me slightly off balance.
The stranger’s eyes widened just a touch. Enough to insinuate shock, but he didn’t say anything, just tilted his head and let his gaze rake down my body as if he’d figure me out after a very close inspection. It made me want to cover myself.
Growing up with an abusive father had made me incredibly good at reading people.
It was a skill I’d needed to survive the day-to-day abuse.
I’d pick out my father’s moods to avoid a beating, or at least soften the one I knew was coming, so part of me was already picking out the confusion and wonder in his mannerisms.
I’d caught him off guard for some reason.
I leaned in, summoning my usual bubbly demeanor. It helped with breaking the ice, and something told me this one needed it. “Wow, those contacts are super detailed. Epic, my dude. How did you get them to glow? Also, I’ve never seen hair that white on anyone, not even grumpy old Felix.”
Nothing on his face gave away his emotions. It was a cold slate of stoicism. But I picked out his continued surprise somehow without anything showing on his face or in his body.
“You can see me.” It wasn’t a question but a statement, and it made absolutely no sense.
I grinned to myself. “Well, I know you’re wearing all that black and skulking between buildings like a criminal, but it’s not like you’ve blended in with the scenery.”
His mouth twitched before he leaned against the brick again, this time on his shoulder instead of his back. He returned to his silent assessment, and I decided as hot as he was, it was time to move along.
It didn’t appear he was up to no good, and it wasn’t like I’d be able to take on a huge strange man if he was committing a crime anyway. Best I could do was call the police and use my well-honed escape run to get the hell out of dodge.
So, I took another step back and waved a goodbye. “Have a great day!”
I nearly cringed at my customer service voice as I strolled away, still a block away from my place. I’d never seen anyone like him in our city, so he must’ve been visiting. It wasn’t likely I’d see him again. And even if I did, it didn’t appear he was eager to chat.
I didn’t have a history of hot strangers falling for me. Most of the guys I’d dated were ones I’d met in school or at Dolci Caldi, and the two girls I dated were friends who became more. Not exactly fan fiction worthy stories in my past relationships.
Oh, right! Saucy Castiel.
Who needed romance in real life when it was always better on the page? I had a chapter waiting for me, so I was going to go home, eat my lasagna, annoy my cat, and figure out what shenanigans I could get up to during my day off.