Chapter 8
EIGHT
CARINA
“I can’t do this anymore,” I sigh heavily, hobbling into my grandparents’ house.
It’s been three weeks since I was brought back here.
Not to my grandparents’ house, but rather the clubhouse.
Pyro’s set me up in his room. He comes and goes, but typically leaves me be.
Actually, he doesn’t really say much to me.
Asks me if I need anything, and that’s it.
There’s no talking. No getting to know each other.
He simply comes and goes without much said between us.
I want to be okay with this, but we’re bonded as mates, without the mating part.
Today I had an appointment with the orthopedic doctor in town, and I didn’t remind him about it.
I got Francie to take me. I can’t drive just yet, but I’m thankful my leg was good enough that they were able to take the cast off and put me in a walking boot.
Thank the heavens for that because I was going insane with that thing.
It was so itchy. I’m not supposed to put a lot of weight on it yet.
“What was that, sweetheart?” Bamba asks, glancing at me as I step into the kitchen.
She’s at the stove stirring up what looks like her famous fire hot chili.
I love her chili and could seriously use some of it right now.
Sniffing the air, I can smell the cornbread in the oven.
Oh yeah, I’m glad I came here instead of going back to the clubhouse.
“I can’t handle being at the clubhouse anymore.
It’s driving me nuts.” I balance myself on the crutches and pull the chair out to the little kitchen table set up in front of the bay windows.
It’s the same table we’ve sat at many times having quick meals.
Usually, when we had the whole family at the table, it was in the dining room where we all gathered.
I flop down in the chair and sigh once again.
“Does anyone know you’re here and not at the clubhouse?” Bamba asks, one brow cocked, a smirk playing on her lips.
“Francie dropped me off after I finished my doctor’s appointment.” Reaching for another chair, I scoot it closer and lift my leg to prop it up. “No more cast. I’m able to use the crutches.”
Both my legs were injured in the accident, but one was way, way worse than the other.
I had to have help the first week after leaving the hospital, but the leg healed rather quickly.
I wish this one would as well. Only the damage from being pinned in my car was a lot.
The doctor said today he didn’t think I’d get my full use of it without a lot of physical therapy.
I didn’t care so long as I walked. I would do the work to do so.
“Why didn’t Pyro take you to your appointment?” Here goes Bamba’s quizzing me. I don’t want to deal with it, but instead of snapping at her, I shrug.
“I didn’t tell him I was going to the doctor.”
It wasn’t his business anyway. I mean, he doesn’t want to be around me; I don’t have to talk to him.
“Hmm,” Bamba mumbles and goes back to what she’s doing.
I don’t ask what the ‘hmm’ is for. I honestly don’t want to know.
All I want is to get better, find a new car, and then get on with my career.
It’s bad enough I’ve had to put a hold on the article I was working on and going to Shiverborn.
I wasn’t going to let this affect all of my life. I did have a new laptop and phone.
Thankfully, I haven’t had any more creepy calls in the past weeks. It’s been kind of nice. I have been able to enjoy days without worrying about whether I was going to see ‘Unknown Caller’ on the screen.
For my article, I’d let my readers know that it would be a little while before I could give it to them.
I didn’t go into detail or tell them what happened, but said some things came up, and in time, I’d have something amazing to write about.
I still intend to go to Shiverborn. I plan to give them a great article, but I don’t know what I’m going to do after that.
I need to plan where I’ll go for the next one. I’m thinking tropical weather.
Somewhere away from the rest of the world.
Long moments later, Bamba places a tray of cornbread in the middle of the table before going back for the bowls she’s scooped up.
She comes back to the table, sets a bowl in front of me, and smiles. “Eat up, sweetheart, you know when Baba and your brother get here there won’t be a spoonful left in the pot.”
Bamba isn’t wrong there. Those two can put away food like it’s no one’s business. It’s hilarious sometimes. The fights my brother and I’ve gotten into over the years over food are too many to count. Not to mention the ones Baba and Cason have gotten into over the last slice of pizza.
We eat in silence. Me mostly because I was enjoying the flavors of the chili.
It’s delicious. Better than I remember, in fact.
I haven’t had Bamba’s chili in years. In truth, most of the time I eat at restaurants and places I like.
I lived out of hotels and inns where I could have food delivered to my room if I needed to.
My job has always kept me busy with traveling, and that’s the way I’ve always liked it.
Bamba opens her mouth to speak only she doesn’t get a word out before the back door is thrown open and three very angry-looking dragons step into the house.
“What the fuck, Carina?” Cason snaps.
“You didn’t tell anyone you were leaving the clubhouse,” Baba states, brows furrowed. In the last few weeks, I’ve learned that though he’s not a member of the club, Baba spends a lot of time over at the clubhouse, helping with whatever they need his help with.
Pyro doesn’t say a word, but I can see the fire in his eyes. He’s pissed.
“I told Francie. She took me to my appointment for Pete’s sake.” I shrug and turn back to my bowl, and take a bite.
“You didn’t come back to the clubhouse with Francie,” Cason points out.
I shrug again and glance at the three of them still standing there.
“I was tired of being cooped up in a room with nothing to do. I can’t work on my article since I’m not able to drive to Shiverborn.
I was bored out of my mind, so I had Francie drop me off here.
At least here I have company to talk to. ”
I don’t bother looking at Pyro as I throw that last bit out there. Instead, I go about finishing my chili and cornbread. The men fill the room, getting their own bowls without saying anything else. The room is tense so much so it’s suffocating.
Gathering my crutches, I lower my leg and get up. “Thank you, Bamba, for the delicious food. I think I’m gonna go sit on the porch swing for a while.” I can’t stand to be in the room with all the tension right now. It’s more than I want to deal with.
I mean, I’m supposed to be bonded to Pyro, and yet I feel no connection with him. It’s like he’s so closed off and guarded. It doesn’t help that he’s not spent any time with me other than what he did at the hospital.
Sighing heavily, I make my way to the front of the house and onto the porch. It’s not easy with hobbling. I start to push through the screen door when my crutches catch on the bottom trim. I feel myself starting to fall, only to be caught around the middle.
“Easy, stubborn,” Pyro murmurs in my ear, keeping me from doing a face plant out the door. “Last thing you need is to hurt yourself again.”
“Thanks,” I mutter and readjust my crutches. I go to pull away from him, but Pyro doesn’t let me go. Rather than dropping his arm from around my waist, he scoops me in his arms and carries me the rest of the way. “Put me down.”
“Not happenin’,” he remarks as he sits down on one side of the large porch swing. Pyro shifts me in his lap, making sure my leg is resting on the other part. “Seems we need to get a few things straight.”
“Now, you want to talk?” I huff, rolling my eyes. “Thanks, but no thanks, Magnum. I’m good on the talking.”
“I’m not good at relationship stuff.” Pyro growls. “Never done it before, to be honest.”
“You’ve never been in a relationship?” I don’t want to believe him, yet I find myself doing so.
“My parents were a mated pair. Fated, in fact, but they were far from being fated for each other. I told you my mother was a witch. A powerful one. She didn’t care to be mated.
My father didn’t either. He pretty much left her be.
The only reason they stay together is for the longevity of life span. ”
“That’s not a relationship,” I point out.
“Yeah, we’ll, that’s the type I grew up with.
He fucked around, which pissed her off. She was obsessed with herself and didn’t care about him.
So, yeah, I didn’t see a healthy relationship until I came around the club.
Most of the guys are all still single, but there are women who belong to a few of them.
Your grandparents were a good example when Inferno joined the club.
Now, I get to see my brother, Fire, and his woman. ”
Interesting.
“You should have told me about your appointment. I’d have taken you.”
“I didn’t need you to take me to my appointment,” I tell him. “Francie was happy to take me.” Though, she hadn’t wanted to drop me at my grandparents’. It’s not like my brother would yell at her for it. I’m the one who told her to take me there.
“I should have been the one to take you,” Pyro says, shifting me ever so slightly in his arms.
I like being in his arms. It’s nice. I feel safe, and that’s something I’m not used to, which is strange to me. It’s not something I should feel when it comes to him. Even when I was in his room by myself, I felt safe just by being surrounded by his things. His scent filled that room.
Still, it made me lonely because he was never around.
“The appointment wasn’t a big deal.”
“It is when I don’t know where the hell you are. I went looking for you, and you weren’t in the room.”
“Well, I can’t stay in that room forever. It’s boring,” I mutter with a huff while trying to move out of his lap. Of course, he doesn’t let me move away. Granted, I also don’t try very hard either.
“I’ve asked you if you were okay each day,” Pyro grumbles.
“Yeah, that’s all you did, Magnum.” I roll my eyes, unable to help myself. “You don’t really want to talk to me.”
“Club’s got shit going on, and I’ve got to focus on it.”
“I don’t know what that means.” I really didn’t. Francie has worked for the club at the bar she’s the assistant manager of, but she couldn’t really tell me anything. Said the guys don’t really talk about what they do. Just that she knows they will do whatever it takes to protect their own.
Pyro shakes his head and lets out a sigh.
“My brothers are important to me, and I’ll do what it takes to protect them.
Being the enforcer for the club, it’s my job.
But the club is a huge part of who I am.
I might be a dragon, flying in the sky, and there’s nothing like it.
Well, it’s the same thing for me when it comes to my club and being on the back of my bike.
I enjoy being on the road, flying down it with nothing but my helmet on. ”
“At least you wear a helmet. You don’t want your brains splattered on the road,” I tell him, jokingly, earning a grin and snort from him.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that.” He chuckles and shifts his grip a bit. “Though I’ll admit, the moment any of us enter a state that doesn’t require us to wear one, we don’t wear ‘em.”
“Hmm.” I don’t know what I should say about that.
“Look, let’s go back to the clubhouse. We’ll spend some time together, talk, whatever you want.”
“What’s wrong with talking here?” I ask, cocking a brow, curious as to why he wants to get back.
“Because talking out in the open isn’t something I do. Club business is just that. You want to get to know me, the best way to do that is at the clubhouse.”
Now, I can see his point. The best way to get to know anyone is by being in their environment.
“Fine, but I’m not sticking to that room. I’ll go stir crazy. I’m used to being outside exploring and being around people.” The best way to be is honest. I don’t like lying. I honestly suck at it.
Pyro’s lips tilt into a full-blown smile. “You don’t have to be stuck in the room. You never had to be. Just didn’t want you walking around and getting hurt while you’re healing. You know what the Doc said.”
“Whatever.” The doctors hadn’t even wanted me to leave the hospital as soon as I did.
I was healing far faster than they thought I would, and they wanted to make sure that everything wasn’t just by fluke as they said.
But I couldn’t, they could have learned the truth, and though paranormals are known throughout the world, it’s not a secret, it’s simply not talked about.
“Come on, Sweets, let’s go show you what it’s like at the clubhouse, and we’ll talk.” Pyro presses a kiss to the side of my head and stands.
Well, I guess we’re going to talk. Which now, I’m not so sure that’s a good thing or not. I mean, this is the man I’m bonded with. He’s hot. Sexy, in fact. With beefy arms and that beard. I’m not sure if I want to talk or jump his bones. Not that I could right now with my leg the way it is.