Chapter Forty-Five #2
“Oh, that’s what you’re doing? Are you done?” An assassin warning? My stomach turned. I didn’t see Fiona and Saoirse. They were with Hale someplace. She felt fine though the bond. I’d ask her when I saw her, given I didn’t feel any worry or panic.
“I return to set in Canada tomorrow,” he replied.
“Warning for what? I’ve never heard of that. I probably play all the wrong video games,” I added.
“You do.” He laughed. “A warning to an assassin that they took the wrong target.”
I went to find my family and got hugs from everyone. They weren’t staying for the brunch but some of the kids had autograph passes.
Then, I went to find Carlos.
“Raelynn is here. Fiona almost punched her,” I told him. He was with Clark. “Oh, hey Clark.”
“Hey. Um, so, can I meet Will? I’m a huge Defender League fan. I was a little surprised when they brought The Night into the franchise, since he’s his own thing, but it works,” Clark babbled.
“Yeah. I’ll see if he’s coming to brunch,” I replied.
“Thanks. I didn’t want to be weird before the game, but now I’m kinda regretting it,” Clark replied.
Carlos was looking around. “Wait? My ex showed up? Fuck.”
Clark paused. “Like the ex? I never actually heard the story about why Gwen ended up keeping a snake in the shower for you.”
“Yeah.” Carlos sighed. “It’s not a story to be told in public.”
No. It wasn’t.
“Carlos, there you are.” Raelynn pushed through the crowd toward us.
“Why are you here?” Carlos frowned.
“You got a pack and didn’t tell me?” She put on her doe-eyed, wounded, innocent act.
“I told my own mother this morning, Rae.” Carlos sighed.
Oh, he had? Good for him.
“I was wrong to ask you to leave the wedding. You’ve just always come through before. I… I’m not sure I like what you’ve become. And that omega…” Raelynn made her judgmental bitch face.
Fuck no.
“Security. Please escort her out. She shouldn’t be here.” I waved someone over. We had a shit-ton of them.
“What? I’m Carlos’ ex. I’m allowed to be here.” She looked like she’d been wronged.
“You don’t have a wristband.” I shrugged.
“Carlos,” Raelynn pleaded as security came.
“Raelynn, you shouldn’t be back here. Also, please leave me and my pack alone,” Carlos stated.
“Ma’am, you need to leave this area,” one of the security guards said.
Hurt crossed her face. “I thought we were friends.”
“Until you crossed lines repeatedly, I thought we were, too. Goodbye, Raelynn,” Carlos added.
Her look went furious as they escorted her out.
“I’m proud of you, man.” I hugged him tightly.
“I feel nothing for her. But I’m not letting her start shit,” he added.
“Dusty, your table is over here.” Kace came over and dragged me to our area.
I took pictures with fans and signed autographs. This was part of the VIP ticket packages. We’d already done this with the kids from our charities earlier.
After we finished, I gave my family hugs. Then I was guided into Roganfort Center itself, where there was a giant catered family brunch for the players and families of both teams, in one of the meeting rooms. Nat the Knight was handing out special mini sticks to the kids.
“Will, sit with us?” I asked. “One of the Knights is a fan.”
“Which one?” Will went puzzled.
“Clark. The one with the glasses.”
He sucked in a breath. “Wonder Boy is a fan? Shit. We’re from the same county, you know.”
“No. Wow.” I looked around for my pack. Wonder Boy was Clark’s hockey nickname.
“That game was amazing,” Hale told me.
“It was fun,” Saoirse added.
Fiona was hugging Carlos and dragged him over to us. We got into the buffet line, which held all sorts of delightful choices.
“Is that all you’re going to eat? You didn’t even have breakfast.” Fiona peered at Saoirse’s plate, which only had potatoes.
“Do you not like breakfast burritos?” Carlos frowned as he piled his plate with food.
“I wasn’t feeling well. I might have a cold.” She put some fruit on her plate.
“We did go to a rave and two hockey games in winter. The odds of catching something is probable,” I replied, sending love through the bond.
We sat down.
“My mom called and I told her about us. She’s really excited to meet all of you,” he said.
“It went okay?” Fiona asked.
“It did,” Carlos replied.
Clark came over. “Hey, can I sit here? Tens doesn’t come back until tomorrow.”
“Join us.” Carlos waved at some other people.
Dimitri and his two siblings sat with us, too.
“Hey,” Will said. “Shit, I just noticed the Pack Himbo shirts.”
“They’re great, right?” Hale grinned.
Dimitri’s teenage brother dropped his fork. “It’s The Night. Fuck.”
“My little brother Sasha is a fan.” Dimitri nodded.
“So’s Clark. You’re from the same county?” I blinked. What was in the corn there? The Many Adventures of The Night and Wonder Boy. That would be amusing fan fiction.
“We are.” Will nodded and he, Clark, and Dimitri’s brother got into a big conversation.
Fiona and Dimitri’s sister started chatting about things.
“This looks like the fun table.” Mercy, Hale’s sister, joined us.
Hale looked around and waved at Verity, who was sitting with her pack at another table. She waved back.
Saoirse just sat there, nibbling a little bit of fruit and looking like she was going to puke.
I got up and went to the waffle station.
“Can you please make me a single waffle square or whatever they’re called?” I asked, not wanting a whole waffle.
“I can do that,” she replied.
On the fresh waffle square, I put some fruit and whipped cream on it. I sat down next to Saoirse.
“You know what you need to settle your stomach? Carbs and sugar. Have a bite.” I cut off a piece of waffle with my fork, getting some whipped cream and a little bit of strawberry, then held it up.
“You don’t need to feed me.” She shook her head, not even being like she usually was.
“If you're not eating, I do.” My voice went firm. I fed her a little bite.
She sat there for a moment and then nodded. “I like that.”
“Good job. You don’t have to eat a lot. Just something,” I replied.
For another moment she sat there and drank her tea.
I held up another forkful and fed her more. She didn’t eat it all, but she ate some.
Yeah, I’d make some soup later.
“We’re heading out. That was a good game.” Grif came over with Verity. “Mercy, are you riding with us?”
Mercy shook her head. “I’m going to Kaiko’s.”
“You got shirts.” Verity put a hand to her mouth.
“Of course we did.” Hale nodded.
We finished up and then headed back to the car, which Hale, Saoirse, and Fiona had brought. I threw my gear in the back. Carlos didn’t have to worry about his gear. The equipment manager was taking all theirs back.
We got in the car and drove back to our house.
“I’m going to lay down,” Saoirse said as we pulled into the garage.
“Did you want that cuddle nap, Mi Reina?” Carlos asked as he helped Fiona out of the car.
Fiona nodded.
“Can I borrow the SUV to get my shit later?” I asked. If everyone was napping, that might be a good time to start moving my things.
“Yeah, if you need help just wake Carlos up.” Fiona grinned and Carlos tossed me the fob.
First, I’d make some soup. We had everything we needed, though I’m sure it was meant for other things. I made some chicken soup with rice, which was always my favorite while I was sick. While it was simmering, I took a shower and changed.
I got a bowl of soup and put it on a plate with some toast and some tea. Then I brought it carefully downstairs.
The door to Saoirse’s room stood open. I knocked softly on it the best I could while holding a tray of hot food
“I brought you some soup,” I called as I walked in.
“I don’t know why I’m so tired. I only went on a small run this morning.” She lay there on the bed, looking at me.
“Because we all got very little sleep?” I asked. She went for a run? When did she even have the time? Maybe she’d let me go with her. I should get back into regular runs now that I wasn’t on tour.
“You warmed me up some soup? That’s sweet.” She sat up and gave me a smile.
“I made it. It’s chicken and rice. There’s some toast and tea, too. If you don’t feel like eating right now, it’s okay. Do you want me to see if there’s a drugstore open today and I can get you some cold medicine?” Since there was no furniture in here besides her bed, I just held it.
“Soup sounds nice. Would it be okay if I ate in the kitchen? I don’t really like eating in my bedroom.” She stood up.
“I understand–that was a big rule growing up. But it was mostly because Dante would leave dishes until they grew their own civilizations.”
She chuckled. “Fiona is the same way.”
We went back upstairs and I brought it into the kitchen. She sat down at the breakfast bar.
“It’s best with these little round crackers that have the salt on top, but we don’t have any of those, so toast it is.” I got myself a small bowl and joined her.