16. Seeing the Other Side
Chapter sixteen
Seeing the Other Side
Nicodemus
The room perfumed with cigarette smoke. After that incredibly intense sex, I simply could not go without one and smoked it slow under the now setting sun.
Odysseus had worn himself out good and was passed out against my chest. We had luckily showered before he crashed, so the sheets survived our afternoon escapade.
I was glad he was asleep, as he didn’t approve of the bad habits I’d picked up on Earth, but that was neither here nor there.
I listened to the sounds of birds singing just beyond our open window, as they were settling down for the night as well.
Their songs filled me with a peace I hadn’t felt in quite some time, and I found myself lost in the sound.
As I finished the cigarette and went for another, an odd sight caught my eye.
Just beyond the main courtyard, Dad was shuffling up the walkway with his hands in his pockets.
He wore a button up, black fitted pants, and dress shoes, an outfit usually only worn to class.
Outside of his teacher-attire, I expected him in long-sleeved shirts and sweatpants or jeans, so this was very outside his norm.
His eyes were glued to the pavement he raced down, though when he reached the fountain, he brought them up to check his watch.
“What are you up to, old man?” I whispered to myself, sitting up a little to watch him better.
Claude whisked into the room, jumping backwards in shame. “Whoa! I did not mean to interrupt!”
“You already missed the fun,” I chuckled, thankful we had the blanket over our waists. He whacked the side of my head for the comment before following my gaze. I nodded to Dad through the window Claude knelt beside. “There seems to be something even more entertaining happening outside.”
“What the heck is he up to at this hour?” he breathed, mostly to himself.
“You should go find out,” I whistled, though he knew this was meant as a command.
He slapped his hands to his face and spoke into them, “It’s always Claude! Claude this, Claude that. Go get caught by your boss and get sent to Gehenna, Claude! Nicodemus doesn’t care, because he can summon ten more Shadow Walkers to replace you with!” he pouted with a heavy frown.
I rolled my eyes heavily. “Har, har, moron. Would you just go investigate?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He dissipated and reappeared behind the fountain as I flashed black eyes, so our consciousness would become one. I told him to position himself better so we wouldn’t be caught, and once he was curled up in a ball, our stealth mission began. “Is this good?”
“Yes. Keep your head down while I get changed and I’ll join you.” I changed one eye back to my normal sight so I could die out my cigarette and slide out from under Odysseus.
He let out a moan and clung to my chest, burying his face into my skin. “Where are you going...?” he mumbled out.
“I need to check on something with my dad. I'll be back before you know it.”
“Stay with me...” he adorably commanded, peering at me with one eye.
I tsked and slid his face up to plant delicate kisses across the corner of his mouth. “I promise, I'm yours tonight. Just give me a few to figure out what’s going on.”
“Is it serious? Should I come, too?” he asked, more awake now.
I shook my head and pulled the covers over his shoulder better. “No, you stay here. I don’t want to risk him catching us.”
“If you say so...”
Within Claude’s borrowed sight, a portal shimmered into existence, and Ambermourn of all people stepped through.
I paused pulling my pants on to see where this was going.
Dad smiled half-heartedly and went to hug him, but Ambermourn pulled him in for, to my shock, a lustful kiss.
Claude slapped a hand over his mouth in astonishment.
Dad shoved Ambermourn off and whispered, “Not here, idiot!” before tugging him through the portal.
“Follow him! I’ll be right on your tail!” I instructed Claude.
“On it!” he barked back before slipping through the portal as it closed.
I finished yanking on a t-shirt and jeans before teleporting to the bar Claude was hiding in, crouched under a table.
I zig-zagged through the crowd until I could kneel beside him, my eyes narrowed angrily at the two men sitting a few tables down from us.
I made myself invisible to Humans and clung to Claude’s forearm to keep myself from jumping up and outing myself. “Can you believe this fucking asshole?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. Atlas was terrified of this man not three months ago. There has to be more to the story than we’re seeing.”
“I don’t need a voice of reason right now. I need you to be pissed with me!” I grumbled stubbornly.
Claude chuckled and ruffled my hair. “Sorry, kiddo, but you get voice of reason Claude right now. Let's get a little closer so we can listen better.”
“He better pray to the Gods that this isn’t what I think it is...” I snarled before army crawling through patron’s legs. Claude stayed near the stage while I ducked under the table nearest them, hanging out of the side so I could listen better.
Dad and Ambermourn held hands on the tabletop, sipping beers casually as a singer crooned a jazz song on stage.
Ambermourn lifted their embrace to kiss his fingertips, and Dad’s reaction was to smile lovingly.
That smile made me throw up in my mouth.
“How long are you going to make me wait before I can bring you back home with me?” Ambermourn pouted playfully.
Dad rolled his eyes. “You have no patience. Can’t you enjoy a nice evening out before trying to get into my pants?”
“Into my pants!” I gasped out in an ungodly rage.
Ambermourn let out a loose, sexy chuckle. “I’m taking advantage of the fun while it lasts.”
“I can see that.” Dad put an index finger under Ambermourn’s chin and guided his face closer to his.
I was puffing clouds of black smoke under the table, so intense that I was astonished he couldn’t see it funneling out of me.
Dad gave him a passionate, intimate kiss, full on tonguing him in the middle of the bar.
Claude shot me a look of disbelief that I mimicked as the two parted.
“You don’t have me long tonight. I have to help Nick in the morning with his Elite Elementals, so we have to cut things short a bit. ”
“How fair is that? Can’t he handle one thing on his own?” Ambermourn whined.
Dad pinched his cheek to make him beam. “He needs my attention as much as you do.”
“I beg to differ.” Ambermourn walked his fingers up Dad’s forearm to flick his nose. “I think you and I have a much more fun time. Nick is all work.”
“He can be,” Dad admitted, “but he is taking things over for me after all. I need him trained to the best of his ability so I can relinquish my role.”
Ambermourn ran a maraschino cherry across Dad’s lower lip, watching the juice run over his mouth. “Will you have more time for me when you do?”
Dad bit the cherry seductively. “I’ll make room in my schedule.”
I was past the point of no return. Claude could sense I was at my breaking point and flashed across the room to tug on my arm. “Come on, let’s get out of here before you get yourself in trouble.”
“I’ll kill him! I’ll kill him!” I choked out as tears bubbled along my lash line. “How could he do this to us? To Mom? To my mom?”
Claude wiped the tears from my eyes. “Let’s talk to her in the morning, see if we can figure this out together. I’m telling you, Nick, that this is more complex than you think.”
“Nothing is worth cheating on my mommy!” I stubbornly sobbed out.
Claude snorted a little laugh at my tone and words. “Come on, blubber.”
I stormed to the doors leading into McBride Hall with smoke and tears bubbling around my eyes.
The lights were on, meaning everyone was awake, and I was glad about it, too.
I planned to cause the biggest scene imaginable.
I threw the door open so hard that it nearly broke in two, scaring the absolute crap out of Zephryine and Halcyon, who were sharing coffee at the dining table.
“Geez Louise, Nick! What the heck is up with you?” Halcyon huffed.
“Mommy!” I roared, which made Mom peer around the kitchen wall at me. She had been toasting a bagel for she, and I presumed Dad, who had come home after his midnight rendezvous after all. I knew this because his keys and shoes were next to the front door.
“Uh oh, you’re calling me Mommy. Something big must be wrong.” She automatically rushed from the kitchen and moved to cradle my face in her palms. Her thumbs brushed my tears away, which bubbled even harder when I was face to face with her. “Love Bug, what’s wrong?”
I sniffled once before breaking into a full sob and throwing my arms around her. “How could he…!” I managed to force out into her shoulder.
“How could he what?” she whimpered as she desperately tried to calm me down.
“HOW COULD HE CHEAT ON YOU!” I wailed.
Mom ground her teeth hard. I thought it was because she was shocked by the news, but this was a much different reaction than I was expecting.
“Oh dear. We might have a little problem here,” she whistled to the girls, who immediately shot up when Dad came down the stairs, whistling a small tune.
They tried to warn him under their breath about what he was walking into, but he was oblivious to the situation.
I immediately peeled myself off of her and went to fly across the room, but she and Halcyon grabbed an arm each and yanked me backwards. “YOU!” I yelled. Dad pointed to himself curiously. “I’LL KILL YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!” I bellowed as I fought desperately against their hold.
“What the Gehenna did I do?” Dad popped with half a bagel in his mouth.
“It’s WHO you did, you cheating, slimy, back-stabbing bastard!”
“Colorful language,” he popped, his face stricken with confusion. “Seriously, Nick, what one Earth are you talking about?”
“Er, Atlas…” Mom grumbled, nodding to the door where he had left his dress shoes. “He knows…?” she growled through clenched teeth.