Chapter 9 - Riley
“Good morning, Sherry. How was the night?” I shut the door behind me as I stepped into the infirmary. The space was quiet. I could hear the sound of utensils scraping on plates down the hall, so I knew they were having breakfast.
“We had a good night. Nothing happened. Everyone slept well.” Sherry flipped through some papers as she signed them. “Janella is already here. She's helping serve breakfast.”
My eyebrows went up. I hadn’t seen her before I left the house, but I figured she was still in bed. It wasn’t even seven thirty yet.
“When did she get here?”
Sherry flipped a few more pages. “About an hour ago. She helped cook in the kitchen and serve. She’s been a great help around here. I'd love to hire her.”
Janella and I both had been coming to help at the infirmary when we could. I had a few other reports of incidents that I had to handle, and Janella stepped up to offer a hand. I never asked her to. She just did.
I was surprised to find her coming to help every day.
She asked where she was needed and did any job that was thrown at her.
She cleaned the beds and helped serve the food.
She even helped hold a woman down when she was brought in with erratic behavior.
She spoke calmly to the patients, even the ones who were mean.
I slid down the hallway and found Janella sitting at a table. She nodded as the woman on the bed spoke.
I found myself amazed. She looked comfortable as she listened.
She had a small smile on her lips, and her eyes had a softness in them.
She looked kind and warm sitting there. The type of person that these people needed.
Their bodies were reacting in ways they didn’t know how to control.
They were suffering from something they didn’t understand.
They needed someone like her at their side.
I was trying to be there, but it was hard to be in two places at once. I couldn’t be here all day and still manage everything else.
“Riley.” Janella pulled herself up. “Morning. I wasn’t thinking you were going to make it in.”
“I wanted to come help with the breakfast, but it looks like you beat me to the punch.”
She dusted her pants off as she moved towards me. “Well, I knew that you stayed late, so I figured I could help in the morning if you needed to sleep in.”
She stopped next to me. “I have a breakfast to get to with my mother, but I’ll see you later.” She slipped past me, and I looked back at the group. Everyone was content, and everything looked under control.
“Riley.”
I turned as Sherry came down the hallway. “I have Luke on the line. He said there was a huge delivery at the town hall.”
“Shit, that’s the new equipment for the meeting room.”
“You can go if you need to.”
“But I came here to help.”
Sherry gave me a smile. “It’s under control, Riley. Janella was a huge help. Go, do what you need. We're good here.”
I made a mental reminder to thank Janella for getting up early. I left the infirmary and headed over to City Hall. The day went by quickly, as we moved furniture around and tried to figure out what we all ordered. It was almost five by the time I left.
I headed home to shower and grab something to eat before I could go back to the infirmary. I opened the front door and froze when I saw Janella in the kitchen. The house smelled of spices, and I spotted a couple of burgers already set out.
“Hey, you're just in time.”
My eyebrows went up. “What are you doing?”
“I cooked dinner. I figured you might be hungry. I made enough for the next couple of days, so you have something to eat. That way, if neither of us has time, we at least have some healthy meals.”
I took off my shoes and walked further in.
There was a spread of food. A lasagna was sitting next to a huge pot of stew.
Cookies and brownies were cooling on the other side of the island.
There were cold salads and cut-up fruit.
There were premade sandwiches and chicken with rice in small containers.
“This is a little much.”
She shook her head. “It's not all ours. The lasagna and soup are for the infirmary. I’m bringing it over.”
My eyebrows went up. “Janella, you didn’t have to do that. They have a cook on staff.”
“I wanted to,” she said, giving me a sad smile. “The nurses and workers deserve to have good food, and they are already working so much. I figured I could take cooking them something for tonight.”
I sat down and stared at the island. I couldn’t believe how much cooking she’d done. “Have you been cooking all day?”
“All afternoon. It started when I got home from breakfast with my mother, which ran into lunch.” She slid a plate towards me. “You’ve been working a lot, and I wanted to help.”
I stared at the plate. It was a burger with fries next to it. It smelled amazing, and my mouth watered.
She tapped her finger on the plate. “If you wait any longer, the food is going to get cold.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s no trouble.”
I set my hands on the table. “I’m not just talking about tonight. I mean, all the help you’ve been. You don’t have to do any of this.”
She paused; her hands were placed on the counter.
She looked down. “You know, at first I thought you pulled me from my home because you were being a little dramatic.” She swallowed, reaching for a dishcloth.
“I honestly thought you were making half of this up. But when we got to the infirmary, I saw just how real it all was. I mean, I knew that you were clearly worried, but I didn’t think it was that big of an issue.
But whatever is going on is clearly bothering you.
And I wanted to help. I know I can’t do a lot, but… ”
“You’ve been more than helpful, Janella. You’ve stepped up into something normal people wouldn’t be able to.”
She gave me a soft smile. “Eat your burger.”
I took a bite of it and realized just how hungry I was. I hadn’t had anything since I left the house this morning. We ate in silence. Janella wrapped the food up and set it into a box. She looked tired but full of energy at the same time.
I finished my burger and wiped my mouth. “Why don’t you get some sleep. You look tired.”
“Because I need to bring the food over.”
I nodded. “I can take it. I was going over anyway.”
She scrunched up her nose. “No, because you might take credit for it.”
I laughed. “Nope, that won’t be a problem. Everyone knows I’m a terrible cook.” I reached for my water and took a couple of sips.
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We did a potluck for a town Christmas. I brought brownies that you could have used for stones.”
She smirked. “You just aren’t a baker.”
“Another year, I was asked to bring an entree because I clearly couldn't bake. I mixed up a teaspoon and a tablespoon, so we have vinegar-flavored soup. A couple of months later, I brought mac and cheese for a birthday. A young girl broke her tooth because the noodles weren’t cooked.”
She tried to hide a laugh. “Okay, that’s bad.” She looked down at the food. “I mean, if you're sure the others will know it’s me, you can take the food. I am a little tired.”
“I can bring the food. You’ve been running yourself ragged. You need sleep just as much as the rest of us do.”
“As have you. You’ve been out early in the morning and late into the night.”
“It’s different. I’m Alpha.”
“And I’m what chopped liver?”
I smirked. “I stepped into the role knowing fully well what could happen.”
She sighed. “I do have a question, though.”
“Which is?”
“The council.”
I frowned, not looking forward to whatever she was about to ask. “What about them?”
“Well, you said that they said this was just a bonding thing. But it’s affecting a lot of people. Don’t they know what is going on? How far is it going, or who is it all going to affect?”
“Not really.”
She chewed on her lip. “They don’t know anything more than what they were telling you?”
I shook my head. “They aren’t exactly open about things in general. Mystic is their favorite thing.”
She grunted. “I just feel they aren’t telling you the full truth. They are the council. Surely, they know more of what’s going on. What’s causing this? Or who?”
I wasn’t sure how much I could tell Janella.
But it wasn’t like I had much more to share.
The council said that witches were the ones who were blocking the ability.
Screwing with the natural bonding that goes between two people.
But besides that, they knew nothing else. Or at least that's all they told me.
“They don’t know.”
She sighed. “Well, they should. What are they for if they don’t know the answers?”
I almost smiled at her. “Why don’t you head to bed?”
“I will.” She moved across the kitchen. “Would you mind cleaning up?”
I nodded. “I’ll just go drop off the food and come back and finish up in here.”
She headed up the stairs, and I glanced around the kitchen again. I couldn’t help but feel grateful that she was here. It had taken us a while to adjust, but we seemed okay.
I dropped the food off. The nurses were over the moon, and each told me to send a thank you to Janella. I offered to help, but they told me to leave. I was just heading back to my car when my phone started to buzz. I pulled it free and was a little surprised to see it was Troy.
“Hello?”
“I have a request.”
“That sounds like a reason to give me a call.”
He scuffed on the other end. “My pack is throwing a party tomorrow. It’s our yearly midsummer party.”
I paused. “And you're calling me?” We hadn't exactly been on speaking terms with everything that was going on.
“Because I want you and my sister to come.”
I frowned. “I don’t exactly have the time for that right now.”
“Make time.”
“Is there a reason you're calling me and not your sister?”
“Because I know my sister will say no before I even finish the sentence.”
“And you're hoping that if I have to go, I’ll drag her along?”
“Exactly.”
“So you want me to be an ass and force her to do something she doesn't want to do? Weren’t you just yelling at me not to do that?’
“It’s going to work in my favor this time.”