Chapter 25
Wes
Something about having Rory and Kyle at my command is so intoxicating I can barely function. Kyle is so in control of his day-to-day life that when we started having a girl from time to time, I just took over and called the shots. That stuck and I find I enjoy controlling these situations, especially when Rory is involved. After our romp last night, we spent time just enjoying each other and learning more about each other. Thankfully, Rory was easily swayed into staying the night, and this morning finds me curled up behind her in bed, her ass resting snugly into my hips, teasing my morning wood.
I nuzzle my face into the crook of her neck and drop a soft kiss, not wanting to wake her if she’s still out. Seems like she’s been waiting for me though, because she turns over and tucks her knees between mine, her eyes on me. She smiles a little and reaches one hand up to smooth an unruly piece of hair away from my forehead. The piece springs right back to where it was, and she giggles.
“Good morning,” she greets me softly.
“Good morning. Sleep okay?”
“Yeah. Did you?”
“Definitely. I had my two people here. What else do I need?”
“Such a charmer,” she teases, and leans over to land a quick peck on my nose.
“Let’s go out and see what Kyle’s doing. I have something I’d like to toss around the three of us.”
She looks down under the sheets. “You sure that can bounce? I know you have balls, but I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“Oh I’ll show you how it works.”
“Promises, promises.”
I chuckle and haul her face to mine for a proper good morning kiss. It’s soft, sweet, and, most importantly, close mouthed because nobody likes morning breath. We venture out to the kitchen, where Kyle is leaning against the counter, drinking coffee. No food on display yet.
“Did you want me to cook this morning?” I ask him.
“Nah, I just wasn’t sure how long you two would be out, so I didn’t start yet. I wouldn’t say no to help if you guys are willing.”
Rory backs away. “You guys don’t want me near the stove. Trust me.”
“Can you crack eggs?” Kyle asks.
“ That I can do!”
Kyle hands out the ingredients and puts me on bacon duty. Rory and Kyle put together the ingredients for a scramble, and in no time at all, we have the breakfast of champions on the table. Once we’re settled and eating, I clear my throat a little.
“I have a thought, and I want the three of us to decide on it.”
Rory raises an eyebrow at me while taking a sip of her coffee. Kyle motions at me to continue.
“At this point in our relationship, I think we should make things a little more formal. I was hoping we could call Rory our girlfriend and she can call us her boyfriends.”
“I don’t have a note. Or a box,” Rory says.
“I don’t… you need… what the hell are you talking about?” I ask her, completely confused.
“You know, when you pass the person a note and there’s a box to check ‘yes’ or ‘no’. I can’t answer without that kind of legal document in front of me.”
Kyle busts out laughing, and I join in with my own chuckles. Rory looks proud of herself and looks between the two of us as we get ourselves under control.
“I would love to be you guys’ girlfriend. Honestly, I kind of assumed we were there, but it’s nice to have it spoken out loud. Makes things easier.”
“Agreed,” Kyle chimes in.
Once we’ve finished eating, I grab everyone’s plates and get the dishes into the dishwasher. As I do, I look over at Rory and notice she’s got a bit of a vacant look on her face. It’s not quite detached, but she’s not really here either. My eyes meet Kyle’s and I raise an eyebrow in question. He bites his lip and nods a little. He’s concerned too, then.
“You mind if I run out to get some stuff?” he asks me softly.
“What do you need?”
“I think she’s going into a bad head space. I want to get some easy activities and snacks to help her get out of her head.”
“Good plan!”
Kyle heads to the bedroom to get dressed while I load the last few dishes into the washer. I grab Rory’s hand and lead her from the table to the couch of cushions. She flops down and I make a show of digging a hole to sit beside her and build up pillows and blankets around us.
“I’ll be back in a few!” Kyle calls out.
“Where are you going?” Rory finally tunes into the environment a little more.
“Just gotta grab a couple things. I won’t be long.”
“Oh, okay.”
Rory starts to retreat into herself again, but I seize the moment to try to get her to smile.
“We need to buy some Nerf guns,” I whisper to her.
She looks confused. “Why are you whispering?”
“You can’t conspire on these things in a normal voice. You have to whisper.” A giggle escapes her. “Now, next time I need to get to the store, I’m gonna buy us a couple of Nerf guns. Then we’re gonna build a fort on the couch like this and ambush the shit out of Kyle!”
She laughs outright at that. “Can you imagine the look on his face?”
“It would be so epic!”
We grin at each other before I see her start to slide again.
“Talk to me?” I ask.
I know she probably doesn’t want to talk about whatever is happening in her head, but I want to know how to help her through whatever it is. Maybe if she can at least give me a little information, I can try to step up unlike last time. She chews on her lip, contemplating my question.
“I just-I just feel like I’m going to have a bad brain day. Everything feels heavy since we sat down to eat breakfast and I hate it. We had such a good night last night. I don’t understand why this happens.”
Her eyes fill up with tears and I pull her close. She sniffles a little while getting her breathing under control, and I pull back to look at her.
“Can I show you something?” I ask.
She nods, so I stand up and grab her hands, pulling her up as well. Keeping one hand, I pull her toward the room that houses my guitar. I’m not sure if this will actually help, but I sure hope so. Once we’re there, I realize there aren’t any super soft spots, so I tell her to wait and I jog back to the couch, grabbing some blankets and pillows. I make her a little nest near my guitar and gesture for her to lie down. Smiling a little, she puts her head on a pillow and pulls a blanket over herself, up to her chin.
I sit down near her and grab my guitar. Taking a moment to tune the guitar, my hands take over with muscle memory. I start to strum some chords, an aimless tune building. My hands pluck the strings individually before doing a full strum and I cycle back between the two actions, making a small nonsense song. Inspiration strikes me, and while I don’t know the verses very well, I manage to pull out the chords for a song.
“Well, I guess you say, what can make me feel this way? My girl,” I croon to Rory, just repeating the chorus and adding in little music breaks and changing the words on occasion to see if I can get a smile.
She’s laying in the same position, her eyes on my hands as I create the music with strings, but she no longer looks quite so detached. There’s something there. Now she’s able to focus and remember that she’s not alone right now. After talking with Kyle, that was the biggest point that I walked away with. She just needs someone to be here with her. My guitar and I can do that. I mess around with the music for a little longer, and we hear the door open and close.
“Should we go see what Kyle’s procured from the great outdoors?” I ask.
She gives a small smile and nods, moving to stand. I grab all the blankets and the couple of pillows, then follow her out of the room. In the living room, Kyle is dumping out his grocery bags full of coloring pages, colored pencils, a deck of cards, some polymer clay, and some fuzzy socks.
“Fuzzy socks?” Rory asks.
Kyle shrugs. “Who doesn’t love fuzzy socks?”
“Good point.”
She grabs a pair and opens the minimal packaging they’re stored in. A look of bliss falls on her face as she puts them on.
“Okay, best idea ever.”
Kyle grins and leans over to her to grab a quick kiss. She obliges before settling down on the couch, starting to withdraw again.
“I could see that you’re starting to have a rough day, so I figured we could do some of these activities, none of these activities, or other activities so we’re all together but you don’t have to do much thinking,” he explains.
“Sounds perfect.”
“Are you willing to talk to us a bit more? About what’s going on in your head?” I ask.
“Maybe in a bit, if that’s okay?”
“Of course, whatever you need, precious.” Looking over the array of activities Kyle brought, I lean down and grab the clay. “Let’s make terrible clay sculptures.”
“Okay,” she agrees softly.
Kyle chuckles and grabs a second package of clay. At first, I think maybe that would be overkill, but as we each try to make some kind of animal, it’s clear we would need the additional supplies. I wanted to make a fish since I figured it would be pretty easy. I thought wrong. This damn thing is so complicated and tricky. I try to get the body to look like something that’s not just a long piece of poop.
Kyle is silently cracking up at his own terrifying creation of something with four legs. I think it’s supposed to be a dog, but the legs are way too long for the body and I’m not even sure what kind of shape he’s going for with the head. Now and again, when he tries to fix something, a snort escapes him, which never fails to get a small giggle from Rory. Her sculpture isn’t fairing much better. I think she’s going for an elephant, but the ears are the same size as the body. She’s also chosen to use a variety of colors for each body part.
Rory heaves a deep breath, and while nobody stops what they’re doing, I know Kyle and I are both listening intently. I’m hoping she tells us what’s going on in that beautiful head of hers, but I also remember that she might not have a reason.
“I, um, I spent a year in a bad relationship. My mom loved him. My dad wasn’t a huge fan, but he was always on the road. Claire hated him, still does. He wasn’t so bad at first. I’ve never had much since going out on my own, and I’m okay with that. Bartending pays the bills well enough, and I like how busy it keeps me. It’s hard to slide into a slump when you can’t even take a breath.
“When he came around, he made me feel special. He gave me nice things, which made me think I was worth spending money on. He liked it when I dressed up nicely, and I was the center of his world. Eventually I realized that he’s the center of his world, while I was very much expected to be his biggest fan.”
Rory stops as she tries to position the elephant’s trunk and gets frustrated when it’s not doing what she wants. Kyle and I both scoot a little closer. We don’t crowd her; we just want her to remember we’re here with her. After taking a calming breath, she continues her story.
“I got out eventually, but it was almost a year of toxicity that I stuck around for. When I left, he wasn’t very happy. He didn’t come at me, but he made it known how mad he was. My mom still thinks I should get back together with him, and I keep telling her it’s not happening. So, after seeing him while we’re out together twice now, I’m feeling shaken and exhausted.”
Silence takes over and after a moment, I set down my aquatic abomination and sit back a little. Kyle follows my lead, and Rory slows what she’s doing, but won’t look at us.
“How long has he been hanging around the bar?” Kyle gently asks.
“He started about two weeks after I left.”
“Did you tell anybody?”
Her head snaps up at his question, and she shakes it vigorously. “No, I don’t want to cause a fuss. He just sits there. He’s not doing anything.”
“He’s doing a lot of looking, that’s for sure,” I chime in.
Rory throws me a rueful smile but says nothing.
“Do you feel safe?” Kyle asks.
She thinks before replying, “I did until he showed up at the gardens, then at food trucks. I’m not feeling quite as safe anymore.”
I close my eyes briefly before looking at her. “Did he ever hurt you?” I ask, dreading the answer.
“Define ‘hurt’. We all hurt each other at some point.”
“True, but I think you know what I mean. Did he hurt you more than what would happen in a normal relationship? Did he hit you?”
She looks away from us. “Just once. It was right before I left.”
Kyle grabs one of her hands and brings it to his lips. “Good job.”
I repeat the action and his words with her other hand.
“Can we talk about something else now? I hate wasting brain power on him.”
“Can we talk about how my fish looks like a misshapen turd instead of a fish?” I ask.
She starts giggling when she gives it a real look and pretty soon we’ve all devolved into laughter. Bad brain day successfully averted so far, and I have a good feeling about the rest of the day.